A Beautiful Mistake

Mistaken Identities

Waking up in a small cosy room under the blankets of a soft bed with rosebud shapes in the doona, I was in a relaxed state from the dreamless slumber I was in. My eyelids fluttered open as I took in my surrounding. But as I looked around the room nausea and fear gripped me like a rope too tight. This wasn't my room. This wasn't my frilly pink nightgown I was wearing. I looked around the room and saw girly things like One Direction posters on the wall and colourful dresses strewn over the on the floor. On the white dresser in the corner was bottles of perfume and pictures of happy faces stuck into the side of it. I peered closely at the pictures.

One was at a park and what looked like a family of 5; a mum with short curly wild hair that caught the rays of the sun and turned it a copper brown with piercing blue eyes. A dad, with a muscular build and strong features; a stubborn but polite expression on his face as he forcefully smiled at the camera with forest green eyes and light brown. A girl, looking around 16. The older sister, I presumed. As I peered closer, was very pretty. She had dark brown hair that was very long and layered down to her waist. Her eyes were full of happiness and a oceanic blue. She had her mothers eyes. She gazed at the camera with a love and a bubbliness that seemed to emanate from inside of her. A brother sat next to the sister, who looked  to be in his 18's. He was very handsome young boy on the verge of becoming a man. He had his fathers sharp jawbones and a smirk-ish expression on his face. A little girl also was there, the younger sister sitting in the front. She was adorable, with her light blonde hair pulled up in two piggytails and tied with pink ribbons. She was clutching a blue teddy bear and smiled up at with a front-toothless grin. I took the picture from it's spot on the mirror and peered at it closer.

As I looked at the older sister again, I could see that she was also in the other photos hanging on her mirror. Some at parties with friends, others at school and holding hands with a boy. 

As my gaze went from picture to picture, the face got even more familiar. She was a familiar person, but a stranger as I have never seen her before. I quickly glanced in the mirror and yelped at the reflection. The girl in all the photos was staring right back at me! I breathed heavily as I raised my hand and touched my face. I smooshed my cheeks and pouted my lips. I played with my dark brown hair and jumped around, just to make sure it was really me in the reflection. Everything I did, the person in the reflection copied everything I did. 

The weirdest sensation fell over me then. A feeling of coldness seeped from my toes and traveled all the way up my spine and into my head. I had no idea who I was. I had no idea WHERE I was. I panicked. It was all too much for me. I stuffed the picture of my supposed "family" into my nightgown pocket. I raced over to the door and yanked it open. The moonlight streaming through my window allowed little light to enter and so a wall of darkness was spread out before me. I peered into the unfamiliar hallway. Absolute and total silence. I glanced back into my room - my alarm clock was red numbers in the darkness. It showed 2:00am in the morning. 

I have to get out of here, I thought. I need to escape and get away from this madness. I creeped out into the hallway, the floorboards creaked under my every step. I was praying that the inhabitants of the house couldn't hear me as I slunk against the walls down the hallway. I walked past a bedroom door, and as I peered in I could see a young boy, not older than 18, slumped gracefully in his bed, his arms outstretched and his legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He was the boy in the picture. Supposedly MY brother. But I have never seen him before. He stirred from his sleep and blinked at me through the darkness.

"Danielle? Is that you?" The boy slurred. He rubbed his eyes.

I squeaked and darted out of sight, thankful to hear that the boy has fallen back asleep. Danielle? Was that my name? Or was it just another lie in this nightmare?

I reached the balcony of the stairs and peered down. To the left, light was coming from a T.V and a man was laying on the couch with a bag of chips perched on his stomach The T.V was muted and he snored loudly and turned over, causing the bag of chips to get crushed between him and the couch. From what I could see of the man, he was the same one in the photo again. He must be the dad. MY dad. But I have never seen him before. So I didn't dare wake him up.

I padded down the stairs with surprising grace, my feet making little pat pat pat noises. I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at my surroundings. To my right was a dining area, with a heavy wooden dining table and a glass chandelier perched above it. The big bay window that was at the far end of the room was open and a steady breeze of wind filtered through, rustling the windows and making the moonlight cast odd shadows across the room. Off to the far right was another room sectioned off by a stone counter top - the kitchen. It's stainless steel saucpans and knives glinted and through rays of light back at me. In the kitchen was a door beside the fridge, one that had a little window in the top and, from what I could see through it, was my ticket out of here. I moved again, and accidentally kicked over a toy robot. Whirring noises pierced the air as the robot screeched "Warning, warning, warning" and flailing it's arms and legs around in a clockwise motion. 

The commotion awoke the man on the couch and he jumped up and yelped, flinging the T.V remote across the room and knocking over a ceramic vase. It smashed to the floor, little fragments flying everywhere. He swore and quickly raced over to pick up the bits. I broke out of my stunned reverie and ran to hide behind one of the dining chairs. The man came over to the still blaring robot and flicked a switch and turned it off. He looked around the dining area and glanced at the kitchen. He shrugged and turned back around to turn the T.V off.

This was my only chance, I thought. I darted up from my hiding spot and raced towards the kitchen. I spun around and hid behind the counter top and bit my lip from crying out loud as I hit my knee on the edge. I could hear the man go silent again and walk towards the kitchen. His footsteps thudded as he walked closer and closer to the bench. I heard a slicing noice and could only assume he has pulled a knife out from the knife holder. This is it, I thought. Whoever these people are, they are keeping me hostage. They played with my mind. Made me thought I was their daughter! The thought was sickening. I had to act fast. There was no way these monsters were taking me down tonight. I squeezed my hands into fists. The man turned the light on, and walked towards the bench again. I closed my eyes and prayed over and over. I chanted over and over in my head please, please, please. 

I suddenly felt very warm. Heat radiated from my palms and I looked down and they were glowing. I gasped.

"What the-" the man started to say, when suddenly big explosion resonated from the T.V area. The man dropped the knife in surprise and ran over. I quickly grabbed the knife in my hands, that were back to normal, and raced to the door. I unlocked the bolt and flung myself out into the night. I glanced back as I did, and I could see smoke rising from the T.V with a big crack running up the screen. The man's hands were in his hair, twisting it into frustrated knots. 

The door slammed shut behind me and I raced out into the night, clutching the kitchen knife in my hand tightly and prayed no one would see me.