Crunch: The Deja Vu
Writing Exercise #17
Talkin’ bout Deja Vu on Notes. This story is coming late, because I am bad at planning.
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Enjoy!
Crunch: Write about Deja Vu
His feet touched the cement sidewalk, and there it was—a feeling. Déjà vu. It was like his mind opening to the hidden secrets of the universe—and then, in a flash, it was gone. He shook his head and continued on his way to work.
The next day, his feet touched the cement sidewalk, and there it was—that feeling again. Déjà vu. It was like his mind opening to the hidden secrets of the universe—and then, in a flash, it was gone. He stopped a moment, and wondered if this was the first or the second time he had this sensation. He continued on his way to work.
The next day, his feet touched the cement sidewalk, and there it was—that feeling yet again. Déjà vu. It was like his mind opening to the hidden secrets of the universe—and then, in a flash, it was gone. Now this time, he was sure—this was either his third time experiencing this at the exact same time, the exact same place—or he had dreamed about it at least once. He looked around, to see if anyone else was behaving strangely. Nope, just him. He continued on his way to work.
The next day, he tried to stay on the bus one stop longer than normal, but the engine broke. At his usual spot. He got off the bus and crossed the street. His feet touched the cement sidewalk, and there it was—Déjà vu. It was like his mind opening to the hidden secrets of the—
“Ow! Watch it!”
Someone bumped into his back as he stopped walking. He turned around—it was a woman. “Sorry, I—” she began, and then paused, a puzzled expression on her face. “Have we met before?”
(297 words you don’t know me)
Talk to me!
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Have you ever experienced Deja vu?
Have you ever met a stranger who looked familiar?
Do you use public transportation to get to work?
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Thank you and God bless!
Nice little story! Captured Deja Vu well. Like how you included a person into the experience. Could be a good set up for heaps of different story avenues.
I was just thinking about writing a story about my Deja Vu experiences. ... I have epilepsy. Deja Vu can be, as my neurologist says, and the scientific literature, a symptom of a neurological disease, like epilepsy - though it's not well understood. She says it could be my 'aura' - the sign I will have a seizure (I never do remember the Deja Vu, but she says, that it is likely because I have short term amnesia before and after a seizure, which I might add, is far better than experiencing the whole thing.)
My Deja Vu is incredibly surreal. It lasts for a long time. I often play with it. Looking around - knowing what I will see next, kind of like stop motion video frames. Click, my POV will show the wooden cabinet; click I'll see myself in the mirror and so on ... though this could be a little cognitive trick I'm playing on myself.
In the past, I used to think I had some secret key into the inner workings of the universe. An eye into another dimension. Now I get worried because I what my neurologist says. Though, my seizures are well controlled now, when compared to the past.
If you are interested in my experiences with epilepsy, I have a piece on it that you can read here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/hemibowman/p/the-responsibility-of-the-victim?r=b87nb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I love the writing, keep it up!
I have experienced it a few times. I used to work with someone who I thought I'd seen before but there was absolutely no history that would have connected us. It was really weird. I work from home now. I used to use the train daily though!