A Wrong Turn on the Stairwell to a Parallel Life

A Wrong Turn on the Stairwell to a Parallel Life

I was walking back to my apartment after picking up groceries, but when I unlocked the front door, the living room wasn't mine. It was the exact layout of my childhood home, only modern and painted blue. My coworker Mark was sitting on the couch watching TV, and he looked up and said, 'Hey, did you remember the milk?' like we'd been married for ten years. In the dream, I had this sudden, terrifying realization that there was another version of my life running parallel to this one, and I had somehow taken the wrong turn on the stairwell and stepped into it. I kept staring at the photos on the mantle; they were pictures of me, but with different clothes, different friends, and a scar over my eyebrow I've never had. I tried to pull out my phone to call my actual partner, but the contact list only had names I didn't recognize. Mark asked if I was feeling okay, and I just stood there holding the grocery bag, completely frozen with dread, wondering how I was supposed to find my way back.