7 am. Charlie wakes up, turns off the alarm, and rolls out from the right side of his bed. Making certain to not awake Olivia, who always sleeps on the left.. Charlie goes to his bedroom window, opens the curtains , and observes his neighbor walking  her orange chihuahua. What does she smell like? Charlie wonders, does she smell like sea salt? Charlie likes the smell of sea salt.

7:30 am. Charlie walks to the bathroom. Acne, redness, and wrinkles all seem weirdly fitting on his face. Charlie washes his face with water and water only. “Skin problems are all-natural and a part of me” he thinks to himself, while rubbing his fingertip around the largest pimple on the center of his forehead. Charlie has tried treatments in his youth, but the dermatologist said he may never adjust to California’s weather.. Then, Charlie rolls the toothpaste from the bottom to the top, squeezing out the remaining remnants. He never knows when he will be able to get the sea salt toothpaste again.

7:40 am. Charlie tiptoes downstairs, almost in a sneaky manner, as to not disturb Olivia’s rest. He opens the cupboard and prepares his typical breakfast, milk with cereal—easy to make and not too heavy. He can still taste the toothpaste while drinking the milk.  Because of the scant remnants, todays milk is less distinct than usual . Charlie scans the news. 

US news, skip. Local news, skip. International news, skip. 

Choose states within the US, click.

Illinois, click.

8:00 am. Olivia arises.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Charlie leaves for work while Olivia makes herself avocado toast for breakfast.. Charlie hates avocados. The thought of  its creamy texture and its obnoxious green color makes him shiver. Ironically,   Charlie works with avocados sometimes. He tries his best to avoid them, but he would have to eat and write about them if a new avocado flavored chocolate came out. He has been writing reviews for chocolate factories for 10 years.

8:20 am. Charlie arrives at a coffee shop and finds his drink already prepared. For the past 10 years, without fail, he has never deviated from his order. Iced chai tea with sea salt foam—it never gets old, not even after 3,650 cups. He carefully drinks the chai tea from the side of the cup, avoiding the sea salt foam layer. Charlie likes to save the best for last.

9:00 am. Charlie sits in his office, with his chai tea almost empty, except for the thin layer of sea salt foam. He goes through his emails, reviewing feedback from different publishers. He takes notes of what to edit. He edits his reviews and stares at the clouds in the sky. They look white and pure and fluffy, like foams and sea salts. Charlie feels a sudden pain in his head. It feels like lighting has struck the center of his brain. Ouch.

12:00 pm. Charlie finishes his office work. He will spend the rest of his day touring factories and tasting chocolates. Up first, a factory that specializes in making orange-flavored chocolates. “Not bad, fresh but has a mild taste of copper.” He writes in his notes. Next, the factory for dark chocolates.  He does not like dark chocolate  in general because it triggers memories, perhaps, Charlie is also not sure. This is not uncommon for Charlie, having memories that feel distant even when these events happened only a few years ago. Lastly, the sea salt chocolate factory! Charlie likes to save the best for last. 

6:00 pm. Exhausted, Charlie goes home. Olivia is still at work, she will arrive around 10. . Charlie opens his laptop, and a notification  on the upright corner of the screen read, scheduled call starting in 5 minutes.”..

Charlie cannot  recall when or why he scheduled this call, but he attends nonetheless t

“Hey Will, how are you?”

“I think you called the wrong number. I’m Charlie.”

The person on the phone became silent.

“Oh right, you’re Charlie. Sorry I got it wrong.”

“No, it’s okay. Who are you?”

“Um… Are you home alone?” The stranger asked cautiously.

“Yes, Olivia will be home around 10.” Charlie answers, growing increasingly frustrated.

“……” The person on the phone remained silent. .

.“Who are you?” demanded Charlie..?

“I’m…Ummm… I’m Olivia’s friend! Can you call me when she’s home?”

“Yes, no problem.”

10 pm.  Charlie called the stranger back upon Olivia’s arrival.  .

“Hey.” Said Charlie

“Hi Will!”  responded the person on the other side sounding oddly excited. As if he was  waiting for this moment for a long time. .

“Ummm. No, I’m not Will, for the second time. I’m Charlie.” He says in a bothered voice.

“Oh god.” The person on the phone says quietly.

“What?” Charlie exclaims.

“So…Olivia…is home?” 

“Yes. That is why I called. Are you okay? It seems like you can’t recall what you said just  a few hours ago.” Charlie says slightly amused. .

“beep”

11 pm. Charlie, angry and perplexed over being hung up on, lies on the sofa to watch his favorite reality show. It is a show where groups of people travel to various locations . Today’s destination, Chicago, Illinois. The camera captures the participants frolicking about Lake Michigan. 

“I love it here; it feels like the ocean! I can smell sea salt in the air!” excitedly shouts the tour guide. 

Something clicked.

Memories came rushing back to Charlie, or Will. “Am I Will?” He thought. Visions of finding  Charlie's corpse washed up on the banks of Lake Michigan come flooding in. 10 years have passed since that horrific day, yet Will can recall vividly that bright sun sky, and the smell of sea salt in the air.

Uncertain when and how these transformations take place, the familiarity of today’s events tell him that this is not the first time. Will walks upstairs, slides into the left side of the bed, and falls asleep.

7 am. Charlie wakes up.