Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Night was coming and Alex and Lola had already experienced a whirlwind of emotions at the fun fair. They had laughed and screamed on the rollercoasters, daring the other to raise their hands on the big drops, crashed into each other repeatedly on the dodgems (they had had one go in the same cart colliding into others, but had decided it was more fun to ambush each other) and had ridden the waltzers until Lola feared that the popcorn she had eaten earlier may make an unwelcome return. There had been a child-like joy and wonderment to the day, the most pure form of mutual love, away from the reality of the city.
It was nearing midnight, but neither of them had been paying attention. Therefore, they decided to follow the sign that read Hall of Mirrors, as it appeared to be the only amusement that didn't threaten to spin them to the point of nausea. They handed over their tickets and entered the labyrinth of mirrors, clasping hands. Their warped reflections reminded Lola of something out of a cartoon. The reflected images ranged between elongated and slender, stubby and plump, inverted, tilted, and contorted.
As they stood in front of one mirror, which reflected light into heart-shaped sparkles, Alex pulled out a small camera from his back pocket and took a picture of them both. Lola had had her head sleepily resting against his shoulder, but the sound and blinding flash caused her to jolt upright.
"How long have you been hiding that?" she asked with a laugh. Looking down, she saw it was a disposable one, the kind that needed the film developing to even see the photos.
He waved it softly in his hand. "It's full now. I've been taking pictures of you all night." He grinned. "You just hadn't noticed."
Humming with a smile, Lola asked, "Is this something I need to report to the police? That I seem to have attracted a stalker."
"I'm not too sure how sympathetic to the situation they'd be. I bet you're no stranger to lovelorn boys falling head over heels for you."
Whenever Alex said things like that, it always made her laugh. He seemed to be of the belief that she had had swarms of lovestruck men following her for her entire life. As though she had something of a magnetism around her that would make lovers drop whoever's hand they'd been holding, to go devote themselves to her. Nobody looked at Lola that way.
Except Alex. Alex did.
It wasn't until Lola and Alex attempted to leave that they discovered that the hall of mirrors was not as straightforward as it seemed. The mirrors were arranged in a way that made it practically impossible to find the exit. Whenever they turned corners, they found themselves imprisoned in circuits that brought them back to where they had begun.
Believing she had found the way out, Lola ventured down a pathway to the right, only to discover that she was lost. Surrounded by a labyrinth of mirrors which reflected hundreds of images of her and Alex, she realised what a challenge it would be to find either him or the exit.
