Stella left work in a daze as she kept checking her rearview mirror during the drive home. She still felt the paranoia lingering around her from the morning and was even more confused after what had happened at work. It was silent, the air was thick as if she were drowning in it. She could feel her heart beating so hard as if it were about to burst right out of her chest! She drove faster, as she raced home hoping the frightening thoughts in her mind would just disappear!
As she arrived home, she quickly parked her car in the parking lot and ran upstairs one flight of stairs to reach her door. Her hands were shaking as she fumbled while trying to unlock the door, but after a few tries she was able to turn the key and enter her apartment. She entered the apartment and went straight to her bed, throwing her body down on the mattress, desperately trying to relax. A few minutes passed by, there was noting but silence in the room, but Stella began to feel an eerie presence coming towards her.
She shut her eyes tightly and decided to ignore the strange feeling she was having because she already so exhausted. She did not want to deal with another nightmare or hallucination, she just wanted this insanity to be over. She pulled the blanket over her body and turned on her side, she also left the light in her room on because she was feeling paranoid. An hour passed by as she laid still in her bed finally beginning to drift off. As she began to fall into a deep sleep, the eerie feeling began to come back, but she was too tired to acknowledge it and fell fast asleep. The room went black as Stella closed her eyes and began to dream. Her dream was very vivid, she saw herself standing in the mirror in complete silence staring into her reflection. Nothing happened in the for a few moments then suddenly something started to be written on the mirror in a red marker. The letters were being formed by themselves as if a ghost were writing it! The letters spelled out I A M Y O U, Y O U A R E M E! "whaaaaattt!?" Stella yelled out as she jumped back from the mirror against the bathroom wall before waking up in a rush from her nightmare. Sweat dripped down her face as she looked down at her body, realizing she was still in bed and just had another terrible nightmare.
She turned over to her side, tightly shutting her eyes trying desperately to go back to sleep! A few moments passed and she still wasn't getting any rest, but she continued to keep her eyes closed while trying to clear her thoughts. The room was quiet, but Stella was frozen in place as he still body became overcome with tension. She tried to not let her paranoia get the best of her as she felt a hand being slowly placed on her shoulder "It's not real! It's not real!" Stella whispered to herself.
She laid still in her bed with the mysterious hand still resting on her shoulder as her body become paralyzed. She suddenly felt a weight pushing down on her as her muscles tightened as if someone or something was holding her down forcefully. The room became warmer as the heat made its way to her skin and the air around her became thick and suffocating. The hand on her shoulder tightened its grip as it dug its nails deeper into her skin.
She let out a gasp and small screech due to the pain that was being inflicted on her shoulder. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she felt thick streams of blood dripping down her shoulder and back. She still repeated the same three words to herself, even when experiencing psychical pain "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real" she continued to whisper to herself. Her heartbeat started to escalate as her chest started to tighten while she let out small, quicks breaths in panic! The pain continued, as she remained mumbling those words to herself as if it were going to save her.
After a minute or two the pain slowly started to fade. Stella could no longer feel the pain on her skin or the feeling of dripping blood down her back. She was able to catch her breathe once again as she slowed her breathing and began taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. The room was quiet, her tears left wet stains on her face as her eyes swelled and her vision started to blur. The sound of her heart beating was echoing in her ear, her heart rate was starting to slow down, but was still pounding in her ears.
She slowly placed one of her hands on her shoulder and felt around for any injury, but there was no trace of blood or nail marks at all. She slowly lifted her body from the bed, forcing herself to sit up straight as her head still hung low as she stared down at the blanket that was resting on her lap. She was afraid to look up, she was afraid of what she might see when she lifted her head up. She closed her eyes, counted to three and took a long, deep breath. She finally lifted her head slowly as her eyes were still filled with tears as it blurred her vision. As she looked up, she blinked a few times to get a clear view of the room, but nothing was there.
Stella let out a breath of relief and she fell back onto to the bed as she rested her head on the pillow. She turned her head to the left only to be facing he altered reflection in the shape of the person laying on the bed next to her! She jumped up in an upright position as she became overcome with fear! Before she could scream, the creature began to speak.
"Before you scream, just listen to me first. Also, you can call me "Selene" I believe we've met before." The altered reflection said with a smirk on her face. Stella froze in place as she failed to properly react. She was unable to scream and unable to answer Selene. She just sat still like a statue without making a single noise or movement. Then after a few moments Stella broke the silence. "You can't be real; you must just be a figment of my imagination and I'm just crazy enough to talk to it!" Stella said as her body trembled, and her voice cracked.
Selene looked at Stella with a smug look on her face and replied "Well whatever you see me as is fine. But just know that I am here and since I'm here right now, let's chat."