Locked in the Mirror

And it was just a Dream

 I am sitting face to face with myself. I'm looking at her, and she is looking at me.

But I know that it's not me. This... girl is different. She has nothing to do with me.

We're inside my room, which is dim and dark, strange because plenty of light comes in through the window. However, it never reaches far enough inside to illuminate it.

I am seated on my bed with one of my books in my hands, and She is standing by the door.

She's wearing a simple dress in a peculiar shade of white. It's as if the fabric has faded. Its length reaches just above her ankles. But the strangest part is at the hem. Towards the end of the dress, its white shade deepens and turns into a deep red.

My eyes are fixed there. The color seems... heavy. As if it has substance.

As if it's dripping onto the floor.

My eyes rise and meet hers. Then I rise slightly from my place to observe her better.

Her hair is disheveled, her skin as white as paper, and she's not wearing shoes.

My gaze falls back to the hem. I look at it closely.

This time, the hem appears torn and quite tattered. And the red color...

It seems darker and denser.

No.

It's not paint.

It's not a design on the dress.

It's the last thing I would have imagined.

 It's Blood.

Thick, red, fresh blood.

I want to scream, to run. To attack her.

I want to escape.

But I can't.

My body doesn't move from its place.

I meet her gaze again.

Out of fear, my book slips from my hands.

She is smiling at me. She is standing still, her head tilted to the side, smiling at me.

She knows.

She knows that I've realized what the end of her dress is dipped in.

At that moment, she straightens her head, her smile changes.

It becomes normal. As normal as it could be.

And suddenly, she appears as an ordinary girl.

Then, she extends her hand to me.

I swallow hard.

I rise from my comfortable pillows and approach the edge of the bed.

She's just a few inches away from me.

I contemplate her hand.

It's flawless.

I hesitantly place mine in hers.

Her fingers gently close around mine, and I feel a palpable tension. Loud, rhythmic beats echo in my ears.

Our heartbeats.

Her attention immediately shifts elsewhere....to the mirror.

Slowly, she walks towards it. Her grip tightens.

She turns towards the mirror and does the most unexpected thing. She walks towards it.

She enters the mirror. Gradually, first one hand disappears, then her elbow. Then her head, and slowly, her entire body.