Everyone has a reflection, assigned to them at birth. Your reflection guards you from dangers no one is sure of. I never gave my reflection much thought. Until two days ago, when she disappeared.
The problem lied not with my missing reflection, but with what came along. At first, I thought it was my imagination. I thought of eyes watching me, or voices whispering my name. Chills passed through me as a walked home, the darkness in my room no longer felt safe. Now I wasn't sure.
So here I sat, determined to find answers. I spent the last hours staring at the screen, typing away, searching for a way to get my reflection back. It was well into my fourth hour, when my computer screen went black. I threw my head back in frustration. Now what?
I looked into the screen and bit back a scream. It wasn't my own self looking at me, but something else standing right where I should've been. I turned slowly, not wanting to see what was there. To my relief and dismay, there was nothing. Not even a reflection in the screen.
My phone rang and I let out muffled shriek. My nerves were still frayed from what I thought I saw. I composed myself, answering it and tried to focus on the conversation.
~~~~~
I woke up in a cold sweat, not knowing if hours or minutes had passed. Something rustled in the corner of my room. Breathing heavily, I scrambled to turn on the light. Under the lamp's light, there was nothing, but I could feel it watching, as soon as the light was off.
Trying to get back to sleep was an impossible task. I tossed and turned in my bed, afraid to sleep, yet also to stay awake in the dark. My skin was crawling, my mind uneasy. I heard footsteps, getting faster and louder. I squeezed my eyes tight, wishing the noise away.
Then, before I could think, something had me around the throat. I couldn't breathe or see. I tried to cry for help but a bare whisper came out.
And then something was fighting back, answering my cry for help. A car passing by lit the room, and I could see for a moment. It was me. I was holding off the dark creature that attacked me. My brain took a few moments to process everything that was happening, but I quickly made the connection. It was my reflection. She had come to save me. The creature flung me against the wall. All I saw before blacking out was my reflection pushing the creature into the mirror.
When I woke up, my reflection was there in the mirror, as if she'd never left. I was starting to wonder if I'd made it up in some sort of fever dream. As I left the room, I cast one last glance at my reflection, making sure she was still there. I could've sworn she winked as I turned away.
