Reflected

1. March 22nd

"Get out of here punk, you're no use at all!"

Father beats me up again while Olga doesn't even look at me. Well I deserve it, I got lost in my thoughts again and forgot to do the chores before they came home. My nose began to bleed and the blood stained my clothes once again. I really don't own a single piece of clothing without blood anymore. Though I don't own much clothes if I have to be honest. 

I rushed to the bathroom to clean my shirt before the blood would dry. Looking in the mirror was almost as painful as to get beaten up. My self-esteem was never too high, now hitting puberty and getting all those pimples is making it worse. Wondering how many times my nose has been broken, I take out my first-aid-kit and begin to carefully fix my face. All of a sudden I felt like fainting and when my legs gave in I fell and hit the damn sink with my already damaged nose...

Waking up felt weird, like I never actually fainted, except my nose was still bleeding and hurts even more now. Wait, what? Trying to calm down and breathe made me notice the strange fresh yet moist and familiar smell in the apartment. It was all of a sudden very chilly like someone would bust all windows open. Exploring further made my so nervous I almost threw up. Everyone is gone, windows are open, some furniture missing and only my room has some in it. My nausea for some reason went away entering my room, I felt safe and calm. The sun was shining through slightly ripped curtains, birds chirping outside and there's that comforting musty smell. Strange how all this feels so familiar, yet I have never been here... Have I? 

On the shelves were all of my favourite books, majority of them being animal encyclopedias and old Russian poetry, I still own them. As I go through them, an old laminated paper falls on the floor. The handwriting is very beautiful being in cursive, making it harder to read, but I manage: "Dear Sebastian, if you are reading this, I am glad you have found this place again. This is your safe space, it's called Reflected, but there's a few things you should know about it. The animals here are wild and dangerous. I know you love them, but they might not love you back, so stay careful and hide as much as possible! To get back home you need a mirror, look at it very closely. It might be a bit tiring the first few times, you might even feel sick, but it will go away. The electricity here doesn't work, so dress up well and bring food from home! The people out here are just like you and me, but you should still be careful with strangers! Now I have told you the basics. There is a small village down the river outside the city. Go there when you're ready and tell my greetings to Alma. We will meet one day, I promise. Stay safe for me. -Faina"

Now I am nauseous again. Who is this Faina? Why does she know my name? Is she here? Should I run? What are all those instructions and where even am I?? Looking out the window I see no people, only some snow and animal trails. In hopes that one of my neighbours would be here I go to the stairs and bang on every door shouting. Thank goodness, one of them opens. Downstairs lived a nice grandma who gave me her son's old clothes and would always feed me sweets, but she wasn't there. Lord, how do I get back..? Faina said to look closely into a mirror to "get back home", sounds absurd but what choice do I have? 

Walking up the stairs I was shivering from anxiety and cold, of course, it was march and I was in shorts, a t-shirt and slippers. Well, if this nonsense will work I will be grateful to every single god. And Faina I guess... I look in the dusted mirror, nothing was happening until I wiped the dust off. I got the same feeling as before, thinking I was having a panic attack or fainting, but suddenly I was home. This time actually home. I don't know who that Faina is, or was, but I think she saved my life... Thank you.