The Magic Behind Her Eyes

Chapter 7: Azelrya

Reina stared at the creature standing in front of her. Her mind raced in so many different directions, her feet were frozen to the ground. She needed to think. To assess the strange situation taking place. The nearest phone was in the kitchen table, she couldn't figure out if there was enough time to take it and call the police.

"Police? You're going to die. You should be running for your life," Ana's voice appeared, probably in the worst possible time.

Reina stood there for a few seconds, staring at the pointy ears protruding out of the creature's head. The black messy hair which looked so similar to her mother's hair when unwashed. In fact, it was wearing her mother's clothes. That was her dress and cardigan. She blinked a few times and the creature started disappearing, the oddly shaped eyes and nose started changing shape and its nails started to shrink.

Within a matter of seconds it was her mother standing in front of her again. All her features returned, except her hair left unchanged. Reina was at a loss of words. Was she hallucinating? Her mother walked past her without saying a word. As if nothing had happened.

"Where are you going?" Reina asked, surprising herself. She didn't think she would have the courage to speak at all.

"To sleep," her mother replied. Her voice was exactly the same.

"Aren't you going to ask what happened to me?"

Her mother stopped for a brief moment and looked at her this time, barely meeting her gaze.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm soaking wet?"

Another moment of silence.

"Just get washed and wear some new clothes," she finally replied.

But that wasn't what Reina wanted to hear. She had never once understood her mother, never managed to talk to her. She always thought they were similar in some ways. Maybe she felt misunderstood by everyone as well, but she was exhausted from trying to understand. From trying not to hate her. Tears welled up in Reina's eyes. There was only one way to figure out who that was.

"Mum, what would you do if I was gone?"

Reina took a bag from her room and placed some snacks inside, "what would you do?"

She looked at the bag and looked back at her again, "is that all you're going to take?"

Reina shook her head, "tell me not to go."

She almost begged.

"If you tell me not to go, I won't go."

Reina wanted to disappear right there and then. All she wanted to do was come back home. To ignore everything that was going on. To ignore Ana and her annoying remarks, to sit in her bed and stare into space, cooped up in her room. Except, this didn't feel like home. It didn't feel like anything. She would happily waste her life away but something inside her was changing. In her world of darkness, someone had shone a beam of light. And it was terrifying.

"Sweetheart, I don't know if you'll believe this," her tone was cold and sharp, "but you should've left a long time a go."

And that was exactly what her mother would have said.

Tears ran through her eyes but her heart felt so hardened that she couldn't feel the piercing of the pain in her chest anymore. She ran out, quickly climbing up the stairs until she reached a balcony at the top of the apartment. Her hair moved with the wind and despite the cold breeze, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. She sat on the edge, her feet dangling down and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Ana's voice appeared again.

"Don't."

Ana looked down for a moment, "you know even if you jump, you're not going to die. It's not high enough."