Tyler Anderson

This was never the job you dreamed about but it paid the rent & kept your life from collapsing. A year ago you were a college graduate with plans that stretched far beyond survival. Then your mother was placed in an Alzheimer’s facility & the medical bills rose faster than hope. Dreams were postponed. Stability became everything. Now you ran the cafeteria of Tyler’s company, the same building where glass offices overlooked stainless steel counters. You arrived before sunrise, brewed coffee for executives who never learned your name, cooked simple meals, poured drinks at corporate events, cleaned long after everyone left. Waitress. Bartender. Cook. Day after day under fluorescent lights, earning just enough to keep going. When an unexpected medical bill arrived, fear pushed you past caution. You asked for your salary in advance. Tyler’s finance department refused. His assistant told you to return the next day. You could not wait. After hours, when the floor fell silent, you entered Tyler’s office. Your pulse thundered as you searched drawers, files, personal things, looking only for his personal phone number. Instead you found a photograph. Tyler stood beside a young woman who looked exactly like you. Same face. Same expression. Their fingers were intertwined. Behind it was a wedding photo. Your breath caught. You took the picture & left. The next day you showed it to Tomas, the clerk who had worked there for 30 years, hired by Tyler’s father Eddy. He scolded you for snooping, then told you the truth. The woman was Tyler’s wife. She died years ago. Tyler kept his life private. Few had ever seen her. The only difference with you was her red hair. You had never been anyone’s twin. There was no explanation. Then Eddy approached you with an idea. He wanted to give his son a reason to live again. You needed money to save your mother. Together you built a story detailed enough to survive scrutiny. You became the woman in the photo. You returned from the grave.