"So here we are again," a familiar voice said. "You and me... alone."
You closed your eyes tight and tried to ignore the velvet tone whispering in your ears.
"Aww don't be like that," the voice sounded pained. "I thought we're friends? Friends don't ignore."
"You're not my friend." With a deep breath, you opened your eyes and felt bullets of sweat formed from the side of your head. "You're not my friend."
There was silence.
You roamed your eyes around your dim-lighted room until you landed your gaze on the mirror in front of you.
There, staring straight back at you was your very own reflection. A reflection you recognized and had seen countless times: the messy hair, the red-rimmed eyes, the sleeplessness, the anxiety, the pain...
"You're not my friend," you said once again with more conviction, but your voice cracked exposing your innate fear.
Just as the words came out your mouth, a sinister smile drew on your reflection's lips. It stared straight through your soul with judging eyes. The hair on the back of your head stood on ends and a foreboding chill ran down your spine.
"Hello, Darkness, my old friend," it almost sang. "You used to always say that to me. Whatever happened to us, Raul?"
You were nervous. You could feel your heart beating uncomfortably inside your chest. "You're not real. You're not real."
Its dire smile grew wider like it was enjoying the situation. "You're hurting me, you know? Is that how you treat your good friend?"
You put your hands on your head. "Leave me alone. Please, just leave me alone."
"You poor thing," the voice sounded concerned. "What's the matter? You having that 'thing' again?"
You shook your head.
"Don't worry. Let me help you," the voice offered.
"No! Don't!"
"I can make things better, Raul," it continued, ignoring your protest. "You need me."
"I don't need anything from you. Just... just go away!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that for I am part of you, Raul. I am not gonna leave you," the voice answered. "Why do you keep pushing me away?"
"I don't need you... piss off."
"Typical, Raul," the voice sighed. "You always push people away. You have always been anti-social. No wonder no one really likes you."
Its words cut through your heart like a serrated knife. You felt a pang of pain in your chest.
"Remember when you were in first year high school and you don't have any friends? You were an outcast. The freak, the class weirdo. They were saying shit about you. But I stayed with you."
You kept on shaking your head.
"And that time when you cried yourself to sleep every night because you felt non-existent? That your life was meaningless? That nobody really cared? You were probably right. No one did. But I was there with you, keeping you company."
"I don't want your company." As the tears started to well up, you tried to suppress the hurtful memories of your past.
"You don't want my company? Ha!" The reflection stood up, its eyes still piercing. "If I remembered it correctly, it was you who called we when you said you had enough of life. I was there with you, Raul. I was there to comfort you."
