"It doesn't make me feel," I said. My voice was flat and exhausted and wavered, but I was more or less determined. The copy saw this, and it lifted its eyebrows in curiosity.
"I don't feel anything within me that is mine anymore. And so I don't care, because I can't. We are both tired. I am tired of spirals. I am tired of being out of control. And if I could feel again, I would be infuriated at how much you know about me, and how easily you and your other version terrify me. Is that enough to satisfy your desire to learn every detail about me?"
Ah, nearly, nearly. The copy shuddered again before leaning close to the edge of the mirror. Intriguing.
"Can the ocean you own kill me directly, even if you cannot?"
Of course.
"So is it true, then, that you own the ocean, but cannot control it?"
The copy said nothing.
"If the ocean is the common denominator of all realms, and you cannot control it even though it is yours, then who can? Who can reel in its power and its influence?"
Mm. The copy grimaced and tapped its fingers again, and something in me but not of me began to pinch my throat closed. It would not let go. And the image in front of me shook and shuddered and let out a long, heavy breath.
Ahh boy. We both have our soft spots now, don't we?
The ocean likes to wash over everything sometimes.
I have no say.
I have no say.
I have no say.
I could not breathe. I could not move. I felt my head growing fuzzy, and my chest began to ache.
I cannot kill you. I am simply not allowed.
But I can hold you still and torture you.
Remember that.
The copy gave me a dry smile with a mouth that looked like mine and tapped and tapped with a hand that looked like mine until my vision began to dim and my awareness began to slip away and the pain in my chest and throat was all but unbearable, and I remember wanting so badly to leave, and needing so badly to meet the ocean, until the last thing I saw was a tired reflection of me smiling and shuddering, and I heard, in the distance, the sounds of rolling waves and bubbling water before I lost consciousness.
YOU ARE READING
Spirals
Mystery / Thrillera traveler explores a labyrinth of brutal realms alone. there is no map. there is no guide from realm to realm. and yet... can the realms be controlled? ~~~ a deep exploration of mental health through metaphors. it is the biggest story i have ever w...
