As he got dressed, Parker had more trouble making his dream theory work. Everything felt real to him, even unfamiliar sensation like having wet underpants. And the memories! How could he have such detailed knowledge about Lucas, or more importantly, about sharing a life with the little boy? Their room, their parents who Parker barely knew, and a sense of connection that seemed to be getting stronger. If he was hallucinating, then everything was still gearing towards being the size of a 5 year-old, and there was still the level of detail. Lucas grabbed his hand as they headed out, a long-held habit of the twins.
He stumbled along with his twin, bewildered. The child's memories were too complete to have been a fabrication of any kind, but he also had an adult past that could not be ignored. With growing horror, he realized that the details of being 30, of having a job and a family, were starting to blur. He remembered being unable to speak earlier, though he could no longer remember the words he had tried to say. Bad words. He had wet the sleeping bag, and had trouble getting dressed. So far he had been acting and talking like a twin version of Lucas. Parker struggled to recall something adult. Math! He knew algebra and some cal.. cal... what was that word? The numbers spun in his mind and faded out to the most basic addition and subtraction.
Breakfast was cereal and milk, with juice boxes. Parker was on automatic as he struggled to work things out, aware that he was doing all he should as a child even as his mind wrestled with itself. They moved on to crafts pressing flowers in wax paper and finding pretty pebbles. Somewhere along the way, Parker got caught up in the children's activities, and he and Lucas took a nap together, and then they had hot dogs, and there was new stuff to see, and.... The sun was setting when Parker realized he had been a little boy most of the day. Not just physically, but mentally. And he had been happy. It didn't matter that he was forgetting numbers and words, or that he couldn't quite remember what he did for work. Parker the child had not even started school, and a job was something so far in the future he could barely comprehend it. Still, enough of Parker the adult remained to worry about his family - how would they survive without him to provide? If he was a little boy, would his own son even exist?