The Graveyard Festival

Chapter 3 - The Mirrored Tent

This was the last time Thana ever followed directions from vines. 

"Stupid...damned...vines!" she muttered furiously under her breath as she tried to gather her bearings. She had to resist the urge to plant a kick against the poisonous wall that blocked her exit. Thana blew out a sharp breath, annoyed. The darkness closed in around her, and she felt as though invisible fingers had wrapped themselves around her—it was so hard to breathe. How was she going to get out of this mess?

Cautiously, Thana stretched out her hands. Her fingers brushed something smooth and cold on either side of her, caging her in a narrow glass tunnel. She exhaled sharply again, this time determined. Staying where she was would do no good; who in the world would find her? She would just have to follow the walls, and prayed it led her out.

Thana pushed forward into the crushing darkness. It seemed to weigh down on her shoulders as she walked, hunching her shoulders and making her breaths laborious. Her footsteps echoed in the silence. The blackness unsettled her, and a cold shiver slithered down her spine. She laced her arms around herself. There was no knowing what lay before her, nor what lay behind.

It seemed like she had walked forever before she heard something pop, and sizzle. Something was alit in the distance.

It was a small, twinkling light, like a distant star. As though it was the night sky that surrounded Thana, the light barely dented the darkness. Abandoning her plan, Thana walked forward slowly, and when the light didn't move, her footfalls turned into a run. Closer, and closer, bigger and bigger, brighter and brighter, when—

SMACK! Thana ran into a glass wall.

Clutching her nose and cursing madly, Thana stumbled backwards. She was sure there were some black spots dancing across her vision, but in the pitch black tent, she couldn't be sure. The pain was searing like a wildfire through her blood, and she felt her eyes water.

Gradually, the pain withered to a dull throbbing. Thana tested her nose gently, and winced. What in the world just happened?

She lifted a hand towards the tiny light. Her fingers met with glass.

"Mirrors," she breathed, eyes widening.

As though her words were the cue, a second light popped into existence, and then a third, until all around Thana tiny fairy lights glowed and fizzled. They hung suspended from the ceiling, lined the mirrors and, most curious of all, floated around Thana like they had always been there, unlit. Down the glass corridor, more lights drifted aimlessly through the air. They looked like snow, if snow was made of sunshine. Their mellow glow filled the corners as the shadows retreated.

Now able to see, Thana realized she'd been wandering straight into a maze of mirrors. Her reflections, repeated over and over everywhere she turned, gazed back with her with the same look of wonder upon their faces, black hair falling over their grey eyes. An exhilarated laugh escaped Thana as she raised a hand, trailing her fingers along the sharp angles of her own face.

But as Thana's smile faded, her reflection kept smiling.

Thana narrowed her eyes, and she backed away. Her reflection, still grinning, remained where she was, waving cheerfully.

And then, from behind, a man and a woman walked forward as though appearing from nothingness. The woman's black hair fell to the back of her knees in an intricate braid, lined with small, white flowers. Her lips were curved upwards in a crooked smile—Thana's smile. And the man's eyes were grey, echoing storm clouds and gloomy weather. Thana was standing so close to the mirror now that she could see the golden specks within those familiar eyes.