The Girl, the Lake and the Mansion

In Which Worlds Collapse

Grey clouds swirl around the sky above the park. Birds squawk and chirp happily and a cool breeze is in the air. Kat Lawrence is sitting on a bench, reading a book, her red hair falling above her face. She would have liked to finish reading today, but it's a long book and she's not sure she'll have time. I guess I can go to bed late tonight, she thinks. She pushes her glasses back up to her eyes, as they have slid down her nose. Her earphones blast a pop song into her ears, but she is so engrossed in her book that she can barely hear it. She still knows it's playing, though, and the familiar tune makes her head nod unconsciously.

A crow lands on her bench, but she doesn't notice. It flies away. People come and go around her, and she is the only constant thing in the following hour. But the sun is starting to set, so she folds the corner of the page she was reading, and with a sigh closes the book which she drops into her backpack. She pulls her phone out of the front pocket of her green hoodie and unplugs her earphones, which she wraps up and puts in the front pocket of the backpack along with her phone. She starts her walk home, lost in thought, as she often is. As she passes the lake, she sees something from the corner of her eye which pulls her from her reverie.

An unusual ripple occurs about a meter away from her. She turns, pushes her glasses up again, subconsciously trying to see better. Another ripple, closer. She crouches next to the water, ignoring the middle-aged couple giving her a strange look. A ripple, right in front of her. The water bubbles gently. She stares at her reflection, which is warped by the water's movement. Freckles populate her pale skin and her green eyes look back at her with a strange calmness, to Kat's surprise. She seems peaceful, something she hasn't felt often for the past week. Her mind has been constantly busy, uncontrollable, her thoughts moving faster than she can.

The water seems to be calling to her, urging her to come closer, closer, closer. Ignoring her common sense, Kat gingerly touches the bubbling water. If she had been listening, she would have noticed that the usually intolerably loud seagulls have stopped singing altogether. Kat's head begins to spin, her vision becomes clouded. Suddenly, the world is a blur. She loses her balance, falls into the water. There is a flash of bright light, a scream, possibly her own. And then the world collapses.

Grey clouds swirl around the Irish sky above the Brown household. Lena Brown lies on her bed, eyes following the lines of the constellation made from glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. She sighs. She feels other, not herself. She feels she has been living her life from the outside for the past week, a spectator to her every action, subject to her thoughts. She lights a candle, puts it out. Opens her laptop, closes it. She can't decide what to do. She has to find something to concentrate on, else she's afraid she'll lose herself. She picks her phone up from her desk and plays her music on shuffle. A soft tune begins to play and she starts to hum. Giving into her boredom, Lena decides to take a walk around the empty corridors of the house. She hasn't explored the third floor yet, but she had been meaning to.

City of stars, are you shining just for me?

She shivers, the night is cold and the unused rooms aren't heated. The Browns rarely receive guests, and they really don't need as many rooms as they have. Lena never understood why her parents keep in the mansion. It's not like they are particularly attached to it, seeing as they leave home so often, leaving Lena and her older sister alone.

City of stars, there's so much that I can't see

She notices the light is on in one of the rooms; a dressing room, she thinks. Curious, she walks towards the soft glow. Excitement starts to grow in her chest, along with a little apprehension. What if there's someone in there? A thief or an assassin! She shakes the thought. The security on the property is extensive. The child in her mind wonders if an adventure lies in the room.

Who knows? Is this the start of something wonderful and new?

She pushes the wooden door open. To her surprise, the room is empty except for a large cheval glass (AN: a cheval glass is a full body mirror) in the centre. Lena makes her way towards it, slowly. She runs her hand along the metal frame, cool under her fingers. Flowers have been forged into the dark metal. It looks old in its style but it doesn't seem to have aged a day.

Or one more dream that I cannot make true?

She faces her reflection. She looks tired, there are bags under her blue eyes, standing out against her pale skin. She raises her hand to touch the glass, and as just as she realises that her music has stopped playing, her fingers come into contact with the mirror. Or rather, don't, because Lena's hand has gone through. Her vision blurs, and in her dizziness she leans forwards into the mirror. A flash of light blinds her, she gasps, the world collapses. 

AN: 

The song in the second part is City of Stars from the movie La La Land (go see it if you haven't already, it's brilliant).

If you're interested, the park is inspired by St Stephen's Green in Ireland :

https://www.drurycourthotel.ie/st-stephens-green.html

And this is how I imagine the mirror Lena falls into :

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418482990366086772/  

Thanks so much for reading! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this and that I am able to go somewhere with this! I've already written the next chapter but I'm going to space them out a little so that I have time for writer's block. This story is going to be translated into french though I'm not sure at what point because I don't want to prioritise translating over actual writing.