Obstacles of Normality |A Fairy Tail Love Story|

Chapter 16: Doppelganger

Dark. It was so dark. Nothing occupied the hollow expanse that gaped in every direction. A foreign sensation vibrated the marrow in my bones. It was an odd feeling, nothing like I'd ever experienced before. I seemed to be disconnected from the physical form one calls a body, hovering above it, free from the confines of flesh and limb. Euphoric, that's what it was. I felt at peace here, drifting aimlessly through the vacant void.

I could stay, I thought, and be perfectly content.

Cranium rocked to the right, then the left. Something separated from the nothing. At first, it was no more than a blur, a shimmering haze of ivory and golden rose. Then, it solidified; extremities from the milken hues and vibrant locks transformed into a fluid by the caress of an unseen force. What I had thought was shadow was not the abyss at all, but rather garments of clothing. They were beautiful in their mysterious grandeur, within the billowing sleeves and flutter of the long scarf secured around the slender waist. This figure radiated femininity and... familiarity. Yes, even without a face, something came off habitual about the willowy frame and the gentle slope of the hips from behind.

I know this woman.

I seemed to glide as I proceeded. Petite feet fell soundlessly unto the nothingness. Each step seemed to take me in the opposite direction, the female neither drawing nearer or farther.

Who are you?

I hadn't spoken aloud—I'm sure I didn't, yet the pair of shoulders swiveled. Copper tresses swirled whimsically, tangling around her graceful neck and features as if submerged in calm waters. Once more, her identity remained concealed. Seemingly captured in a current, the threads of red gold submitted. A pale complexion stared back. That freckled nose, prominent cheekbones, a frown that seemed to perpetually tug at the corners of her mouth. This girl was me, yet... not.

The pair of orbs reflecting my image were not the piercing emerald hues that went unexplained by my ancestry—well, one was. The remaining eye, the one I went to such lengths to conceal, was no longer a crudely speckled anomaly. Instead, the earthen pattern usurped the foresty tones from the iris. They were wild and severe, storming with an emotion that had yet to be named by the human tongue.

The ghost of a smile danced on her lips—my lips, cruel and gentle all at once, "Get up."

"Get up!"

Blink. Blinkblinkblink. Azure presented itself to my half-lidded eyes, untainted exempt a handful of plush shapes meandering across the infinite expanse. Shadows intruded on the serene color, first one, two, then that number doubled. Individual features shimmered, swimming in and out of focus. One with golden hair leant in, full lips moving, yet the mouthed words fell mute. I could hear nothing past the steady ringing that reverberated violently inside my skull. It then occurred to me that I was being shaken, not roughly, but far more than something that could lull one to sleep. Suddenly, my senses came rushing back to me; the unwavering security of the cool stones on my back, mingled pleas, and a bitter taste lingering unwantedly on my tongue. I shot to an upright position, ribs rattling with violent coughs. A warm hand massaged circles into my seizing shoulders. The last droplets of water were expelled from my lungs with a joyous wheeze. I never would have thought the air could taste so sweet!

"Are you ok?! What happened?!"

I gazed up at the one who had spoken. His locks glowed like a pinken halo about his spikey head. Some moments passed before I dared test my vocal chords, "I... I— "Another wave of spasms assaulted the back of my throat. Deciding my voice box was not going to cooperate, I abdicated to croak out a single word: