Ethan stumbled upon that video right after pulling his third all-nighter in a row.
On the screen, a travel blogger named "Moyan" stood on Iceland's black sand beach, explaining the geological formation of basalt columns to the camera. The sea breeze tangled his bangs, and a faint brown mole dotted his right cheek—exactly the same spot and shape as the one on Ethan's own face.
Ethan paused the video.
He flipped on his front camera, comparing his reflection to the face on the screen. The same monolids with hidden double eyelids, the same tiny scar on the left eyebrow—leftover from a tree-climbing fall at seven years old, the same almost imperceptible indentation on the bottom right of his lip.
They were identical.
Ethan dug into every social media account linked to "Moyan". Thirty-two years old, the same age as him. Born in the same city—Harborview. They'd attended the exact same elementary, middle, and high schools. Even their college entrance exam scores matched perfectly: 1350 (SAT equivalent).
Then their paths diverged.
Ethan had chosen the computer science program at State Tech University. Moyan—whose real name was Mason—had gone to the School of Communication at NYU. After graduation, Ethan became a coder at a Silicon Valley startup, while Mason turned into a freelance photographer before transitioning to a travel blogger with three million followers.
Ethan stared at the screen until dawn broke.
First thing the next morning, he booked a high-speed train ticket to New York City.