My name is Timothy John.
AKA Tim
AKA Timmy
AKA Timothée
AKA Timmerz
But there was one name I never got.
And it was the one name I secretly wanted.

TJ

And TJ?
Best acronym there is.
But I never got it.
So, I gave it to myself.
Not planned.
It simply happened.
I moved to a new city.
My favourite city.
Montreal.
I was out on a ride.
Introduced myself as TJ.
Why not?
Never looked back.
But something odd happened.

Really odd.

I was the only one aware of it.
Nobody knew me before.
They had nothing to go on.
Timothy John is a man of many words.
Loves to talk.
Outgoing.
But TJ?
TJ is the total opposite.
I mean total opposite.
Looks down.
Little words.
He may give you a nod if he rides by.
Depends.
Depends on if he is looking up.
It is not something forced.
Contrived.
It happens.
Timothy John becomes TJ, the moment his hands clasp his handlebars.
I love it.
Like love it, love it.
Being Timothy John can be exhausting.
Being TJ is pure relief.
I am not expected to be anything.
A quiet guy who talks to no one.
When I ride, I think.
One day I thought I should write about it.
Being one person with two personalities.
And make TJ an actual person.
Timothy John and TJ.
Tell their story.
How they get through the world.
How they see the world.
Give them each 32 chapters.
The same chapters.
But the same chapters through their eyes.
One starts from the front, Timothy John.
One starts from the back, TJ.
Where their 32 meet, one is upside down.
Flip the book, start from the back.
But something else happens where they meet.
Something that neither saw coming.
Something that neither Timothy John nor TJ has said.
At a red light, TJ reveals a truth he has carried quietly.
On a grass hill, Timothy John collapses under the weight of his own truth.
I would love you to meet the two of them.
I think you will like them.