Vanity's Double/Part 1

It is the morning following Empath's 150th birthday. Empath woke up feeling refreshed and happy with the feeling that he is now a free Smurf. He looked out of his window at the rest of the Smurf Village and sighed, realizing that he no longer had to look at the ominous stone structures of Psychelia every day of his life anymore. He preferred the simple quaint look of the mushroom cottages that comprised the entire village.

Empath slipped into a bathrobe and went to his front door to pick up the newspaper. Along with the paper there was also a message delivered to him by Papa Smurf, telling Empath that he needed to talk to him about something important but that there wasn't any rush to do so.

Empath nodded and went over to his dresser to change into his daily clothes. There he noticed the two suits: the white hat and pants that he originally wore, and the new star-patterned black hat and pants that was his birthday present from Tailor. Empath looked at both of them, wondering which of the two he was going to wear today. He didn't mind looking like his fellow Smurfs with the white hat and pants, but there was something about the new suit that drew his interest. It wasn't just that it was simply different to him.

Empath then put on the new suit and studied himself in the mirror wearing it. For the first time in his life as a Smurf, it made him feel unique and very special among his brethren. He also liked how he looked wearing it. He felt like Vanity in that he could look at himself all day wearing the suit. That made him smile.

Empath decided that he would go to Biscotti's bakery to pick up a breakfast croissant before going over to Papa Smurf's laboratory. On his way out the door of his house, he was greeted by a few of his fellow Smurfs who were glad and pleased to see Empath in his new suit.

One of the Smurfs he ran into on his way to Biscotti's was Vanity. "Salutations, fellow Vanity," Empath greeted.

"Oh, hello there, Empath," Vanity said. "I'm glad that you're smurfing on the new suit. It just looks so smurftacular on you."

"This smurf is surprised that Tailor doesn't make any special clothes for you, Vanity, considering that you're a Smurf of fashion," Empath said.

"Ah, you know how Tailor is most of the time...always function before fashion," Vanity said. "Maybe someday you just might convince him to smurf a change in his style of clothes for every Smurf."

"There's always hope in that, Vanity," Empath said. "This smurf will talk to you later."

Upon reaching Biscotti's bakery shop, Empath could smell the fresh aroma of various breads being baked. Although Biscotti was most of the time Greedy's kitchen helper, he also liked running his own shop to offer something that Greedy doesn't normally offer to his fellow Smurfs, given that Greedy is mostly focused on preparing the daily meals and Biscotti likes doing pastries, breads, cakes, and pizza. In fact, Biscotti even caters for the events that Greedy doesn't normally provide the food for, such as the Brainy's Smarty Party that took place a few years ago.

"Salutations, fellow Biscotti," Empath greeted as he walked in the door of the bakery shop.

"Hey, it's my favorite customer Empath," Biscotti greeted back, speaking in an Italian accent. "How's life been smurfing you so far? You like the new suit that Tailor has smurfed you?"

"It's only the second time that this smurf has worn the suit, Biscotti, but this smurf is starting to like how it looks on this smurf," Empath said.

"You know, me, Miller, and Farmer were smurfing about your new suit after your smurfday party, Empath," Biscotti said. "We too were thinking that maybe it's time for us to smurf a new style for ourselves. And your friend Handy, too...he's been smurfing about a blue pair of overalls for his work."

"This smurf had no idea that this smurf's birthday present would be such an inspiration for other Smurfs to abandon their normal style of dress, Biscotti," Empath said.

"What can I say, Empath?" Biscotti said. "You aren't exactly a run-of-the-mill Smurf around here, and some of your fellow Smurfs just don't like the fact that they don't smurf out in the crowd like you do. Maybe smurfing you dress differently will inspire them."

Just then, another Smurf came in the door of Biscotti's bakery. "Morning, Empath. Morning, Biscotti," the other Smurf said.

Empath recognized the voice as Vanity's. "Salutations, fellow Vanity," he automatically said.

"Hey, how's it smurfing, Century?" Biscotti greeted back.

Empath did a double take at the Smurf who walked in the door and sounded like Vanity. He noticed that the flower that was normally on the right side of Vanity's hat is now on the left side. But other than that, he looked and sounded just like Vanity. He sensed something particularly different about him.

"You're a mirror copy of Vanity Smurf, aren't you?" Empath said to Century.

"As a matter of fact, I am...or rather, Vanity Smurf is a mirror copy of me, Empath," Century said. "But other than that this village smurfs a little different from how I remembered it, I remember smurfing you for the first time when you visited us from Psychelia, how you seemed so embarrassed smurfing around in just a hat and pants."

"That's what Vanity said about this smurf, Century," Empath said. "Though admittedly this smurf never actually had the honor of meeting you back then."

"I know, Empath," Century said with a sigh. "That's what every Smurf says about me. I just can't help thinking and feeling the same way that my...uh, brother does. Although I do think you look smurfier in the white suit."

"Hey, everybody knows Vanity and Century have different tastes now," Biscotti said as he handed both Empath and Century a croissant and a hot cup of acorn brew. "They used to smurf so alike that we couldn't tell the difference between them."

"So tell me, how did you and, uh...your brother came about?" Empath asked.

"Well, it all happened about five years ago, when the village was smurfing through a rash of bad luck incidents," Century explained. "My mirrors just kept breaking for no reason whatsoever. Papa Smurf found out that every 654 years there's supposed to be a Festival of the Moon, which smurfs place whenever there's an eclipse of the June moon, and that there must be a Dance of 100 Smurfs on the night of the Festival or else the village could be smurfed with a hundred years of bad luck. Papa Smurf had smurfed around the village looking for those 100 Smurfs to smurf the dance with, but unfortunately he only found 99, including myself. While he was smurfing that, I was smurfing on a new mirror made with a smurf of unbreakable silver and I smurfed it out into the forest to finish polishing it when it started to rain. I was about to smurf my finished mirror into the village when lightning struck it, and then there was this identical Smurf whom I thought was a reflection at first until I tripped over a smurf with my mirror, and then I realized that my reflection had smurfed to life and that he was smurfing the opposite of what I was smurfing."

Empath laughed. "That must have been pretty odd, Century. How did Papa Smurf deal with that?"

"Well, me and my mirror reflection smurfed back to the village to try explaining what had happened," Century said. "Papa Smurf understood me fine, but couldn't understand what my mirror reflection was smurfing. Anyway, he was just glad that there was now 100 Smurfs to smurf the Dance of 100 Smurfs with, and so we smurfed a rehearsal of the dance, but my mirror reflection kept smurfing the opposite of what I was smurfing and so Papa Smurf had to stop the rehearsal until my mirror reflection could stop smurfing the opposite actions. Things just didn't smurf any better living with my mirror reflection inside my own house, and then I just stumbled out the door and my mirror reflection locked me out. I tried to smurf with another Smurf, only to find out that they couldn't understand what I was smurfing, and then I realized that I was the mirror reflection smurfed to life and that nobody could understand what I was smurfing."

"This smurf is sorry to hear that, Century," Empath said.

"I figured that if I was the mirror reflection, then I must smurf back to the mirror that I smurfed from," Century said. "So I smurfed back into the forest and found the smurf of silver and tried to smurf back into the mirror but couldn't. And then in my last attempt to smurf so, lightning had struck the mirror and destroyed it, and at that instant I felt totally different. Papa Smurf and Vanity found me out in the woods and saw that I was a normal Smurf, and so now they could perform the Dance of 100 Smurfs."

"You see how confusing this is, Empath?" Biscotti said. "He thinks he's the original Vanity and smurfs the same story about the mirror, and then he finds out he's a mirror reflection."

"Well, I still think that I AM the original Vanity, Biscotti," Century said, sounding a bit offended.

"It must not be easy to be a copy of someone, Century, to feel that you have lived the same life that they have lived and yet you haven't," Empath said. "But this smurf can't be the judge of your life, and if what you have remembered to live seems real to you, then this smurf can't convince you otherwise. This smurf is still glad that you are part of this smurf's life regardless of how long you actually have lived it."

"Me, I'm just hoping that Smurfette would be part of my life, Empath," Biscotti said. "But I don't know, with the way she was smurfing at you. I don't think I can handle that she may have the smurfs for you there!"

"Anyway, Century, this smurf would be interested to know how you and...your brother dealt with being the Smurfs that you are after the incident with the mirror," Empath said.

"Well, now, that's a whole other story, Empath," Century said. "You might want to smurf down for this one."

-

It is the morning following the Festival of the Moon. The Dance of 100 Smurfs has been performed successfully, and a hundred years of bad luck has been staved off. Vanity woke up from his bed, only now he didn't wake up alone. His double was with him.

"Good morning, Vanity," the first Vanity said to the other.

"Good morning to you too, Vanity. How did you smurf?"

"Much better, now that we're no longer mirror reflections of each other."

"Yeah, it was getting tiring smurfing with a copycat."

"Well, let's wash ourselves and get dressed. We might as well go see Papa Smurf about you."

"Yeah, might as well. Just remember, anything that is mine in my house is also yours."

"'Anything that is yours'?" the first Vanity said. "I thought that this was my house."

"It is my house, but anyway, it's still yours to use."

The first Vanity didn't like that the other Vanity was treating him as if he himself was the original and that the first Vanity was just the reflection. They both changed into their day clothes and washed their faces in the basin.

"Huh?" the second Vanity said when he looked at all the hats in Vanity's closet. "Why are all the flowers in my hats smurfed on the right side? That's not right!"

"That's what I was trying to smurf you, Vanity," the first Vanity said. "This isn't your house, this is my house."

"Still rather odd, because the last time I was smurfing in the closet, the flowers were all smurfing on the left side," the second Vanity said.

"Maybe we can ask Tailor to smurf you some hats with the flowers on the left side," the first Vanity said.

"Might as well," the second Vanity said. "He does such smurfy work."

"And we might as well smurf Smithy Smurf a visit for a new mirror," the first Vanity said. "I still can't smurf my own reflection and I'm smurfing rather lonely without a smurf of my own to look at."

"Until then, we'll just have to smurf at each other," the second Vanity said. "After all, the mirror both made us twins with identical features. And I do say you look rather marvelous today."

"Why, thank you, Vanity," the first Vanity said. "I can pretty much smurf the same about you."

-

Papa Smurf greeted the two Vanitys as they came in the door. "Hello there, Vanity and...uh, Vanity. How are the both of you smurfing this morning?"

"We're both smurfy, thank you," the two Vanitys said in unison.

"Actually, I'm the one that smurfs rather odd today, Papa Smurf," the second Vanity said. "Just this morning, I smurfed into the closet of my house and I smurfed that all the flowers in my hats were smurfed on the right side instead of the left."

"That's because it isn't really your house, uh...Vanity," Papa Smurf said. "It belongs to your, uh...brother."

"That's funny, because it smurfed like it has always been my house, Papa Smurf, ever since the day you smurfed me my own house," the second Vanity said.

"I do recall smurfing Vanity...uh, Vanity Prime his own house, but not you, uh...Vanity Double," Papa Smurf said. "That reminds me...how much of your life in the Smurf Village do you know?"

"Pretty much everything, Papa Smurf, all the way back to the day I was smurfed," Vanity Double said.

"Do you remember anything like...from a month ago?" Papa Smurf asked.

"I do remember that we all smurfed together to go to that extinct volcano and that we changed into Swoofs so that we could make Dreamy's dream of being Astro Smurf smurf true," Vanity Double said.

"That's what I did," Vanity Prime said. "How could you possibly remember that?"

"It would seem that when your copy was created, Vanity, all your memories were duplicated, so that he now remembers everything that you smurfed," Papa Smurf said.

"But I never felt like I was created, Papa Smurf," Vanity Double said. "I feel like I'm the original and this other Vanity is the reflection. The only difference is that everything smurfs to be on the opposite side from what I remember."

"On opposite sides," Papa Smurf pondered. "Vanity Double, may I smurf you for your heartbeat?"

"Is something wrong with me, Papa Smurf?" Vanity Double asked.

"No, I'm just simply trying to figure out something here," Papa Smurf said as he went for his stethoscope. He placed the other end of the stethoscope onto Vanity Double's chest, first on the left side and then on the right side. He noticed that the heartbeat was coming from the right side. "Aha! Just as I figured!"

"What is it, Papa Smurf?" Vanity Double asked.

"Your heart happens to be on the right side of the chest, whereas a normal Smurf's heart would be on the left," Papa Smurf said. "I would pretty much imagine that all your internal organs are also on the opposite sides."

"But what does that mean, Papa Smurf?" Vanity Double asked. "What does that make me?"

"Well, at the very least, it just makes you unique from all your fellow Smurfs, Vanity Double," Papa Smurf said. "The mirror smurfed you as a copy of Vanity Smurf, but because you are a mirror reflection, everything physically about you is also a mirror reflection. I don't know how you were able to smurf on your own without copying everything that Vanity was smurfing, but you are now able to talk normally and to recognize what's left and right."

"Funny, because I always felt like I talked normal, Papa Smurf," Vanity Double said. "It was the other Vanity that smurfed like he was talking backwards."

"I was not, Vanity Double," Vanity Prime said.

"Let's settle down, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "Now I'm going to give one more test for you both. I want you two to write your own names on these smurfs of paper."

Papa Smurf handed both Vanitys a pencil and a paper. He noticed that while Vanity Prime wrote with his right hand, Vanity Double wrote with his left. They both handed their slips of paper back to Papa Smurf after they wrote their names.

"Amazing," Papa Smurf said. "You both have identical handsmurfings, even though both of you smurf with the opposite hand."

"Okay, now that we know that this other Vanity is a copy of me, what do we name him?" Vanity Prime asked.

"Why do I need to have another name?" Vanity Double asked. "I feel that Vanity smurfs me just fine."

"We can't have two Smurfs smurfing by the same name, Vanity Double," Papa Smurf said. "And I don't feel comfortable smurfing you Vanity Double...or even just Reflection Smurf or Hundredth Smurf."

"Oh, I think I know what his name can be," Vanity Prime said. "He could be called...Century Smurf."

"Century Smurf?" Vanity Double said. "That smurfs pretty odd to me."

"Strangely, it seems to work well enough with me," Papa Smurf said. "After all, what is a century but another one hundred?"

"So I'm still called the hundredth Smurf, but just by another name?" Vanity Double said. "Oh, very well, if you insist..."

"Now with that squared away, where are you going to smurf, Century?" Papa Smurf said.

"Well, I was going to smurf back to my house with Vanity...if it isn't going to be a problem," Century said.

"Papa Smurf, can't you reason with Century that this is my house and not his?" Vanity asked.

"Right now Century needs to be properly acclimated with his fellow Smurfs and the Smurf Village he now lives in, Vanity," Papa Smurf answered. "And the only Smurf I can see who's able to smurf that is you, since you're both the same person. You'll have to deal with his believing that he is the original and you are the reflection smurfed to life for some time. Eventually he'll get used to the idea of who and what he really is."

"I can't argue with that, Papa Smurf," Vanity said. "Besides, it would be nice to actually smurf a twin brother, seeing that I smurfed up without one."

"Just be prepared for smurfing with a copy of yourself, Vanity," Papa Smurf said.