A Twofold Tale

Halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice in the year 2000 on both worlds, Al’ard and Al’bassita, twin girls were born to Farid Bellali and Bouchra Abbasi, Fatima Zahra and Scheherazade. Two weeks after their birth, Farid and Bouchra were in a train accident with their baby girls. Scheherazade died on Al’ard and Fatima Zahra died on Al’bassita. On Al’ard, Fatima Zahra’s upper lip was cut badly. She would carry the scar for life.

This same type of event had happened already at least once, in 1990, when Aziz and Ali were born to Abdelkader Elbaz and Zahia Malik at the same moment of the year. Two weeks after nascence, Mr. and Mrs. Elbaz were in a hotel lobby with their boys when a terrorist’s homemade suitcase bomb exploded. Aziz died on Al’ard and Ali died on Al’bassita.

Now it’s 2011, and even if the boys were born first, it is the girls who will have the privilege of meeting their twin first. It’s autumn, halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, and the Bellali family is on a little holiday in a mountain range (on both Al’ard and Al’bassita). They’re staying at Grandmother and Grandfather Bellali’s house in a small village in a valley, bordered by a forest of Holm oak trees. The conditions are perfect for Psilocybe mairei (magic mushrooms), and a new extremely potent variety of the fungus, with a beautiful purple color, has sprouted in the forest.

Fatima Zahra and Scheherazade, each in her own world, start out on an early morning walk as their parents snuggle in bed. Their parents aren’t worried as they know their daughters are bright, dauntless, and resourceful. It’s not the first time that either have been left to wander in a forest. They’re dressed similarly, the weather is frisky this time of year in the mountains, so they’re both wearing pants, boots, a sweater, and a jacket, but the colors are different and show their differences in character. Fatima Zahra is decked out in blue and green, whereas Scheherazade is in red and orange.

Happening upon a carpet of delightful delicate purple mushrooms, Fatima Zahra and Scheherazade can’t help but have the same idea (they’ve both read a story about a girl who visited a magic place after eating a mushroom) “They must be delicious! Better be careful though…just a tiny taste won’t hurt.” The two girls sit down, and ever so carefully, at precisely the same instant, they take a nibble. Normally this type of mushroom would take around half an hour to start having any effect, however this new strain goes straight into the system without having to be digested first. In a matter of minutes both girls’ heads are swimming, and they find themselves flying through a spinning tunnel. It’s an out-of-body experience, and both of the girls are still sitting on the ground in the forest. They’re experiencing astral travel, flying to meet each other, and in a matter of seconds, their spirits come face to face. They turn around each other and continue their voyage until each mind finds itself in the body of the other. They are both aware of the other’s birth and death, and have visited each other’s graves with their parents, so both realize what has just happened. Too shocked to know what to do next they sit and ponder. They both concentrate hard, with the same thought; “Perhaps we can communicate?”

Scheherazade, being the bolder of the two, is the first to speak in her head. “Fatima Zahra?”

“Scheherazade?”

“You’re wearing blue jeans, a green sweater, and a dark blue jacket, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. And you’re wearing red pants, a yellow sweater, and a red jacket?”

“We’ve switched places.”

“You’re right. What are we going to do?”

“Good question. We could spend the day chatting about the past 11 years, but our parents would be worried.”

“I’m worried. What if we can’t switch back?”

“Let’s try and find out.”

“Alright.”

“One-two-three go!”

They concentrate and try to fly out of their seated bodies and find themselves once again in the tunnel between their worlds, this time they smile and wave at each other as they cross in the middle. Even though their worlds are thousands of light years away from each other, the transfer happens in a flash, so it’s not linked to space…the portals defy the notion of space as we know it.

“Hooray! It worked!” Scheherazade cheers “We can control it!”

“But what if the mushroom stops working after we switch and we get stuck in each other’s place?”

“We have to be prepared. We’ll always have to keep a supply of mushrooms. If we’re going to run out, we should stop until we can get more. We visit Gramma and Grampa often, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen these mushrooms. It’s the season for mushrooms. Maybe they only grow this time of year?” Without even mentioning it they both reach down and gather a bunch of mushrooms, stuffing their jacket pockets.

“Should we tell Mom and Dad?” Fatima Zahra asks her sister.

“We can’t. They’ll think we’re crazy. This must always be our secret. I’m so glad to have you back! We have so much to tell each other! Now we have someone to share our secrets with! I wish I could hug you, my darling!”

“Me too, I’m so happy! This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Do you think that it’s ever happened to anyone else?”

“If it has, no one will know except the ones who it happened to. I guess we’ll never know. But it’s not important. It’s wonderful! We both have a sister now!”

“And I’m sure it’s for the rest of our lives. We were born together, and we each died once at the same time, so it’s logical that we’ll die at the same time.”

“Let’s switch places again and go home, this can be fun! I’m sure no one will ever notice.”

“But what if the mushroom stops working while we’re in each other’s place?”

“No problem! We’ll both realize it and take a bite of mushroom! We can always talk with each other in our heads as long as the effect lasts.”

The sisters joyfully chat as they make their way back to their grandparents’ house. As they thought, no one can tell that anything is different, except that they’re both floating on air. Over the years they connect often, sometimes having to wait for the time halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice to get more mushrooms from the forest, which reappear every year. After some time, they realize that whenever one of them takes a bite of mushroom, the other one hears a ringing in her ears signaling that her sister is trying to make connection. They also learn to master the dose. When the mushrooms are fresh the effect is much stronger than when they’re dry, so with dried mushrooms they must take a larger dose and wait longer for the effect, sometimes up to half an hour.

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The years go by, and they keep their secret. It’s now 2019 and both have graduated from high school and are in university. Scheherazade has chosen to pursue a career in the Performing Arts and Fatima Zahra has decided to study Communication and Media. They both enroll in a top-notch university in a foreign country that has both fields so that they can attend the same university, even if they’re in different worlds. Shortly after having started their studies, they connect for a chat. It’s the fall equinox.

“Fati babe, I met the most adorable guy! His name’s Aziz, and he has a beautiful voice. He plays almost every kind of instrument imaginable, and he has a presence onstage that’s spellbinding! I’m head over heels!”

“No shit Raza! You won’t believe it, but me too! His name’s Ali and he’s not like most of the other guys who just talk about sports. He’s a painter, but he works as an investigative journalist for a living. He loves to write. We’ve been dating for a week now, and it seems like we’ve known each other for a lifetime already. He’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of! I’ve always loved the name Ali, and besides, like you know, Ali was the Prophet’s, peace and blessings upon him, son-in-law with his daughter Fatima Zahra. He’s not religious though, and he likes to drink whiskey.”

“That’s incredible! Where did you meet him? I met Aziz at the conservatory just a week ago. I was trying out for a part in a musical, and he’s the director. He’s an actor and a singer too. He’s ten years older than me, but we get on like a house on fire!”

“Wow! Too much! I’m sure you got the part, didn’t you?”

“Sure thing! And it’s the leading role with him!”

“Nice job Raza! Ali works at a news website, and when I went for an interview to work as a PR Manager on an internship, I bumped into him as he was coming out of the boss’s office. It was like lighting hit me! We met for a date, and I’ve seen him every day since. He’s ten years older too.”

“Tell me Fati, what’s Ali’s last name?”

“Elbaz, why?”

“I knew there was something going on. You won’t believe it.”

“It’s Aziz Elbaz too?”

“That’s right. It’s no wonder that neither of us has ever fallen in love like this before, and that it happened at exactly the same time. I have to see Ali’s photo. You’ve got some in your phone, right?”

“Of course, me too, I have to see what Aziz looks like, let’s do it!”

A few seconds later they’ve switched places and are both staring at the photo of their newfound lover in each other’s phones. They switch back to their own bodies just as quickly.

Scheherazade is the first to speak after the shock. “They must be twins like us, it’s obvious, one of them died in each world, but ten years earlier. So, we’re not the only ones. Do you think that they know about each other?”

“If they do, they’d keep it a secret just like us. We have to find out. How much shrooms you got left?”

“Not much. We have to make it back to the mountains in 5 weeks for a harvest. Let’s try to find out as much as we can and meet up then.”

“Right, be careful though, I have a feeling that our destinies are starting to come into shape. Ali was made for me, and Aziz was made for you, it’s clear.”

“I love you, Fatima Zahra.”

“I love you too Scheherazade my darling. See you soon in the mountains.”

In less than a year both couples are married. Fatima Zahra and Scheherazade both learn all about the past lives of their husbands and constantly share everything as they’ve been doing since they were 11. The brothers are unaware of each other’s existence. The women decide never to switch places again now that they’re both married, it wouldn’t be right.