This time opening your eyes comes with a bout of nausea, you bend and thrust your head between your legs in an attempt to calm the rolling of your stomach.
Looking up, the sight of the stranger -Could you even call the kid that anymore?- on the ground with a book in her lap greets you, the sun shines through the trees in a way that casts dappled light across the pages of her novel.
She's grown since the previous time, it's possible that years have past from the moment you saw the kid in the library last.
The girl doesn't acknowledge you this time, or perhaps she hasn't noticed you yet. You watch as she tugs on the increasingly familiar uniform that she's dressed in, the way she sits with her legs drawn up enables her to pull the navy polo over her knees and you can't help but wonder if it's a nervous habit to pull and twist at the fabric or if the kid is just uncomfortable in what she's dressed in.
You watch as the girl’s attention is snagged away from her pages, the bringer of the distraction is soon revealed as another girl in identical uniform, albeit newer. The new girl could almost pass as the others relative, if not for the way she approaches the other, with the nervousness of someone talking to a complete stranger.
She has the same build and similar colouring as the kid you've grown familiar with, blonde hair hanging midway down her back and grey-blue eyes that look awkwardly down at the girl on the ground.
The girl in question looks up and pulls her legs out of the shirt they're tucked in, you see her fold the page in her book discreetly and wonder if she's preparing for a fight, then you wonder if she's had to before.
New Girl shuffles in front of her and the kid places her book on the ground next to her folded legs. Her body is tense.
She has done this before, you solidify.
New Girl opens her mouth and speaks haltingly. This time you can't hear what they're saying, but whatever it is causes the girl sitting on the ground to relax slightly and look confused.
She replies, her confusion becoming apparent to the New Girl.
The New Girl grins and sticks her hand out, saying something with a smile still present on her face.
Whatever she's saying prompts the one on the ground to get to her feet and offer a hand of her own.
They shake.
And the scene goes dark once again.
As it does you feel the flame begin to encase the match.
YOU ARE READING
The Looking Glass
Short Story- "You open your eyes to a mirror this time. There are more mirrors adorning the walls and, craning your head back, more on the ceiling. For a moment you think the kid is there, staring you in the eyes. But you move. And the boy in the mirror foll...
