The Room Between Us
Renzo always felt like he was just drifting through lifeânever standing out, never quite fitting in. At twenty, in his second year of college, he kept mostly to himself. He preferred quiet evenings, sketching in his notebook, and rarely made eye contact when passing people in the halls.
He often questioned why someone like his roommate, Howard:
His energetic, confident, and popular. He would even want to share a dorm with him. Howard was taller, more athletic, and had a natural magnetism that made people gravitate to him. But he was also kind and genuine. He never mocked Renzoâs quietness or made him feel less-than. If anything, Howard treated him like an equal⌠even if Renzo couldnât understand why. He also have a tattoo in his left arm but he secretly hid it using concealer without noticing it, except Renzo. He knows everything about his roommate's life.
Renzo harbored a quiet admiration for his roommate. Not just because Howard seemed like someone he could never become, but because Howard never made him feel like he had to be someone else. And yet, Renzo couldnât help but feel invisible sometimes, overshadowed by the world around him.
One afternoon, while helping Howard sort through some boxes after a trip home, Renzo found something strange nestled inside a bundle of old scarves.
It was a necklace.
Silver, with an oddly shaped blue crystal at its center. The gem glowed faintly, like it was breathing.
âWhoa,â Renzo said, picking it up. âWhatâs this?â
Howard turned, then smiled in recognition. âOh man, I forgot that was in there. Thatâs⌠something my grandfather gave to me. He called it the âAnima Cordis.â Latin for âSoul Heart,â I think.â
Renzo tilted his head. âIt looks⌠magical.â
âWell, thatâs the story,â Howard said, sitting on the edge of his bed. âApparently, it has the power to merge two people into oneâonly if both people are willing, though. Itâs not just physicalâitâs emotional, mental. You feel everything the other feels. Not like reading thoughts. More like becoming one being, even if temporarily.â
Renzo laughed nervously, unsure if it was a joke or not. âSounds like something out of a fantasy novel.â
âYeah,â Howard shrugged. âBut I always thought it was more than a story. My grandfather swore he used it once. Said it changed his life.â
Renzo stared at the necklace, something pulling at his curiosity. For some reason, he couldnât let the idea go.
Over the next few days, he thought about what it would be likeâto know what it felt like to be someone else. To feel confident like Howard. To feel capable. Seen.
Then one evening, after a long walk back to the dorm, Renzo made a decision. He found Howard at his desk reading, the necklace sitting quietly on the nightstand.
âHey,â Renzo said softly. âDo you⌠think we could try it?â
Howard looked up. âThe necklace?â
Renzo nodded. âYeah. I want to⌠understand. What itâs like to be someone like you. I know that sounds weird, but I just⌠I want to stop feeling like half of a person.â
Howard stood, his expression shifting to something serious but gentle. âItâs not weird. And youâre not half of anything, Renzo. But⌠if this helps you believe it, then yeah. Letâs try.â
The two of them each held one end of the necklace and brought their hands together around the crystal.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the gem began to glow brighter, pulsing with an otherworldly light. A soft warmth spread through their hands and into their arms. The air shimmered. The walls around them faded into an indistinct blur, like the world was holding its breath.
Their bodies began to shiftânot painfully, but smoothly, like clay being molded by invisible hands. Howardâs taller frame wrapped around Renzoâs smaller one, while Renzoâs features filled the spaces between Howardâs. Their skin fused seamlessly, their bones aligning, their heartbeats synchronizing until they were one.
There was no struggle, no fear. Only peace.
When the light faded, only one person stood in the center of the room. Not Howard. Not Renzo. But Rowan.
He stood tall, shoulders square but not tense. His eyes reflected a balance of quiet thoughtfulness and bold clarity. He walked toward the mirror and studied himselfânot out of vanity, but curiosity.
He looked⌠complete.
He ran his hands over his arms, feeling strengthâbut also calm. He smiled faintly, sensing the harmony of both lives flowing through him. He remembered Renzoâs insecurities and Howardâs encouragement. He remembered moments of quiet sketching, and moments of standing in front of a crowd without fear.
He was not two people trapped in one. He was one person, formed by truth and understanding.
Hours passed, and eventually, the necklace glowed again, signaling the merge could end if they wished.
But Rowan didnât rush to separate.
He spent the night writing in Renzoâs sketchbook, capturing this new sense of self, reflecting on the pieces of each life that now made up his whole. And when morning came, the merge gently faded. Renzo and Howard stood apart once more.
Renzo stared at the mirror, breathing deeply and he take his phone for a selfie. He looked at Howard to his own mind.
âThank you,â he whispered. âI⌠I finally felt what itâs like to be okay with who I am.â
Howard smiled, reaching across the space between them. âYou never needed to be me, Renzo. You just needed to believe in the parts of yourself I already see.â
From that day on, Renzo walked with more confidenceânot because he became someone else, but because he understood that everything he needed was already inside him.
And the necklace? It stayed in the drawer.
A reminder that sometimes, the greatest magic isnât in changing who we areâbut in finally seeing who weâve been all along.
It had been weeks since Renzo and Howard merged using the Anima Cordisâthe mysterious necklace gifted to Howard by his grandfather. What started as an experiment to help Renzo find confidence and clarity had become something deeper. When they separated that night, both young men felt changedânot in a way that erased who they were, but in how they viewed themselves and each other.
Yet something lingered in both of them after the experience. An echo. A calling.
Renzo, once soft-spoken and unsure, found a steadiness in his voice. He no longer shrank from conversations or hid in shadows. He started sharing his art more openly, joining local exhibitions, even speaking up in class. His old anxiety didnât disappear completelyâbut it no longer ruled him.
Howard, meanwhile, found himself slowing down more. Listening deeper. He became more introspective, more thoughtful in how he moved through the world. The experience of feeling Renzoâs quiet sensitivity opened a new depth in him that he hadnât known was there.
One evening, the two of them sat outside their dorm, the city glowing in amber and blue beneath the dusk sky. The Anima Cordis rested between them on the small table, its crystal faintly pulsing with a familiar light.
âYou feel it too, right?â Renzo asked.
Howard nodded. âItâs like... itâs calling us back. Not because weâre incomplete, but because weâve found something worth holding onto.â
They both fell quiet, listening to the stillness around them. Then Howard smiled, eyes gentle. âMaybe we were never meant to be just individuals. Maybe what we are when weâre together... is the truest version of us.â
Renzo hesitated. âBut if we do this again... I donât think Iâd want to undo it this time.â
Howard didnât blink. âNeither would I.â
They held the necklace together once more. The crystal pulsed, brighter than before. But this time, the magic felt calmer, like the ocean lapping at the shore. No struggle, no overwhelming surge. Just the slow, natural blending of two lives into one.
Their bodies came together, features balancing and harmonizingânot just physically, but spiritually. Their thoughts aligned. Their memories met and braided. There was no longer Renzo and Howard.
There was simply Rowan.
He stood outside under the dawn sky, breathing deeply. He felt taller, stronger, but not just in a physical sense. He felt whole.
He had Renzoâs keen eye for detail, Howardâs sense of presence. Renzoâs quiet grace, Howardâs bold confidence. He could speak to a crowd or sit in complete stillness and feel at peace in both.
Rowen remembered who he had beenâbut without longing to return. This wasnât a temporary fix. It was a choice. A new life, forged from trust, admiration, and shared will.
The next day, Rowan officially changed his name with the school records. Professors, classmates, and friends adapted quickly. Most didnât even question the shiftâjust as if Rowan had always been there, just waiting to step into the world.
He moved into a small apartment off-campus, decorating it with both Renzoâs art and Howardâs trophies. The walls told stories of both lives, no longer separate. On the shelf sat the Anima Cordis, now dim, its work complete.
People gravitated toward Rowan. He spoke with ease, carried himself with quiet power, and listened like every word someone shared mattered. He became a pillar in his university communityâguiding others, uplifting them, seeing what was hidden beneath their surfaces. Because he understood what it meant to be both seen and unseen.
It was no longer about healing a broken sense of self.
Now, it was a legacy.
And as Rowan looked at the world ahead of himâfilled with possibility, new friendships, new creationsâhe smiled.
And he was exactly who he was always meant to be.
