What Have I Become

The Door

Pain. That's the first thing I remeber. A constant throb reaching from my spinning head to my aching feet. I felt as though I had been pushing my body to its limits and finally collapsed. My first instinct was to try and open my eyes, big mistake. I was met with a blinding flash of light and the pain in my head soared to unthinkable heights. A quivering hand reached my head as I tried to stop the world from spinning.
I sat like that for who knows how long, my mind wandering, searching, trying to remeber something about who I was or what I was supposed to be doing. I felt like I was grabbing handfuls of sand, I would think I had something but as I thought more about it, it just slipped through my fingers.
Giving up on trying to remember, I went back to attempting to open my eyes. If I was going to find out anything about where I was or more importantly, who I was I needed to actually look around. Bracing myself for the blinding flash of pain I slowly opened my eyes. Sure enough I faced the same problem I did earlier but I pushed through it. Slowly, but surely I felt my eyes starting to adjust to the harsh light and the pain in my head sudsided to the level of pain I had felt originally. From what I could see, I was in a small white room. The walls, the floor, everything was white. Letting my eyes flit around, I discovered a small bed in the corner. It's colour? White, like everything else.
"Hello?" My voice was scratchy, like it hadn't been used in quite a while. Just how long had I been in this small room?
"Hello Alexia."
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the harsh voice. Atleast I now knew what my name was, it spunded vaugely familier, like something from another life but at the same time I knew it was mine. I looked around wide eyed trying to find the source of the disembodied voice.
"Welcome to your mind."
I felt as though I had just been submerged  in ice cold water. The air was sucked from my lungs, leaving me breathless as I struggled with my emotions.
"What?" I managed to splutter after catching my breath.
"Your goal is to make it through alive and keep your sanity. If you do so succesfully you will be rewarded by being able to reunite with your friends and family."
I heard a click echo through my small room and suddenly the outline of what I assumed to be a door appeared on the wall to my right.
"The door is unlocked but you have a choice. Venture forth or remain in this room. Beyond that door you will face your worst fears and fight for survival. You will be hurt both physically and mentally, so stay vigilant. Good luck."
I sat there with my back against the wall as I let the words resonate in my head. I was so confused of what I could trust as reality, I was doubting my own existence. They had given me a choice, it wasn't much of one but it was a decision I had to make and I had a feeling it wouldn't be the first. I slowly rose to my shaking legs, my mind still racing with questions that the voice had left unanswered.
Turning my attention to the door, I cought a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye, coming from the wall that I had been leaning against. Whipping around to look at it I came face to face with a girl, she seemed about my age, but with her clothing being two sizes two big and hanging off her thin frame it was hard to tell. It seemed as though she was on the other side of a window. She had stringy auburn hair that looked like it used to be pulled back in what looked to be a braid but sinse then most of it had come undone. Her brown eyes were wide and bloodshot as they stared back into my own unwavering.
"Uh- hello." My voice was quiet as I tried to strike up a conversation with this strange girl. Raising my hand to give her a small wave, I stopped abruptly as she did the same. I waved and her actions mimicked mine perfectly. It suddenly dawned on me that this girl didn't just look like me, but she was me.
Being the self conciousness person that I am I quickly ran my fingers through my knotted hair and pulled it back into a tight french braid. This act brought a small smile to my cracked lips. In a moment like this the first thing you would do is fix your hair. That's such an Alexia thing to do.
Now that I had been properly introduced to myself it was time to make a choice. Do I stay in this room, doing nothing and getting no closer to seeing my loved ones or do I take a chance and step through the door, risking everything. The decision really wasn't very difficult, the hardest part was building up the courage to follow through. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, trying to collect my wild thoughts and build up the nerve to take the first step. Reaching out I felt my hand press up against cold stone. Adding a little more pressure I felt the door beginning to move and swing open. Mustering my courage I stepped through the open doorway towards my fears but most importantly, my family.