Tourist Trap: Framed by a Photographer

It was Valentine's Day. My girlfriend, Christy Lawrence, and I walked hand-in-hand as we visited a popular tourist destination in Sarlington. The place was crawling with photographers for hire. They were handing out their flyers to everyone who walked by while asking, "Hey there! Would you like to take a photo?"As we walked through one of the archways, one of the photographers stuffed his flyer into my hand before noticing my face. Flashing me a grin, he said, "Want a photo? Oh, wait a minute. This isn't the one you brought with you the last time!"I didn't think much of it, assuming that the photographer—whose name was Derek Norris, according to his flyer—was just kidding. However, Christy stopped in her tracks and scrutinized Derek."He told me I'm his first girlfriend. How can you make things up like that?"Unexpectedly, Derek took off his sunglasses and studied me carefully before letting out a cold snort. "This hunk here comes by every six months. He brings a different young

"Hello, is this the police? I'd like to make a police report. I suspect that someone has been using my identity. Could you please send someone over?"The receptionist frowned at me. Derek looked just as incredulous as he shook his head. He was acting like I was an incorrigible scumbag.Christy was already giving me the cold shoulder, scowling as she refused to say a word to me.A police officer soon arrived, and I explained the situation. Now that the police were involved, the receptionist had no choice but to pull up the security footage, in spite of her great reluctance.She started searching through the footage from three months ago. After nearly an hour of reviewing the footage, she was visibly losing her patience when she suddenly straightened up and called out in a raised voice, "I found it, officer!"The officer leaned in to see the footage, with Christy and me following suit.On the screen, a man who looked exactly like me had his arm around a young woman as they happily

I couldn't drop this matter without getting to the bottom of it. It would haunt me for the rest of my life.By this point, the spectators had more than enough fun from watching things play out, and even the police officer was starting to look tired. That was when I got a call from Mom.Ever since I left Lakeworth, she'd been calling me much more frequently. She kept acting like she was scared I'd waste all my money while hanging out with Christy. Time and time again, she told me to stop running around, rebuking me for already spending lavishly when I hadn't even earned much money after graduating from high school.In the past, whenever Mom called to lecture me, I would reject the call and call her back later that evening. However, I'd seen so many bizarre things today that I was starting to question my own memories.Therefore, when I saw Mom's name on the screen, for some reason, I answered the call and asked, "Mom, have I ever been to Sarlington before? Why have so many people fro

Derek shuddered at my words. "What the heck? You're giving me chills! Are you trying to say there are two of you in this world?"The spectators who had been enjoying the drama were also stunned."So, he's implying that someone who looks exactly like him stole his identity? How can there be such a coincidence? And how would that person know his blood type and height? They even have the same hairstyle!""You've got a point, but what about the medical records, then? Did he make the trip back and forth on the same day?""The hospital's records show that my appointment was at 4:00 pm. That means I would've been in the hospital by then. But the hotel's records show I checked in at 3:30 pm. Even if I took a flight, there's no way I could have traveled between the two cities in that amount of time. This proves that the person who checked in with my identity wasn't me."The officer's expression turned solemn. Even the crowd had serious expressions."If it's identity theft, isn't that a cr