A Short Story Collection #Wattys2018

Mirror

You've been living behind the mirror for a while now. It's been years since she left you, the girl you used to be. She no longer exists here; you've taken her place. She exchanged your happiness for her sadness leaving you the empty shell you are now. She left you here a hollowed out version of who you once were.

Nothing has changed since then.
But you've done nothing to change that haven't you?

At first you tried. You tried so hard. You wanted to get away and find a way out of the darkness, but you couldn't. You tried to make yourself happy but grew tired of the energy it took to fake it. You wanted real happiness not the fake one everyone else wore. But the darkness was a living entity making sure all that inhabited the mirror world were cold and soul less. It thrived on the misery of the people and would do anything to keep anyone from being happy again.

Oh yeah, you definitely noticed. You've noticed the way the others in the mirror world act. Long ago you were envious of them. You were envious of the way those around you seemed perfectly happy while you suffered in silence alone. You were envious of how joyful they were. You were envious of them because reminded you of the girl who did this to them. She was one of them like you are now, but you're not like them.
You watched these people to see the cracks in their mirror. It was subtle. Laughter didn't reach their eyes. They spoke in voices too shrill for them. Their mannerisms were stiff and awkward; they didn't seem genuine. These little cracks in their facades were all it took for you to realize they were just like you. They were just like you once bright, happy, and lively before it was stripped away from them by their opposites. Like you they tried and failed to uphold the only thing they remembered from their old selves, but unlike you, they kept trying. No matter what they kept trying to turn the fakeness into their realities. You knew their efforts were futile even if you came after them. You were just different from them; they just didn't know it.

You've seen the cycle. You know what goes on here. You know the true meaning of what this place represents. You see all.

Those creatures, the other yous that brought everyone here, come back. They return, but unlike you, they can always leave. When you least expect it, you watch the violent switch that rips souls out and transfers them between bodies. You remember how it felt when the coldness sept into your bones, but the other side was its own thing. Those on this side shuddered violently as the soul snaked its say down the throat. Head bent back, they floated towards the barrier and switched in the blink of an eye leaving the new shell in its place. These switches happened with no notice, no warning. Your body was pulled towards the barrier by an unseen force.
 
But these could fail. If they failed, you were no more. You failed if you couldn't transfer the darkness onto your other self. You needed their happiness to get out. You needed their happiness to be free of the perpetual sadness.

Everyone wondered when the day would come when the switch would happen. You craved it. You craved it like it was the only thing keeping you moving forward.

A warm feeling spread in your cold heart, alarming you. Your heart has been cold and hasn't beat since the darkness took hold. You were frightened at the newly awakened sensation you so long missed. You trudged on towards the barrier with your heart warming more. A girl came into image once you got close enough and realized with satisfaction it was her. Your other self. She had come back.

You reached out and grabbed hold of her making sure she couldn't leave.
"Take it, take it, take it!" you willed her. You needed her to take the darkness and free you. She cried out in pain as all you past sadness from the darkness took over her. You smiled as her happiness warmed your entire body and overtook you.

Once the transfer was complete, you smiled and laughed maniacally. You were back where you belonged finally free. It was the beginning again.
You knew you had to go back, but for now, you were finally living.