It was already 8:30 p.m., and the thought of leaving without my parents' knowledge troubled me. As I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, I voiced my concern, "How can I venture outside without my parents realizing? They would never permit me to go out this late."
She suggested, "Gather your energy and try hypnotizing them."
I reacted with skepticism, saying, "Hypnotize? You must be joking. I can barely control myself. How am I supposed to gather my energy?" My brow furrowed in confusion.
"If you pass through this mirror, you enter the reflection world while your energy remains on the other side in the real world. You must find a way to merge the two in either world, and then you can harness your energy," she explained.
Curiosity piqued, I inquired, "How do you possess this knowledge?"
She responded, "I had experienced it once before, just yesterday." I took a deep breath, gathering my resolve. With a mix of anticipation and uncertainty, I reached out to grab my reflection's hand.
However, my hand passed through it while my reflection's hand extended outward. It seemed that I couldn't physically touch my own reflection. I placed my hands upon the mirror's surface, and to my surprise, my reflection's hand mimicked my movements. Focusing my thoughts, I visualized myself as a solid entity, enabling me to make contact. I tightly grasped its dark hand, feeling the chilling sensation that emanated from it.
As I pulled its hand towards me, it passed through my own, and in that moment, I sensed a profound change. A surge of something indescribable filled me, overwhelming my senses. It was as if I had finally become whole, experiencing a sense of completeness that I had longed for. Breathing came effortlessly, devoid of any struggle. Everything seemed to flow with ease.
Curiosity led me to check the mirror to catch a glimpse of my altered appearance, only to find no reflection staring back at me. I inspected my hands, noticing a darkness lingering on my palm, with dark smoke gently wisping from it. Attempting to touch it with my other hand, I felt nothing but the touch of my own hand. Perhaps it was merely an illusion, a trick of the mind.
"Why is there no reflection in the mirror?" I questioned.
Suddenly, I heard her voice resonating in my mind, "Your energy is no longer within the reflection. It now resides within you." J
ust then, my mother entered the room and her eyes widened in shock as she laid eyes on me. Confused, I inquired, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Your eyes... what happened?" My mother's eyes widened in astonishment as she noticed the change. I was equally taken aback that she could perceive my true form. Panic surged within me, and in that moment, I impulsively exclaimed, "Forget this!"
As I spoke, both of my palms faced her, and she froze once more. The dark smoke emanated from my palms, enveloping her in its ethereal presence. Concerned, I called out to her, "Mom, are you okay?"
"She will recover shortly. You must leave now, or the energy spell will be broken, and she will witness your true form," she advised through my thoughts.
Anger surged within me as I questioned, "How can I trust you?"
She responded with sincerity, "I have parents too. You are aiding me in saving them. Why would I harm your family?"
Concerned about my father, I inquired, "What about my dad?"
She reassured me, "He is asleep. We can depart now." Determined to leave before the spell wore off, I hastily exited my house. I swiftly hopped onto my scooter and put on my sunglasses, ready to embark on our journey.
I arrived at the old harbor, shrouded in darkness. An aged building stood before me, with a solitary tube light casting its faint glow, guiding my path. Parking my scooter at a distance, I made my way towards the building. It was a two-story structure, comprising a ground floor and a rooftop.
Approaching from the back, I cautiously advanced towards the entrance. There was no one guarding the doorway. The door stood locked, secured with a sturdy brass lock. I observed others using hairpins to pick locks, but I lacked both the tool and the knowledge to attempt such a technique. "Break it," she urged within my mind.
I scanned my surroundings, seeking an object with enough strength to break the lock. "What are you doing?" she questioned.
"I'm searching for something to break it," I replied.
"Break it with your hand," she suggested.
"What? That's not possible," I protested, furrowing my brow.
"Give it a try," she insisted. Tentatively, I gripped the lock and pulled. To my astonishment, it shattered effortlessly, as if it were made of nothing more than brittle material. I stood there in disbelief, shocked by the unexpected outcome. I cautiously pushed open the door, revealing a putrid stench that permeated the air.
The foul odor assaulted my senses, causing my heart to race and my body to break out in a cold sweat. As I ventured inside, my eyes frantically searched for the light switch, eventually locating it next to the entrance. With a trembling hand, I flicked it on, and a single bulb dangled from the ceiling, casting a dim light that illuminated the scene before me.
In that moment, I gasped, overwhelmed by a mixture of horror and grief. There, lying before me, was a ghastly sight—a partially decomposed body. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. It was her, dressed in the same uniform she had worn before. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision, and I blinked rapidly, trying to regain clarity.
The once fair skin had darkened, and a swarm of flies buzzed around the lifeless form. The revulsion was too much to bear. I couldn't bring myself to approach the body any closer. I turned away, fleeing from the haunting scene, and sought solace in the cool sea breeze. Walking a few yards away from the building, I attempted to steady my racing thoughts and find a moment of respite from the grisly discovery.
"I'm sorry, at your age, it must have been incredibly difficult to witness something like that. You deserved a life filled with joy," I expressed remorsefully.
"I understand," she responded calmly.
"I have already come to terms with seeing my own lifeless body. I have other concerns to focus on. I hope you can understand," she continued.
"I do," I replied, acknowledging her perspective and the weight of the situation. I approached the source of light, which led me to a series of containers. Illuminated by a nearby tube light, four containers stood before me. Among them, two were painted red, one was blue, and the remaining one was green.
The man had mentioned that the kids were held captive within one of these containers. Determined to locate them, I knew I had to find the right one. The green container was positioned above the red one, and there appeared to be no one in the immediate vicinity. Making my way towards the red container, I noticed that its opening was reinforced with steel bars, four in total.
Determined to gain access, I grasped the two leftmost bars and utilized my body weight to exert pressure, attempting to bend them. With a combination of strength and determination, the bars began to yield to the force being applied.
Releasing my grip on the left bar, I shifted my focus to the second one. With a determined effort, I applied force, causing the strap fasteners to come loose. Discarding the now-free bar, I proceeded to repeat the process with the remaining left bar. As the strap fastener dislodged, I swung open the container door, revealing a space filled with cardboard boxes.
Turning my attention to the other red container, I eagerly opened its door, only to find it empty. Disappointed but undeterred, I pressed on, determined to find the location where the children were being held captive.
"They must be inside the blue container," she whispered in my mind. Determined, I made my way to the blue container and attempted to open its door.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp impact on my head, but surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain. Startled, I swiftly turned around to face the source of the attack. It was the same man I had encountered at the local bar, the one with the band-aid on his nose.
"I thought I had broken your nose, but it seems I was mistaken," I remarked, my voice laced with defiance. His presence only fueled my determination.
"Who are you? And why are you involved in all of this?" he demanded, his voice filled with curiosity and perhaps a hint of concern.
"Where do you get the nerve to take a life?" I seethed, my anger palpable in my voice. He menacingly readied the bar to strike again, but I swiftly intervened, grabbing hold of the bar and wresting it away from him.
However, in the midst of the struggle, a sudden and sharp pain pierced through my abdomen. The reality dawned on me—it was a gunshot wound. I turned around, only to find another man holding a gun, his hands steady and aimed directly at me.
Panic coursed through my veins as I felt the warmth of blood saturating my clothes. My trembling hands reached towards my back, confirming the presence of blood. I could feel my strength waning as my knees gave way, leaving me on all fours. Each breath became excruciating, and I desperately tried to control my movements, fearing aggravating the wound further. The bullet remained lodged within me, a chilling reminder of the danger I was in. "You need to remove the bullet, or else the wound won't heal properly," she urged urgently.
Suddenly, I felt a severe blow to my head, causing me to instinctively close my eyes in pain. The assailants lifted me by my arms and legs, exacerbating the agony of my wound. Whimpering in distress, I endured the torment until they eventually set me down against a nearby wall. I mustered the strength to sit upright, using the wall for support.
As I gathered my bearings, I observed the two individuals before me. The one who had wielded the gun was engaged in a phone call, possibly calling for reinforcements. The other assailant remained watchful, clutching the steel bar tightly in his hand. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to take shallow breaths, the pain ever-present and overwhelming.
"Try to remove the bullet," she instructed.
The man with the phone abruptly spoke, "Come to the harbor immediately. That girl is here," before ending the call.
The man holding the steel bar recounted, "She managed to break the lock on this room and two containers. She's remarkably strong."
Skepticism tinged the other man's response, "You expect me to believe this, Mani?"
In response, Mani insisted, "Just look into her eyes." The man wielding the gun approached me, settling on his haunches in front of me. I noticed the distinctive brown shoes he wore; he must be the same policeman from before.
"What is this? How did you manage to do all this?" he demanded, his voice filled with disbelief.
Despite the strain in my voice, I mustered a response, "Just release the children before I take any action."
The intensity of the moment hung heavy as he abruptly slapped me with a forceful blow, the resounding sound echoing throughout the room. It dawned on me that I was inside the very building where her lifeless body had been callously discarded.
I surveyed my surroundings, her remains positioned just a short distance away. Anger surged within me, intensifying with each passing moment. The sheer injustice of it all ignited a deep fury within me.
In that instant, I locked eyes with the policeman, my gaze burning with an intense anger that could no longer be contained. The man from the local bar entered through a nearby door to my right, visibly taken aback by the sight of me. They were the very same three men I had seen in my recurring dreams.
"What do you plan to do with her?" he questioned the policemen, his voice laced with uncertainty and concern.
"We should kill her and bury her body alongside that one," the policeman suggested, pointing towards her lifeless form. As the conversation continued, I couldn't bear the pain any longer. With my right hand, I instinctively reached for my wound and pressed on it. A sharp sensation surged through my body, causing me to let out a scream. Their attention swiftly shifted towards me.
"What is she doing?" the third man inquired, puzzled by my actions. Ignoring their questions, I focused my energy on retrieving the foreign object lodged inside my wound. Gritting my teeth, I pushed my middle finger into the wound, using both fingers to firmly grip the bullet.
"She is attempting to remove the bullet," the policeman observed.
"During our previous encounter, there was no blood, but now she is bleeding," remarked the third man.
With determination, I successfully extracted the bullet from my wound, feeling a tingling sensation inside. Holding the blood-soaked bullet in my hand, I noticed that the pain abruptly ceased.
"It's a trap," Mani exclaimed. The policeman and the third man exchanged confused glances.
"She's the school girl. She admitted it herself at the bar. She's orchestrating all of this to bring us together," the third man explained. I couldn't help but laugh, a dark and haunting laughter that echoed through the room. Their attention shifted towards me as I rose to my feet, seething with fury. Both of my fists clenched tightly, and the room began to fill with an eerie, dark smoke.
With determined steps, I moved forward, unable to see them but sensing their presence. With a surge of rage, I approached the third man and swiftly seized his neck, applying a tight and unyielding grip with my left hand. He struggled to make a sound as I squeezed harder, his eyes bulging and turning a fiery red.
In a sudden motion, I released him, sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious. Turning my attention to Mani, I found him frantically searching for me, unaware of my presence. I swiftly reached out, grabbing his left shoulder, causing him to startle and attempt to strike me with the steel bar.
However, I effortlessly disarmed him, hurling the bar away from his reach. Just as I sensed the presence of the policeman behind me, I heard the distinct click of a gun.
Reacting swiftly, I grasped Mani by the neck, pulling him closer and positioning him as a shield, facing towards me. The bullet meant for me found its mark, striking Mani in the back instead.
"Now you know how it feels," I uttered with a mix of triumph and anger. Raising Mani by his neck, I forcefully launched him in the direction of the policeman, their bodies colliding in a heap on the ground. The policeman struggled to free himself from beneath the weight of Mani's body. As I advanced toward him, ready to deliver my retribution, I abruptly halted. Before me stood Dev, standing tall and resolute.