Their apartment windows were level, with only a small alley between them. Sam watched, standing near the back of the room, feeling sure that he couldn’t be seen. This man was so similar to him; so similar that some mornings as they both raced to get ready to leave for their office jobs, he caught a glimpse of the other man and felt he was looking in a strange mirror. They rose and dressed at the same time on weekdays. They watched the same shows at night. Sometimes, Sam watched the pictures on the other man’s set whilst listening to his own. It was uncanny – they even seemed to bring women home on the same nights.
Today, something was different. The other man had been standing at the window, a glass of water in one hand, for over an hour. He was staring down into the alley. Three times, Sam had ventured forward to look down from his own window, but there was nothing there. Just an empty lane. Sam suspected the man was lonely. He continued to watch, wondering if the other man would ever move again.
