Raincoat

Denial

                                                                  chapter ten

I knock on the door to Vanity's room. She doesn't answer. After knocking again I hear a faint sigh coming from the other side of the door. Soon enough, the door opens and I see a very tired, and very hopeless Vanity look back at me. It's quiet for a moment, neither of us really wanting to say anything. It's just like that time in the elevator when she first took me down to my room. So much has changed in so little time. Her hair was unkempt, she had bags under her eyes, and her kimono had been put on poorly.

Vanity lets me in, not speaking a word. She goes over to her mirror and sits down, leaving me to sit on the bench nearby. We don't say anything, I don't think either of us are ready for what I'm about to ask her to admit. However, if I play my cards right, I might be able to say it's for research and progress, and not let her know that I'm worried about her wellbeing, and think it's best to get rid of the mask completely.

"Vanity..." I spoke, breaking the thick silence in the room. She looked up at me, nodding slightly. I pull out my journal and sigh. "I...I need to ask you some questions about this...shadow following you around..." I say, looking her directly in the eyes. Her breath hitches slightly, knowing exactly what I'm talking about. "I saw it...if...if we want to control this thing I need you to tell me more about it and what it's been doing to you." I scold myself in my head for letting that last part slip out. That didn't sound like it was for research at all, just that it was my own personal concerns. She tears up, beginning to cry on the spot. I tell her that before she says anything, I need to turn to the right page in my journal. I'll finally have some answers.

Entry Number 17

Vanity wipes away her tears, collecting herself. She tells me that she doesn't know the exact day it started, but that it began some time after we found that mask in the library. So she knows what it is...

It is as I suspected, whatever this thing is, it's making her abnormally hungry. I asked her when the last time she had one of these hunger fits was, but what she said surprised me.

She doesn't have fits like Six does.

Her version of hunger was figurative--though she claims it started off as the literal term for hunger.

She says that she has this urge to surround herself with mirrors, that she needs to see herself at any means necessary, even though she never really looks in them that often, and she didn't really care about her looks that much anyway.

That's when I brought up...when I brought up Veronica.(though I don't tell her who the child is)

Vanity tensed, nodding as a way to tell me she knew who I was talking about.
She tells me that this little girl follows her around when she's in a room full of mirrors.

She described veronica perfectly.

When I told her that the little girl she was describing was my daughter, she gasped in surprise.

She really didn't know...

She begs me to help her find out what's happening to her.

When I told her I had seen a similar phantom like being with Six, she nodded.

I tell her that Six had literal hunger fits, where she would barely be able to walk if she didn't get something to eat right away. I tell her that I recently discovered a shadow child following Six around whenever she eats something during her fits.