The most interesting roommates I ever had:

Benny and Kenny

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I needed to rent this space at all cost due to its proximity to  the important places I conducted business during the week.

The problem was, I could not afford it all by myself. 

The owner was amenable to young students like myself  sharing the space with roommates.

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The roommates I shared the space with were twins;

Born on the same day, I mistook them as fraternal twins until I found out later  they were in fact identical twins.

Benny and Kenny shared the flat with me for one year.

The twin I got to meet first was Benny. 

His brother Kenny was out of state completing a project he had been working on for two years. 

He was going to join his brother in two months after wrapping up the project.

My first impression when Benny walked into our shared flat was “life must have been very tough and unkind to this poor guy”.  

Benny wore the most pathetic and sad countenance I had ever seen on the face of any upright two-legged creature. 

 

Less than five minutes after meeting, he began to talk at length about the ills in the world and how everything was falling apart around the globe. 

Benny would go hungry for hours even though there was food in the fridge.  When I asked him why he was starving himself, he would reply “I do not  want to eat up the food, in case something catastrophic happens and we cannot get access to anymore food.  I need to save the food for as long as possible just in case.”

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This was the standard reply I had become accustomed to hearing from the constantly haggard-looking Benny.

“What about your clothes? 

Are you going to buy a couple more pants and shirts so you are not walking around with the worn out pair you keep putting on everyday?  

They are so worn-out from  being washed excessively they are beginning to look like some kind of see-through lingerie,”  I would tell him.   

“It is ok”

was the response he would give me. 

“Life is not about clothes.   I need to save my money for any unforeseen misfortunes that might befall me,”   He would answer back.

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This continued until his brother Kenny joined us.

What a contrast when I first met Kenny. 

He was full of life, dressed very nicely and was full of life.  Kenny enjoyed a good laugh and seemed to love every bit of what this life had to offer.

Benny and Kenny were so different not just in their approach to life,  they even looked different physically.  

Nothing about their physical features would have told me they were born as identical twins.

Shortly before the expiration of our one year lease,   Kenny and Benny returned to our shared flat after visiting  family  for a few days.

Benny told me of an unusual experience he and his twin brother encountered on  the train they boarded as they journeyed back to the flat. 

 

On the train, there was a man who claimed to be a prophet who could see into the future.

The prophet told Kenny he was going to be successful in life and was going to enjoy many good things.  

The same prophet told Benny he was going to have a tough time in life and will struggle in his love and professional life.

The prophet gave the twins his contact information.  He wanted them to reach out to him for special prayers to reverse the misfortunes he had prophesied regarding Benny.

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I asked to see the contact card.  

Kenny reached for his bag and after a brief search, he found the card.  He quickly placed it in his bag without looking at the information on it when the prophet handed the card to them.

On the card was written:

“I am no prophet.  Just a casual observer.

The Two of you are more than just twins.  You are

FREEDOM and FEAR personified.

Kenny, I hope you can help your brother Benny before he completely  destroys himself from fear.  

Good luck.”