Ren was breathing heavily, as if the air in the room had become unnaturally thick. The closer he got to the truth of that mirror, the more he felt the world around him begin to fade away. The man with the red face was still standing there, staring at him from behind his mysterious mask, as if he knew everything that was going on in Ren's mind.
"What is happening? Why does everything seem wrong?"
As he moved closer to the mirror, images of past events from his life began to reflect back at him, but he couldn't remember them clearly. The images were filled with blurry details; the faces of his friends and family looked distorted and unclear. Slowly, the images began to fade away until they completely vanished.
"You were never here."
Ren stopped moving for a moment. His words pierced his mind like an arrow. What did he mean he was never here? Was all of this just an illusion? He remembered every moment he had lived since entering the cabin, every moment of fear he had felt, every secret he had uncovered, and every step toward the truth. But those moments started to feel distant, as if they had never existed at all.
"What do you mean?! I'm here; I feel everything!"
The man with the red face smiled from behind his mask and slowly nodded his head.
"You feel, yes, but that is not proof of your existence. Look around you. Does this place seem real?"
Ren cast a quick glance around him. The room that had been filled with things he thought were real now looked as if it was collapsing, turning to ash, fading into the air. Even the ground he stood on began to feel foggy; he no longer felt its solidity beneath his feet.
"No... this is impossible. This can't be real!"
The man with the red face approached slowly, as if each step he took carried with it unwelcome answers.
"The truth, Ren, is that you have never been in this place. You are dead."
His words fell like a thunderbolt to Ren's heart. Dead? What did he mean by that? This couldn't be real. Everything, from the moment he set foot in the cabin, had felt real, like he was experiencing something genuine.
"No... I can't be dead... I am alive... I feel...!"
The man with the red face laughed softly, as if everything was just a game to him. He moved toward the mirror and pointed at it with his finger.
"Look at yourself. This is the only truth you have."
When Ren looked into the mirror, he saw something unbelievable. Instead of his reflection, he saw his body lying on the ground, his face pale and his eyes closed. It was the moment he realized that what he was seeing was his body after death.
"Impossible... that's not me... I can't be dead..."
But deep down, Ren began to feel the truth. Everything from the beginning had been an illusion, a journey toward discovering the truth about himself and what had happened to him. He now remembered the moment he had the accident and how his life had ended suddenly, but his mind was unable to accept it.
"You tried to escape from the truth, but now you know."
The world around him began to fade rapidly, as if everything was dissipating into the air. The ground, the walls, the ceiling, and even the man with the red face-all of it was slowly disappearing.
"This is death... so... all of this was... just an illusion..."
Ren closed his eyes for a moment, as if finally surrendering to what was happening.
YOU ARE READING
The Candle And The Boy
Mystery / Thriller"The Candle And The Boy" is a profound psychological drama that tells the story of Ren, a young man living in a reality intertwined between life and death. After facing a mysterious death, Ren begins to search for the truth behind his demise, uncove...
