Mirrorless

Prologue

Yellow, orange, black,
A fascinating flame.
Quivering, burning,
The smell of burnt wax.

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A loud crash. The tinkling of glass. Hot waves of pain. A ringing in her ears. A wetness on her face, her body. Above all, darkness. A darkness so thick it swallowed her, her senses, everything. And finally, numbness.

She sat up, her chest heaving. The clock on her night stand read 1:00 AM. She closed her eyes for a moment, processing what had just happened.

'Its a nightmare, nothing else. I'm okay.'

She opened her eyes, running her sleeve across her face. Her chocolate hair was plastered to her face with sweat. Taking slow, deep breaths, she drew her legs close to her, resting her head on her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"Its just a nightmare. Everything's okay. I'm okay. I'm not hurt."

She looked around, the familiar sight of her bedroom calming her down.

'I'm okay.'

She slid off her bed, silently padding to out of her room to the kitchen. Taking a few gulps of cool water, she sat down on the counter, her head in her hands.

'What was that dream?'

She shook her head, trying to push the nightmare out of her thoughts. She got up off the counter and walked to the couch, curling up in a corner. Slowly but eventually, she fell asleep in her own embrace.