Mirror Image

XXVIII: Inside My Haunted Head

A gentle breeze whispered across his face, cool air tickling his nose and stirring him awake. Sonic peeled his eyelids open slowly to see blue drapes fluttering in the wind. Golden light streamed through the open window, and Sonic slowly lifted himself onto his elbows.

This was his bedroom. There could be no mistaking the cobalt blue walls and red carpet, the dirty gloves and socks tossed haphazardly at the laundry basket with only a modicum of accuracy, or the wall of photos, newspaper clippings and accolades for his heroic deeds.

Sonic smiled a little to gaze upon his wall of fame again. He may not have been interested in the material rewards of heroism, but he loved the attention and fame it brought him.

But as he considered the room around him, he also considered how he had ended up back at home. He wondered if the past few days had been nothing but a feverish nightmare induced by one too many chili dogs.

The thought of those delicious dogs made his stomach growl, and his mouth watered in anticipation. Leaping off the bed, he slipped on a fresh pair of gloves and sneakers and headed for the door, almost dragged along by his ravenous stomach. He would worry about the hows and whys of his situation after he got some food inside him.

As he reached for the door handle, something caught the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the corner of the room where his full length mirror usually stood.

An old white sheet, caked in dust and cobwebs, hung limply over the whole thing, looking like a tall ghost doing a poor job of haunting him.

"That's weird," Sonic said aloud, "why's that covered up?"

He approached the sheet, ready to throw off the dirty covering. He needed that mirror to make sure he didn't have bed quills, or anything stuck in his teeth. He may have been a slob when it came to laundry, but no-one would ever catch him looking anything less than spectacular.

But with each step he took he felt his heart grow faster, his breath grow louder and dryer, and his fur tingle across his skin. For some reason, his nerves rose and rose in fear with every cautious movement towards the covered mirror. He reached out, his trembling hand mere inches from his goal.

The sound of the door opening downstairs startled him, and he span around, all thought of the mirror rapidly vanishing from his mind, replaced by a new and exciting conclusion.

"Tails!" Sonic cried, rushing to his door and throwing it open. He dashed for the stairs, leaping onto the handrail and sliding along the polished wood. Landing with a thud at the bottom, he looked up, his body quivering with excitement at the thought of seeing Tails again.

The person standing in the porch did not resemble Tails. A male Mobian hedgehog stood before Sonic, looking at him with green eyes and a self-assured grin. In the cool darkness of the porch Sonic could still make out the colour of the male's fur.

Blue.

"Hi Honey, I'm home!" said the other Sonic.

"Oh, no... not again," sighed Sonic, his heart grinding to a petrified halt, "not you."

"Is that anyway to greet your husband, Sonic?" said the other as he took a few steps towards him. Sonic tried to run, to turn and flee from the exact double, but his legs didn't respond. He felt rooted to the spot, and could only look down at his right hand.

A simple gold band with a sapphire inlay wrapped itself around his ring finger.

"What?!" said Sonic, "that wasn't there before!"

"Of course it was, sweetheart," said the other Sonic, holding up his hand to show a matching ring, "we've been together two years now, remember?"