In the Grand Scheme of Things - Short Story for 4/3/25 | Sparks Fly Contest by Creative Sparks Community

Darron lay quiet as he frantically searched the dark room for Zenoria. His laser focused glare immediately zeroed in on a thinly clad, tall slender frame standing behind the red and black, velvet draperies, her back ramrod straight. She moved to hold back slightly the curtain, then quickly shot a glance toward the bed. Good, she thought, he's asleep, or more aptly, out of consciousness, as he labeled it.

With the flick of her wrist, Zenoria pivoted and moved inside the curtain.

She spotted shadows from the moonlit sky beam toward their street, casting eerie caricatures on the white brick exterior of their second floor flat. From above she observed, what at first seemed like partygoers waiving their hands high above their heads, dissolve into a chaotic scene as they frantically dashed from the cobbled street headed toward its end, rounded the corner, then disappeared as they sensed a foreboding presence approach.

Instantly, she noticed a lone man leaning against a bright lamp post. Visible by the white attire from head to toe with a long, matching colored veil, by the time she blinked, he disappeared from sight. It couldn't have been a female. She let escape a silent gasp, then turned to access whether her husband of six months had stirred.

Tiptoeing back to bed, she slid in beside Darron and waited. Her hands quivered as she covered her mouth to suppress the horror, remembering the attire. It was an exact duplicate of her wedding dress in male form. And it wasn't the first time she'd crossed paths with him.

Darron traced her every move and didn't have to surmise her reasons. Since the day of their wedding, it became increasingly difficult and irritating, attempting to allay the veiled inquiries into his career at Transformative Corporation, the high tech biomedical research company. He scanned her body, pulse rate, and temperature, then relaxed. Hopefully, she wouldn't drift into another recurring nightmare.

The next morning he rose early and left before Zenoria woke.

A restless night, she thanked God for the absence of the dream that surely came after her encounter with her wedding dress. She readied herself for her own job in the city. Arriving early, she almost fainted as she rounded the corner in the parking garage.

There standing in full regalia was the man dressed in a replica of her wedding dress. This time, his face was fully exposed. She screamed on her down to the concrete floor.

Moments later, she woke staring into the eyes of her husband. But it couldn't be Darron. His job was located across town two hours away. Frowning, she scrambled to extricate herself from the man's arms.

"Calm down, Zenoria!" It's me, Darron. Your real husband."

Shaking her head from side to side as if clearing out cobwebs, Zenoria's panicked thoughts exploded. She began to weep.

"You're Farron, the twin brother. And evil twin at that," she sobbed. "You attempted to foil our wedding, showing up to disrupt the proceedings. You're just jealous of Darron. Always has been, he confided in me. That's why he didn't like to talk about your childhood and the horrible things he endured at your hands."

Darron's eyes grew sorrowful.

"So that's how he explained me at the wedding. I'm just sorry I arrived too late. You would have never believed my story then. I had to wait to get you alone. But others are watching you. We only knew each other a short time before I proposed. A few days after we were engaged, I was taken away and replaced with an identical. A replica. From what we discovered while in the facility, they began with males who were twins. But my identical twin didn't survive before birth, so I never spoke of him. Too painful."

Zenoria's puzzled look caused Darron to pause. How ridiculous this story sounded to any sane person.

"Look, we don't have much time. You've been implanted with a device. I don't know the reason why, but you should have been pregnant by now."

"How could I be? I'm taking precautions. You know we talked about waiting a couple years to get settled."

"Thank God for sticking to your conviction. Now, listen carefully. You've got to leave. We can't be seen together. I don't know yet where we'll go, but others are arranging a safe place until we can figure out what is happening. I do know that the male species is quietly being replaced."

Darron paused again and looked his beautiful wife, longing to kiss her passionately, but hoping to see clarification.

"By the grace of God, a small group of us escaped the laboratory. Another six months, and he would have been fully infiltrated into the system. Each day, you become less of yourself and transform into his assigned mate.

Zenoria stammered, then grew quiet.

"Here, read this as quickly as you can. I know it won't make sense, but trust me, it's all true. Then go home. We'll make it out. I promise you."

Zenoria speed read the info. She and Darron exchanged a warm embrace, then parted ways; he to make plans for their escape; she to her job, then home to her clone of a husband.

⁽¹⁾ Image used for my story was retrieved from the stable diffusion program, StarryAI utilizing the information below. I envisioned a wedding where the bride isn't aware her groom is a clone:

Thanks for your visit. I hope you like my short story entry.