03/09/2025
Continuation:
Chapter 2 â The Doctor
The door opened with its usual hiss. Dr. Ellery walked in, calm, clinical, clipboard in hand.
âGood morning, Mara,â he said.
She hated the name on his tongue.
âIâm not sick!â she shouted. âYouâre holding me here against my will!â
Dr. Ellery didnât flinch. âYouâve said that before. But Mara, thatâs not your real name. You took it from the woman you killed in the accident. The life youâve been livingâher husband, her job, her smile in photographsâit was never yours.â
Mara shook her head violently. âYouâre lying!â
âThen why,â he asked softly, âcanât you remember your own name?â
Her throat closed. She couldnât answer.
Behind him, the mirror grinned.
⸝
Chapter 3 â The Truth
That night, Mara woke to find the mirror glowing faintly. She approached it, trembling.
Her reflection leaned forward, lips curling.
âI told you, didnât I? Youâre not Mara. Youâre me.â
The glass rippled like water. Her reflection reached out. She should have run, but she didnât. Fingersâher own fingersâclutched her wrist and pulled.
Darkness swallowed her.
When she opened her eyes, she was sitting on the chair. But the room was no longer white. It was warm, full of colorâframed photos on the walls, a sofa, childrenâs toys scattered. Her home. Maraâs home.
She exhaled in reliefâuntil the door opened.
Dr. Ellery entered, clipboard in hand. âGood evening⌠Mara.â
And behind him, in the mirrorâs glass, her real self was strapped in a hospital bed, screaming soundlessly for someone to let her out.
-END-
