The light and the fire

Chapter 23

I could hear some sort of ringing. "...five...more minutes mom..." I said tiredly. What happened? I don't seem to remember. Something smashed, it made my eyes instantly open wide and I slightly jumped. I was in complete darkness, except for what seemed like a spotlight above me, I was unharmed and was just sleeping on a cold concrete floor.

"Where am I?" I asked myself sitting up. Instantly the whole room lit up in light as if it was on cue. Luckily being a light elemental it didn't hurt my eyes. I was surrounding...by mirrors? Please don't tell me I'm in a mirror maze.

I got lost in one of those at some sort of fair when I was a kid when my dad was still around. I got excited and ran in and I ended up getting lost, everything seemed the same to me and my dad found me crying in some sort of dead end. He specifically told me "you weren't lost if you didn't know where you were going.". Then the next week he left for the military, that was eight years ago and I only see him once every year.

So ever since, I fucking hate being in a room with mirrors, hence when I didn't go near the mirror that made a duplicate of Cade. I stood up and dusted myself off, how long have I been sleeping for? I approached one of the mirrors, yes I hated it, but there has to be some sort of way out of here right? I haven't looked at myself in a long time...my reflection looks so different.

The burned streak of hair, the scar on my face, not to mention my clothes were filthy. But somehow I was able to manage a smile. I heard tiny footsteps approach me. My anxiety level instantly went up. I turned around...what? It was me...the eight year old me.

To explain, I kinda looked like myself but much younger, my hair was the one pure colour it is and was put into a braid that went down to the middle of my own back and I was wearing some sort of kiddish black and white dress. Why did I wear dresses exactly? She was staring at me in the same confusion I was myself, except with her a little horror.

"Um...hi. Could you tell me where I am?" I asked the younger me. I was the first one able to choke out words, I was always really shy. She backed away from me a bit, still looking at me in a little horror. "I-I" she stuttered.

"What's the matter?" I looked behind me, back at the mirror. I must have looked scary to my younger self...it wouldn't be surprising if I was. I was basically afraid of everything for quite a long time. "Oh..." I said looking back at her. "S-stay a-away!" She started to run off to an opening in between mirrors, no this isn't good. "Wait!" Without hesitation I ran after her. Oh god...this is a mirror maze! Where'd she go? I better not have lost her!

When I ran through the hall way of mirrors I could hear snickering and whispers around me, my reflections went by fast in the mirrors, it made the illusion of more people which was gonna make me freak out from social anxiety. I stopped in a dim lifted four way hall of mirrors and dropped to my knees. My shaky arms were the only things keeping me up from falling face first to the concrete floor.

I was breathing heavy and I could already feel my eyes tear up. I can't take this...I'm never gonna get out of here. "Please! Just please! Help me!" I screamed out sobbing. What if I never get out of here? What if my family forgets about me? I can't have that. I can't! In my blurry vision I could see two little black shoes in front of me. I looked up, it was the young me.