✿ The Splintering ✿

✿ chapter six ✿

I woke up out of breath and drenched in a layer of sweat that has seeped through the sheet below me. I sat up quickly and laid my arms on my head as my chest throbbed with the pain of panic. Memories of my brother had plagued my sleep for months, and each one was worse than the last. I began to forget the sound of his voice and filled in the gaps of my memories with fiction. I thought forgetting him would make my life easier, but instead, it pained my soul in an unimaginable way. My dreams were grasping onto his memory as his soul slipped through the cracks of my mind. And I kept thinking about how disappointed he must've been in me for trying to erase every trace of him.

The sky outside of my window was a dark blue, slowly being lit by the sun that would rise within the hour. My general understanding was that if the sky had yet to wake, I shouldn't be up either. However, this morning was an anomaly. Because as I collapsed back onto my pillow, with a steady heart and mind, I found it impossible to close my eyes without picturing my brother once again. His mumbled voice kept repeating "live a little" in my mind. I sat up once again and glanced towards the corner of my room where the mirror was standing. My heart tugged me towards it like there was an invisible string connecting us. I couldn't tell if it was my sleep-deprived mind or my regret ridden soul, but I found myself climbing out of bed and slowly walking towards the mirror. One of two things was going to happen. Either I would run headfirst into a regular old mirror, or I would fall through it and appear in a forest. I'm not sure which one I was longing for. A magical escape or a boring reality.

I stood in front of the ornate mirror, studying its dents and scratches. I tried to imagine the story behind it. Where had it been built? Who owned it before? Why would they leave it here? My breath caught in my chest once I raised my right hand towards it's plain and unsuspecting glass. My palm connected with it, and I felt the sting of disappointment as it supported my weight. I tilted my head, let out a deep sigh, and dropped my hand. I looked at my reflection with a pout forming on my face. I don't know what I had expected. Magic wasn't real, and neither was teleporting mirrors.

I was about to turn around when a blue shimmer took over the mirror. It rippled from the top to bottom with radiant color that almost blinded me in contrast to my dark and dreary room. The light poured into my room, giving everything a blue tint. I tried not to blink, afraid if I looked away the color would disappear. My eyes widened and I raised my hand once more. I pushed it towards the mirror, and this time it went right through. It disappeared within the mirror, and I yanked it out quickly. "What the-" I whispered. I backed up a few steps but felt the same draw to the mirror that I had felt moments before. Whether it was just a dream, or I was going insane because of pent up emotions and sleep deprivation, I wanted to know more. I needed to know more. I couldn't possibly be losing it, could I? I took one more deep breath, lowered my shoulder, and stepped through. When I came out on the other side, I was right where I had been the day before. In a forest, densely filled with trees, in the only opening, I could see for miles. I jumped down from the doorway and turned around quickly to see the contorted image of my room through a shimmering film.

"I knew you would come back," A familiar voice said from behind me. Q was standing with his hands deep inside the pockets of his light blue jeans and a mischievous grin that read as "I told you so".

"Have you just been standing here for an entire day waiting for me?" I scoffed.

"Time passes differently in here, Juniper. You last visited a week ago," He said while glancing at the small silver pocket watch dangling from his jacket.

"That makes it worse," I crossed my arms against my chest. "You said that you had been expecting me. What do you need from me?"

"To show you something," Q took his hand out from his pocket and extended it to me. "Do you trust me?"