"Good morning, Alice," A sinister voice said as its eyes pierced through Alice's soul.
"Aaaaargh!!!" Alice screamed at the horrific sight that was before her. In an attempt to step back, she tripped and fell on her butt with a loud thud.
"There's nowhere to run, Alice. You're mine!" It said with a wide grin.
***
Earlier that morning, Alice woke up with more difficulty than she usually would. She had been awake till quite late the previous night and if anything, she wished she could cuddle her pillow for even longer, forever maybe. But her alarm wouldn't hear it. It continued to ring so fervently, that Alice believed it found joy in making her mornings miserable. On days like this, it sounded louder than it normally would, like a soldier running at opposition fire, screaming at the top of his lungs to drown out whatever doubts screamed in his head. Just like that, her alarm clock rang, louder than normal, for it was for days like this it was born.
Reluctantly, she found her way off her bed, after turning off her alarm of course. More times than she could count, she had almost smashed her alarm clock, but she spared it each time, as she preferred it to being woken by her foster mum. That way, she'd save her the stress of having to pretend like she cared. Her dad wasn't exactly an early bird either, something she probably inherited from him even though she wasn't as bad, so there was no way he'd come in to wake her first. She made her way to the bathroom to freshen up for school. As she entered her room from the bathroom, she felt a slight sting on the left side of her forehead, covered by her frontal hair. She tried to feel for it but couldn't exactly make out what it was. She didn't remember hitting her head but it felt like she did. Probably she fell over while asleep.
She walked towards her mirror, raising her hair to see what scars laid underneath but she couldn't see anything wrong. Something was quite off, however. She felt like her reflection was staring at her, quite intensely, like it was someone else on the other side of the mirror. She shivered at the thought. In a bid to confirm her fears, she made varying gestures and her reflection reacted the same. She wasn't quite satisfied, but so far, there was nothing to worry about. But how wrong she was.
"Good morning, Alice," her reflection said in a sinister tone, as its eyes pierced through Alice's soul. She was dumbfounded at the event that unfolded before her. But she snapped out of it as her human instinct kicked in.
"Aaaaargh!!!" Alice screamed at the horrific sight that was before her. In an attempt to step back, she tripped and fell on her butt with a loud thud.
"Alice! Is everything alright!" Her foster mum called out from below.
"Yes! I just tripped!" Alice replied hurriedly in a bid to dissuade her from coming to check what the matter was. She didn't want anyone to see this, not even her parents. Everyone saw her as a freak, with little or no proof, for as long as she could remember. Imagine if they saw this. That would just spell the end for her.
"Okay!" Her foster mum called out again. That part was settled. All that was left was for her to figure out what laid in front of her.
"There's nowhere to run, Alice. You're mine!" It said with a wide grin. Why would her own reflection claim possession of her? If anything, she owned her reflection. It didn't exist without her. Without her. And then it hit her. She was responsible for what was happening. The ritual she performed at night was what resulted into this, which meant it was her creation. And her creation could not have more power than her. With that thought, the fear she felt disappeared and she was back to her usual impassive self.
She walked up towards her mirror, facing it squarely, inspecting of every inch of her reflection. "Hmm, you look just like me. What are you, really?" Alice asked, without any fear or hesitation.
"What do you mean, look like you? You're the one that resembles me, human. And why do you seem surprised? You're the one who summoned me," It replied with a mirthless smile.
"Oh, that. That was an accident actually. Can we talk about this later? I'm getting late. Last thing I want is Miriam coming here," Alice said rolling her eyes distastefully. She walked away from the mirror and continued about her business as she prepared for school. Her reflection in the mirror stared at her in utter bewilderment.
"You're a strange one, I have to say." Her reflection said as Alice left the room for school.
"I get that a lot. What do I call you, though?" Alice asked, peeking back into her room.
"Heress."