Chapter 4

After that night, I stop looking at mirrors.

Not dramatically. Not all at once.

At first, it's just a habit— lowering my eyes when I pass glass, turning my face away from windows, covering the bathroom mirror with a towel. I tell myself it's temporary.

It isn't.

Reflections feel... aware now.

Like they're waiting for me t notice.

Days pass. Slowly. Heavily.

And with each day, pieces of my past begin to surface— uninvited.

They don't come as thoughts.

They come as scenes.

I see a child.

A little girl, barefoot, laughing.

She's playing in a small yard, her mother watching nearby, smiling softly. The sun is warm. The air feels safe. Then the father joins— lifting the girl, spinning her around until her laughter turns breathless.

Father: My little princess.

For a moment, everything is whole.

Then the girl notices a door.

Black. Tall. Wrong.

It stands at the edge of the house, untouched by light.

Curiosity pulls her closer.

Mother: Don't. (She says sharply.)

The girl stops.

Mother: That room is cursed. (She continues, fear bleeding into her voice.) If you go there... something bad will happen.

The girl doesn't touch the door.

She just stands there.

Staring.

And then—

Everything shatters.

The scene twists violently.

I see men shouting. Voices raised in anger. The father is on the ground.

Blood.

Too much blood.

A knife flashes.

When the mother runs to him, screaming, they laugh. Hands grab at her clothes. They mock her terror, pull, tear—

She breaks free.

She runs.

Her foot catches on something unseen.

She falls.

Her head hits the ground with a sound that still echoes in my skull.

She doesn't move again.

I can't breathe.

I watch the little girl scream.

She runs.

They follow.

Footsteps pounding behind her.

Before collapsing completely, the mother lifts her head just enough to speak.

Mother: Go. (She breathes.) Go to the dark room. Live.

The girl sobs, shaking, but she obeys.

She opens the black door. The room inside is cold.

Empty.

Except for one thing.

A massive mirror, standing against the far wall.

The moment her eyes meet her reflection—

Lightning crashes.

The windows explode outward, glass raining through the room like knives. Every mirror shatters into pieces—

Every mirror except one. The big one. Still standing. Still reflecting.

But the reflection isn't right.

It smiles.

The men burst into the room.

They don't even have time to scream.

Their bodies jerk violently— like something grabs them from within. Their shadows peel away from them, twisting, screaming without sound.

Then—

They vanish.

Gone.

No bodies.

No blood.

Just silence.

The girl collapses.

Her hand lands on a shard of glass.

Blood spills across the floor.

She cries— small, broken sounds in the dark.

That's when the reflection speaks.

"You don't need to be scared anymore."

It's voice is gentle.

"I will protect you."

The reflection kneels, pressing its palm against the glass.

"I will devour every dark soul that wants to hurt you."

"Every thought that wishes you harm."

The girl shakes, terrified, alone, bleeding.

"All you need to do..." The reflection whispers.

"Is agree."

The darkness closes in.

The girl can't think. Can't breathe.

The room feels too big.

The mirror feels too close.

The reflection waits.

Her vision blurs. Her ears ring.

She nods.

Not because she understands— but because she is alone.

The moment she agrees, the darkness swallows everything.

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