Altered

There was a wind that began to sweep itself into the room, gloomily beating against the thin windows and moving over the ancient bedsheets. As the sounds began to make their way into the light sleeper's ears, her eyes flashed open, and she clutched the sheets tightly, as though she was afraid she would only have one last breath. This wind was not like the afternoon breezes she felt calm with – no, it held such a vile atmosphere to it that she was sure something maleficent was nearby. Its own presence seemed to hang over her like the plague, and she was scared that if she even thought of letting it go...

She shivered at the mere thought.

Realizing that this draft was slowly pulling her out of her bed, she began to climb out of her sheets and witness the lightning strikes illuminate her room, colored of black and white. Such a night for the storm to be raining, for it seemed to be all the more terrifying, and without another hesitant moment, she began to walk outside of the room and into the darkened hallway.

This wind was pushing her towards the bathroom, with its door only cracked open slightly and with the noises of the ticking clocks being her only sound for comfort. She began to move her hands around, to try to find something to hold onto, yet because there was no light she could only hold onto the side of the wall and she progressed through the corridor and into the small room.

Quickly she flashed on the light, seeing the brightness consume all that was dark, and yet as this relieved her, she could still feel the wind pushing her, much more agressively than it had before. Once she had found herself inside the room and away from the entrance, the door shut close behind her and locked itself, leaving a frightened and baffled girl standing all alone.

However, before she could realize this, she knew she wasn't alone at all.

She turned towards the old and ancient mirror, and saw another person that was standing in the middle of it and showing off such an impressive smirk that it almost seemed to want to break her face in half. Hair, long and brown, was twisted and curled down the left side of her body, and her light brown eyes remained frozen without even a single ounce of remorse. It was almost as though she wanted nothing else than to suck the life out of the other girl that continued to stare into this bitter reflection.

(So, you've finally came...)

Her voice was shrill and high-pitched, although she was nothing more than a ghoul, yet she still remained composed behind the wall of the mirror. The other girl, shivering and wondering what this image wanted from her, tried not to meet the same gaze from those vicious eyes, yet it was still utterly useless to try and avoid her. There was nothing that could make her go away from this other version of herself, and she quaked with not knowing what this other apparition was going to do.

“What...what do you want from me?”

Cackling, the ghostly girl pressed herself further into the mirror to where she could be more easily seen, and she pointed humorously, as though to mock her other self.

(It has surprised me that you ask such a thing! What am I other than a simple person that wants to help you? After all, helping you is helping me.)

“Why...why would I need help?” The young girl stuttered. She was beyond baffled that this other person could possibly be herself, just in a different light, for that wicked grin showed nothing else than a greedy spirit. “I do not understand why you are here, and what you want from me! Please...please leave me alone!”

(I suppose you don't remember those nasty things people say about you?) Leaning to the side of the mirror, the other girl could only smirk more as she began to pace. (Those terrible, ruthless things...it was as though they were wanting to tear you apart, and all because you were a little different.)

Lightning cracked from the outside, and as the storm continued to pour harder and harder onto the windows and the sides of the house, the apparition could only laugh as the girl shivered more and more. She seemed stuck.

(So shy...so quiet. Dear child, all you wished for was acceptance, yet they scorned you because you were unique yourself. You fear that everything that happens to you is because you are not good enough, that you were created a way that's a burden towards everyone, isn't that right?)

“I told you to leave me alone, dammit!” The girl hissed through gritted teeth, moving away and turning herself from her reflection, reaching out for the golden doorknob and not daring to be there for even more than a second. She was about to turn the knob and run out of the room, however before she could do anything, she heard a voice quietly whisper from the mirror.

If you want me to, I can help you escape from it all.

The subtle message caused the girl to slowly turn around and see her other self smiling, her eyes no longer looking evil, but now holding a sense of duty and selflessness. With this generous look, the girl herself refused to leave the room and only could see this loving look as though this ghost truly meant no harm at all.

(I know you've been hurting...I know that, deep down, you've been keeping secrets, those of which you do not want exposed. There is a part of you that longs for redemption, that wishes for compassion and true understanding. If you allow me to, I will help you move away from their awful words, and I will show you that you can be loved.)

Reluctance still tugged at the girl's heartstrings, and she wasn't exactly sure that this was the right thing to do, however her reflection seemed sincere. The eyes that once held no remorse seemed to be completely sympathetic, and it was like she actually understood her.

“Why...why would you want to help someone like me?” She asked, and the other girl simply laughed softly before leaning in the closest she could towards the thin line of the mirror.

(Why you may ask? Because, dear child...I am you. We are one and the same, everything you feel, I feel as well. As long as you can trust me, I will promise that our own bond will never break. Besides, how can you trust anyone else but yourself?)

Those words echoed inside the girl's mind, and she realized then that her reflection was telling the truth. She needed to trust in her own self so she could become better, and with that, she nodded in understanding.

“Yes...yes I know what you want me to do now. Just tell me what you want me to know and I will follow.”

Smiling wider, the ghostly version of herself pulled her finger into her own direction, as though wanting her other self to come closer to the mirror.

(Why don't you come a little closer, so I can tell you what you need to do...?)

The girl walked towards the mirror and noticed that the smile that was once on the other's face seemed to simply go away, and the two were close enough to each other that they could feel each other's breathing. Swiftly and without caution, the girl within the mirror outreached her hands to where they went through the glass and she grabbed a hold of the victim's shoulders, pulling her inside the mirror and throwing her inside. She watched as the girl rolled away from her, and she didn't say a single word as she leaped out of the mirror world and went into the physical one, landing onto the floor and wall of the bathroom and moving around.

The first girl however stood up and noticed that she was imprisoned within this room, where the closet she could be to reality was the line of the mirror where her bitter reflection once stood, and she banged her fists viciously against it as her anger poured out.

“What did you do to me? Why did you pull me into your world?! Let me go!” She screamed, banging harder and harder as the glass did not break. It could only bounce away her blows, and she knew then that there was nowhere to escape. She was forever a prisoner.

The confident-looking girl, however, could only laugh hysterically as the booms of thunder roared within the nightly skies. She placed her hands upon her hips and watched a desperate version of herself try to break her way through the mirror, and those frightened eyes of hers did not seem the least bit calm.

(I have altered you. You will no longer need to feel the pain and suffering of this world, for I will take over and become the part of you that you never dreamed you'd be. Now you will understand the torment I have felt by staying in that blasted mirror for so long...and you don't have to witness those terrible words anymore.)

“Let me go! I don't want to be here for the rest of my life...let me out!”

Walking towards the door and continuing to show victory, she turned out the light and opened the door. However, before she walked out the door, she snickered one last time and ignored the other girl's screams.

(After all, we are one and the same...there are just parts of us that are better than others.)