Harper flew through the house and into the darkness of her room. Tears streamed down her flushed face and she curled in on herself. As she buried her face in the Winnie the Pooh pillow she'd had since she was seven, all she could do was mentally scream WHY?!?! at the god she didn't believe really existed. Harper hadn't done anything that bad, right? Really, what had she done to deserve all of this?
A knock sounded at her door.
"Harper?" Her mother's voice came muffled from the other side. "Harper, honey? Are you okay?"
Harper sniffled and took a deep breath. "Yes, Mom, I'm fine. Just a bit of a rough day. Did you need something?"
Silence met her. Then a shuffle. "Well, I got a call from your principal today." Harper froze. Crap. She hadn't thought about that. A pause. More shuffling. "Harper, is there something going on?"
Harper sat up, clutching the pillow to her chest. She debated what she should tell her mom. Should she lie about the fact that she was failing all her classes? Despite her caring actions, her mother had no tolerance for Harper's 'rebellious phase' and told Harper to stop faking everything and get her life together.
"Harper?" Her mother's voice came again. "Um, yeah," Harper began. "I'm not doing so well in my classes. But it's okay," she added quickly, "I'm getting help. I'm going in early and staying late every day next week."
Harper held her breath as her mother's stillness resounded deafeningly in her ears.
"Is that going to be enough?" Her mother questioned skeptically.
"If it's not, I'll stay the week after, too," Harper assured her. She breathed a sigh of relief at her answer.
"Yes...Okay, yes, that's fine. Dinner's at six." She walked off, leaving Harper to wallow in her sadness alone.
Harper crawled off the comfort of her bed and walked over to the floor length mirror hanging on the back of her door. Her stringy, dirt-brown hair hung in knots to her elbows, and he bony shoulders were shaking ever so slightly. Her pale face, previously a blotchy red from crying, had a haunted looked upon it, her empty grey eyes hollowed out on her triangular face. Harper glared at her reflection, wishing desperately that she could be someone else. Turning abruptly, she searched the room for her paints. She found them in a corner under a pile of colored pillows, the only source of color in her room. Pulling out the necessary hues and her favorite brush, she returned to the horrible, truth-revealing reflector and set to work.
When she finally finished and took a step back to examine her work, it was almost as though she had a new face. The girl looking back at Harper was beautiful. She had waist-length wavy, golden hair, eyes the color of a summer sky, a dazzling, pearly-toothed smile, and an hourglass figure. She was the epitome of perfection. And, Harper noticed, she was happy. Harper almost hated her. But not quite, because who could hate an angel just fallen from heaven? Staring at the painting, Harper imagined that she was the angel, that she was the epitome of perfection. That she was the loved one.
The image suddenly came to life before her, mimicking Harper's every move. Harper flipped her hair, so did the angel. Harper batted her lashes and smiled flirtatiously, the angel did the same. An idea popped into her head, and she grinned conspiratorially. She flipped her middle finger up at the reflection. The angel looked appalled at Harper's action, only slightly surprising her. After all, she was an angel; angels didn't do that kind of thing.
Chuckling softly to herself, Harper left her room for a rotten dinner of stale crackers and week-old soup. After a silent, awkward supper across from her stone-faced mother, Harper returned to her gloomy room. Walking over to her dresser, she rummaged through the many knick-knacks and CDs, finally finding the one she was looking for. She placed the CD in her stereo and turned the volume up to full blast, her favorite band serenading her lonely demons.
Flopping onto the threadbare rug in the center of her room, Harper closed her and imagined what life would be like if she'd been born the angel. Maybe she'd have lots of friends, a kind mother and father who cared about her well-being, a sister with whom to stay up late giggling over gossip, and boys waiting in line to address her every need. Maybe she'd be happy and maybe she'd laugh more and maybe she'd take more chances, maybe, maybe, maybe.
Harper rose, bringing her wishful thinking to an close, instead choosing to study the painted reflection. She smiled softly at the picture, then lowered her blue eyes, long lashes fanning out over her delicate cheekbones. She waved tentatively, shyness watching over her soft features, and brushed her slender fingertips against the smooth glass.
The image began to morph when Harper touched it. The change was subtle at first. The angel's eyes turned violet, then faded to red, hatred and evil spilling out of them. The porcelain skin was now a sickly yellow, tear tracks running a sad course over the gaunt visage, and the goldenrod hair was tangled and matted.
Harper gaped, aghast at the change the angel had made. The image came to life then, it seemed, taking on the likeness of a demon girl. Worthless! it yelled. You are worthless! No one loves you! You may as well be dead, you fat, ugly beast!
All Harper could do was stare in shock, then resignation, not even bothering to protest what she already believed to be true. Hanging her head in shame, Harper returned to her prostrate position on the rug, one slow tear leaking out of her eye and the demon still yelling out cruel declarations.
After what seemed to be years of this torment, Harper finally jumped up and ran over to the mirror, glaring at its hideous form. "Okay! I get it, I suck, I already know that! Just shut up!" Harper screamed at it through her tears. She stopped when a knock at her door interrupted her sobbing cries and the maniacal laughs of the demon.
"Harper?" A voice yelled over the din of the demon and the stereo. "Is everything okay? Who are you talking to?"
Harper turned off the stereo and rubbed the tears away with grimy fingers. Opening her door, she sobbed to her mother, "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm so sorry. I know I'm a horrible daughter and I've been trying g but I know it's just not good enough and I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."
Fresh tears began making their way down Harper's already tear-stained face. Her mother gathered her in a hug and said, "Oh honey, it's okay. I know you've been trying, and I know it's been hard, but keep trying and one day you'll be enough, I just know it."
Harper nodded her head into her mother's cold embrace and then backed away, pointing at the mirror.
"C-can you make it go away?" She whispered, her voice wobbly. Her mother entered her room and looked at where Harper's stubby fingers was pointing. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the mirror.
"Honey, there's nothing there," she finally admitted. Harper returned her teary gaze to the mirror. Yes, the demon was still there, still laughing, but silently now.
It was Harper's turn to look confused. "Y-you don't see her?" She questioned her mother skeptically. Her mother looked upon Harper with pity.
"Child, the only thing I see in that mirror is a sad-faced, scraggly girl who needs a bath."
Harper frowned. She was sure that the demon-girl was real. "O-okay. Never mind. Um, I have homework to do, so...." She trailed off, looking at the older woman expectantly. After giving Harper a questioning look, her mother walked out, closing the thin piece of wood softly.
Harper stared at the demon-girl once more, the mad laughter filling up the desolate silence left in her mother's wake. She pressed her hands over her ears to block out the cackling, but it only grew louder, seeming to come from within. With a shout, Harper angrily threw her fist at the mirror demon. The glass shattered to pieces, destroying the demon-angel girl and falling about her feet.
Harper collapsed on the hardwood floor amongst the shards and cradled her bloody fist to her chest. The o ly sound to be heard was the echoes of the demon girl's trilling voice and Harper's quiet sobs. She rubbed away the tears on her face and swiped her bloodstained hand across the wooden door. Harper only realized what she'd drawn when she finished. It was a rather grotesque-looking human heart, blood still dripping down the wood.
She admired it for a moment, but wondered what kind of insanity possessed her to do that.
Harper froze when she felt a presence, first behind her, then wrapping around her torso. Looking around the room, she stuttered, "W-who's there?" and upon receiving no answer, she quickly stood and backed against a nearby wall. The faintest murmur came, and then a slight movement from the broken mirror on the floor.
Up from the shards came the demon girl, looking as evil as ever. Her high-pitched words rang loud and clear in Harper's ears.
You thought you could get rid of me, she mocked. I am immortal, undefeated, indestructible, eternal. You cannot run from me, worthless wretch.
Harper's tears began to flow again, this time out of fear. The demon girl came closer and twisted her body, arching her neck towards Harper's trembling frame. Reaching forward, she brushed her ghostly fingers along Harper's cheekbone, causing Harper to shudder violently. The demon cackled, obvious enjoyment over Harper's intense discomfort shingles clear in her red eyes.
Harper pressed herself even further into the black wall of her bedroom, trying desperately to get away from this horrifying monster. The tears ran faster down her cheeks now, seeming to create a river around her. The demon only grew closer, and Harper wished herself away to paradise.
Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Harper tried to imagine her happy place, but everywhere she looked, the demon was there as well. The res of Pooh's shirt was the demon's all-seeing eyes, the creamy yellow of her dresser was its repulsive jaundiced skin.
Opening her eyes again, Harper nearly screamed at the look of obliteration on the demon's face. She was terribly close to Harper, and Harper wasn't so sure that her mom was right, that the demon wasn't real. She could feel the thing's hot, sticky breath on her neck, her bony fingers latching onto Harper's wrist.
Harper decided she'd had enough. Growling, Harper shoved the demon-angel away from her. It stumbled back, knocking into the dresser. Nothing moved however, and the demon fell through it and the wall, disappearing temporarily. Harper ran towards her bad, aiming to dive under her bed sheets to block the demon out. It reappeared in front of her, scowling and ready to pounce. The red of its eyes was so much darker now, anger flowing freely from the ruby depths.
Harper shrunk in on herself, trying desperately and failing to become to small for the demon to crush. A phrase her dad used to say when he was visiting came to her. "If you're small and in motion, they can't hit you. You are virtually invincible." Harper hunched over and began running in circles around her room.
The demon chased her for a little bit, then seemed to tire of the game and sat down on Harper's black bedspread. Harper finally noticed, and paused in her persistent circles to study the demon. She almost looked human now. Her terrifying features looked more pitiful and innocent. Harper almost began to feel sorry for the thing.
She reached out a small hand, ready to sympathize with it, as it had been through as much as Harper had, she believed. The angel thing's innocent look immediately disappeared, replaced with a malicious smile. Its snickering swirled around the underlying room and dove into Harper's ears. She shrieked and covered her ears with her tiny hands, trying to keep it out of her head and save her last bit of sanity.
All that did was make the laughter louder, and Harper began to cry for what must have been the twentieth time that day. The demon was slowly approaching Harper's convulsing body and Harper's fear continued to grow. She backed up, and the demon began moving faster towards her.
Turning, she looked around her room for an escape. The door was behind the demon, so that wasn't an option. The only other getaway was her second story window.
Unsure of what to do, she glanced back at the demon, who was now reaching for her neck. Harper make a split second decision in that moment, not pausing to consider the consequences.
She sprinted as fast as she could across the room at the covered glass window. She closed her eyes, preparing for impact. The thing glass shattered around her body as she punctured it and she wrapped herself into a ball.
The wind rushed around her as she fell through the brisk midnight air. Opening her eyes, the only night sky and blurry stars flew around her. Pain cracked through Harper's frail body, jerking her limbs in every direction. Then the world disappeared.
