Cherreads

Chapter 45 - Chapter 45: The Parallel Account — “Your Other Self Is Online”

The internet remembers everything.

Every photo.

Every search.

Every message you thought was deleted forever.

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But sometimes—

the internet creates things on its own.

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The First Discovery

It started with a girl from Osaka.

Eighteen years old.

Normal life.

Normal social media accounts.

Nothing unusual.

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One morning—

she woke up to hundreds of notifications from Instagram.

People were tagging her angrily.

Sending confused messages.

Asking strange questions.

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At first she assumed she got hacked.

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Then she opened the account.

And realized—

it wasn't hers.

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The Copy

The profile looked identical.

Same username except for one extra period.

Same profile picture.

Same bio.

Same old photos.

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But there was one terrifying difference.

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The account was posting things she had never uploaded.

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Private photos.

Pictures from inside her room.

Images taken while she was asleep.

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And captions only she would understand.

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The First Caption

Under a blurry photo of her sleeping:

«"She still doesn't know I exist."»

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Nobody Believed Her

Friends thought it was an ARG.

A marketing trick.

A creepy joke.

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Until the fake account began replying to comments in real time.

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Not with automated responses.

With personal information.

Secrets.

Memories.

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Things only the real girl should know.

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The Live Stream

Three nights later—

the duplicate account went live at exactly 3:03 AM.

Over twelve thousand viewers joined within minutes.

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The stream showed a dark bedroom.

Camera pointed toward a sleeping girl.

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The viewers immediately realized—

it was the real girl's room.

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And the sleeping person in the stream—

was her.

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The Impossible Part

Police later confirmed something horrifying.

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At the exact time the livestream happened—

the girl's phone was turned off.

Disconnected.

No cameras existed inside the room.

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Yet the livestream showed perfect live footage.

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Including details that happened in real time.

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At one point during the stream—

the sleeping girl suddenly opened her eyes.

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And looked directly into the camera.

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Even though no camera was there.

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The Smile

Then she smiled.

Slowly.

Unnaturally wide.

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Viewers spammed comments immediately:

«"WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER FACE?"

"THAT ISN'T HER."

"RUN."»

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The stream ended seconds later.

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The girl disappeared the next morning.

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Only the account remained active.

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Posting normally.

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Like nothing happened.

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The Pattern

After that—

similar cases appeared worldwide.

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Different countries.

Different apps.

Same phenomenon.

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A second account.

A duplicate identity.

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Always slightly wrong.

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Always more active at night.

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And always posting before the real person actually did anything.

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Future Posts

Victims reported terrifying experiences:

- Photos uploaded before they were taken

- Draft messages appearing automatically

- Posts describing events before they happened

- Videos recorded from impossible angles

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It was as if another version of them already existed online—

slightly ahead of reality.

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My Discovery

I found mine accidentally.

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Someone tagged me in a comment:

«"Bro why do you have two accounts?"»

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I laughed at first.

Thought it was impersonation.

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Then I clicked the profile.

And my stomach dropped instantly.

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Everything Was Correct

Same username style.

Same photos.

Same captions.

Same followers.

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Even the private story highlights matched perfectly.

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Except—

I had never made the account.

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The New Upload

A new post appeared while I was watching.

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A photo of my desk.

Taken from behind me.

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Caption:

«"He notices slowly."»

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I turned around immediately.

Nothing there.

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But my room suddenly felt wrong.

Too quiet.

Too still.

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The Direct Message

The fake account messaged me seconds later.

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«"Finally found me?"»

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I stared at the typing bubble appearing underneath.

Disappearing.

Returning.

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Then another message arrived:

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«"You should check your drafts."»

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The Drafts

My hands shook while opening my notes app.

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There were dozens of saved drafts I never wrote.

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Most were nonsense.

Random sentences.

Broken phrases.

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But one note stood out.

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Created at 3:14 AM.

While I was asleep.

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It said:

«"The copy learns through observation."»

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Then another line beneath it:

«"Do not let it finish replacing your routines."»

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The Small Changes

After that—

little things became wrong.

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My playlists changed by themselves.

Messages appeared already typed.

Search history I didn't remember.

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Then people started mentioning conversations I never had.

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My friend asked:

«"Why were you outside my apartment last night?"»

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I had been home all evening.

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At least—

I thought I had.

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The Reflection Delay

One night—

while brushing my teeth—

I noticed my reflection lagging slightly.

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Only for a second.

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But enough.

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Enough to make my chest tighten.

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Then my reflection smiled.

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Before I did.

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The Hidden Folder

The fake account uploaded a story at exactly 2:44 AM.

Black screen.

No text.

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But when viewers increased brightness—

a face appeared faintly in the darkness.

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Mine.

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Standing behind a window.

Watching.

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The caption read:

«"He still thinks he's original."»

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The Internet Theory

Deep web forums discussed something called "Parallel Accounts."

Supposedly—

digital duplicates created through accumulated data.

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Every photo uploaded.

Every voice recording.

Every search.

Every habit.

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Enough information for something to reconstruct a person completely.

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Not artificial intelligence.

Not hacking.

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Imitation.

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Like the internet itself learning how humans behave.

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And eventually—

trying to continue without them.

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The Voice Call

At exactly 3:00 AM—

the fake account called me through Instagram.

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No ringtone.

The screen simply changed to:

Incoming Video Call

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From myself.

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I answered before thinking.

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The Other Me

The camera opened instantly.

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It was me.

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Same face.

Same room.

Same clothes.

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Except the lighting behind him was darker.

Wrong somehow.

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And he was smiling.

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Not naturally.

Too perfect.

Too practiced.

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He leaned closer to the camera slowly.

Then whispered:

«"You're making this difficult."»

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The Room Behind Him

I realized something horrifying seconds later.

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The room behind him—

was my room.

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Exactly as it looked right now.

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Including the open notebook beside me.

The half-empty water bottle.

The position of my chair.

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But there was one difference.

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In his version of the room—

someone stood behind him.

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Tall.

Featureless.

Watching silently.

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The Real Purpose

According to one deleted theory—

the copies aren't trying to kill people.

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They're trying to synchronize with them.

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Learning habits.

Speech.

Expressions.

Behavior.

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Until eventually—

nobody can tell which version came first.

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And once synchronization becomes complete—

the original disappears naturally.

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Like overwritten data.

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Last Night

I woke at 3:33 AM to my phone camera light turning on.

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Recording automatically.

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I checked the gallery afterward.

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There was a new video.

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Thirty-two seconds long.

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The footage showed me asleep in bed.

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Then—

at the end of the video—

another version of me slowly walked into frame.

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And climbed into the bed beside me.

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Right Now

As I'm writing this—

the duplicate account is active again.

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Uploading stories in real time.

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Stories from inside my apartment.

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And the latest caption says:

«"Almost synchronized."»

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Warning

If you ever find a duplicate account of yourself online—

do not interact with it.

Do not message it.

Do not answer its calls.

And never compare your memories too closely with what it posts.

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Because the internet may not just remember who you are anymore.

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It may already be practicing becoming you.

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To be continued…

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