Fragile mirror

Prologue

Prologue.

Toby sat in the waiting room waiting for the doctor to arrive. When he finally appeared, Toby quickly ran up to him and grabbed hold of his robe. "H-how's Mom?". Asked Toby, hoping for the best. The doctor took off his mask and replied: "No change. She's still in a coma... Her condition is critical". Toby loosened his grip and took two steps back. He sat down on the seats and wrapped his paws around his head and began to sob with the realization that his mother was on the verge of life and death. The silence was interrupted by the doctor. "Toby. Listen to me carefully... This is the second day you've been here. Go home. Sitting here and putting yourself in this condition is not going to help your mom...". The doctor pointed at Toby, who was looking more and more exhausted and pale by the hour.... The doctor looked at Toby, waiting for some kind of response, but he in turn just looked at the floor and sobbed. Sighing, the doctor turned around and left, unable to help him in any way....

After sitting up all night, Toby fell asleep. He had a dream. Toby was standing in a long, small room. The walls and floor were white. As he looked around, he noticed paintings hanging on the wall opposite each other. As he walked down the long hallway and looked at the paintings, tears ran down his eyes. The paintings depicted Toby's most vivid memories. As he walked further down the hallway, he noticed one of them. It was a picture of him learning to ride a bike with his mom...

Flashback:

"On the count of three, I'm going to let go of hands, okay?". Asked Tori to her son. Toby, turning to his mom with a frightened face, nodded. "One... Two...". Tori started counting. "Wait mom, I.....". Before Toby could finish the sentence, Tori shouted: "THREE!". And let her hands off the bike. Little Toby tried to keep his balance, but all was unsuccessful. Falling forward, he quickly got up and walked over to his mom. "I'll never learn to bike!". Said Toby angrily to his mom. Tori only giggled in response to his statement. "Trust me, you will learn. And when you learn, we'll ride our bikes around town together". Said mom, trying to cheer Toby up. "Really?". Asked Toby to his mom with interest. "Really". Said Tori, hugging her son...

End of flashback:

Remembering those moments made him feel better. As he reached the end of the corridor and looked at the many paintings, he noticed a change. All the paintings disappeared, leaving him in an empty corridor. A door labeled "Exit" appeared next to Toby. Opening the door and looking inside, he saw the same small room with the same walls and floors. Opening the door wider, he saw a silhouette in the middle of the room that looked like.... Mom?

Mom just stood there staring into the void, not noticing anything around her. "Mom?". Toby called out. When she heard someone calling her, she turned toward where Toby was standing. Noticing him, she smiled. "Hi son". She said. Toby couldn't believe his eyes. "I have to go... I'll see you again...". Said Tori, starting to disappear. "NO! WAIT DON'T GO!". Shouted Toby, running up to his mother. He tried to grab hold of her, but he didn't have time.... The room abruptly began to change its appearance. Everything around it began to shake and collapse. There were big cracks on the walls and holes on the floor. Toby stumbled backwards and fell through one of the holes. As he fell he screamed...

Waking up in a cold sweat, Toby opened his eyes abruptly and looked around. There was a dog standing beside him, trying to bring him to his senses. "Woke up. Thank goodness... Are you alright?". Asked the dog, trying to figure out why Toby was suddenly screaming. Toby tried to say something and opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. The dog brought some water to his mouth and gave him a few sips before pulling away from him. Breathing heavily, Toby apologize: "Sorry... *Cough* Just a bad dream... Sorry to bother you". After saying that, he stood up and quickly left, not knowing where he was going.