Mirrors & Shadows

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝐗𝐈𝐈

յօ 𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔥𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯 ~ 𝔉𝔯𝔬𝔷𝔢𝔫 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰

After giving her instructions on how to care for the wound and adding more pills to her list of ones to take daily, Edmond had offered to accompany her home. She refused. Luna swore she saw guilt written in his features. It looked like he felt responsible for what had happened. But it wasn't his fault that her mind was so crooked. She assumed her self-harming days were over for good. Apparently not.

Meanwhile, she had insisted on keeping the blood soaked pen. At the sight of it tears began to form. It was her mother's favorite pen. One of the only things Luna had left of her. That and a battered up photo she kept in her wallet. Luna didn't remember much about her. She'd bake those lovely honey cakes to eat on the side with lemonade. Always had her hair in a bun and she would use this very pen to hold it together. Whenever she wanted to write something, she would undo her bun and wavy light brown hair would flow down her shoulders. And then there was her voice. Every so often, Luna would hear that beautiful voice humming in her mind. Still singing that song.

The wound underneath the bandages continued to burn atrociously. The skin around it prickled and itched. She felt like tearing off the sutures Edmond had carefully worked on. Instead, she lifted her injured arm toward the tree before her and concentrated on the feeling of the rough bark beneath her fingertip. This mere gesture sent a stabbing sensation coursing up her arm. It was a way of challenging the pain, acting like it didn't matter, like she controlled when it happened.

Out of all the visions she'd felt of people's farewells to the world whether expected or unexpected, her mother's had been the most gentle. It was an uncannily soothing ending. She would feel cold lips on her own. Someone gave her a rose, whose velvet petals brushed her chin and delicate hands placed it into her right hand. Then she felt a quick jolt of pain on her left. She clutched the flower's stem tightly, the thorns piercing her fingers as she fell asleep. Seemingly in a dream, she felt herself being carried away before a breeze stroked her cheek and she felt herself falling, falling into the unknown.

Luna gasped as she remembered. It explained everything. Her surroundings were a blur of orange and red. A sharp ringing resounded to her ears. When her eyesight came into focus, she saw flames catching alight along the alley of trees. People around wore looks of panic. She had the impression that she wasn't the only one to hear the awful ringing sound. Some scrunched their eyes shut others had their hands over their ears. A dog seemed to be barking but no barks could be heard. The burning pain in her arm became unbearable. She looked down to see her hand still in contact with the tree's trunk. The area of the bark around her hand was blackened and bright blue flames danced around her fingers slowly turning into red filaments as they climbed higher up the tree. She let go of it hastily. The blue flames vanished. But the tree was still on fire. She had done this.
Because now she knew.
Her mother was murdered. By a vampire.

She felt someone staring at her. Indeed, a young man a few paces away with his hands over his ears was peering at her with realization. She had been spotted. The sound, the fire. It was all her doing. Her legs took off in the opposite direction. She hoped someone had had the courage to call the firefighters. She watched how her shoes hit the ground without sound. The horrible ringing in her ears was still there, following her where she went. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block it all out. The pain. The sudden truth. The realization in that guy's stare. Smoke burned her lungs and her knees buckled, landing brusquely on the pavement. Something clattered to the ground. She turned to see her mother's pen shatter.
    "No..." she moaned. Tears blurred her vision. Far behind, a whirl of flames danced in the background. She picked up the remains of the pen. Something slipped into her palm. It was a piece of paper. Luna. It was written in black ink. She recognized her mother's loopy handwriting.

Who else finds this song amazing? 🤩 he wrote and played it alone. By now you've probably guessed who my favorite singer is 😅 My favorite songs are What do I know? And Afterglow. They'll correspond to moments in the story but just telling you in advance if ever I never get to the end of the story 😅😂 check it out! (Or if you decide not to read on) what are some of your favorite songs? :)) btw please don't hesitate to leave comments or answer the A/N even though I published the chapter a while ago (I'm usually quite active on Wattpad) It would make me really happy to know people are reading what I write!!
Word count: only 746