I SAW HER IN THE MIRROR

Chapter 8

A sudden loud bang painfully shook me out of my trance. The door looked like a couple more hits would be enough to break it into half. It sounded like a growling hurricane outside. The evil was increasing its powers and I needed to figure some way to get out of this. I needed to do something, but what? The confused thoughts, the horrifying sounds, the face of that women... everything made my skin crawl.

CRASH!!!

I could feel panic rising inside me like some heavy fluid. Not knowing what else to do, I started stabbing the wall frantically with the key again. And this time too, the key inserted itself into a keyhole, somewhere next to my waist on the left side.

Once again, a note appeared.

"SEND BACK THROUGH THE PORTAL" it read.

What portal? These confusing, incomplete clues did nothing to end my turmoil.
The sounds outside only grew louder and louder. It was only getting difficult for me to think... to come up with something. I tried to dig deep, but nothing came out.

And just then... it clicked! I remembered having read somewhere that all of our powers lie in our mind. Our mind is the source of all our hidden as well as visible powers and there was no extent to what it could do.

Strengthened by the thought, I prayed to the lord; then without thinking twice, I stabbed the key into my forehead. I expected an excruciating pain that would make me want to die. But, shockingly it didn't hurt at all. Or even bleed! Instead a black portal appeared on the back wall of the bathroom, which sucked like it had powers of 10 vacuums. I could feel its immense force even from where I was clinging to the ceiling.

Everything fell into place now. It seemed clear what I had to do. I had to figure out some way to send evil into this portal! I heard another shrill cry and with that, the lights of the bathroom went off. It got all black and I felt claustrophobic all of a sudden. It became difficult to breathe and the darkness seemed to engulf me, ready to rip me apart. But I could not let myself feel any of it now. I just couldn't! I had to -no! I needed to solve this last piece of puzzle- I had to find a way to force the evil into this portal. But what?

In one agile movement, I forced the key out of my head. It seemed to sting a little, but I didn't have the luxury to focus on unnecessary things at the moment.

A guttural moan came from outside. My throat felt full all of a sudden and a feeling that had become all too familiar, settled inside me. I was about to faint. This was the end of my life, I was sure. I just couldn't muster up the energy I needed to live. In the last few seconds, the memories of my loved ones started floating into my mind. My dad, my mom, Sam, my friends...

A feeble 'oh' -merely above a whisper- escaped my mouth. My short 16 year old life started unreeling before my eyes. I remembered all the good times I spent with my family. All the times we played fun family games, the times we ate together, the times when I fought with my brother but soon patched up, the times we went after the insects in our garden and tried to catch them but always managed to get bitten by some or the other insect and get our faces swollen. And all the times my younger sister scared me...

All the times I found her doing unusual activities that would creep me out from the very beginning, all the times I caught her glaring at me...

My eyes flew wide open in shock even in the state I was in, as the realization hit me. Oh Dear Lord! Could it be somehow related to my sister? But... but how could it? I was such a bad sister to be even having such kind of thoughts for my own sister!

But... what if it was true? Was there any chance it could be Sami? What if... she really was the one behind it?

I didn't have any answers, but I had only one way to find out.