Chapter One: The Silence That Remained
It didn't end.
That was the first thing I realized…
not when I saw it,
but when it didn't disappear.
The silence in the place wasn't natural.
It wasn't a comforting quiet… it was something like emptiness,
a void pressing against my chest, as if it were waiting for a sound…
a sound that never came.
I stared ahead.
The mirror.
It was still there.
Not broken,
not hidden,
untouched.
As if everything that happened…
wasn't enough for it.
I took a step closer.
I didn't hear my footsteps.
The ground made no sound,
even my breathing felt like it didn't belong to me.
I stopped.
I wasn't afraid.
…or maybe,
I had been afraid for so long that I no longer felt it.
Slowly, I lifted my eyes.
My reflection… was there.
But…
not exactly.
It lagged.
Just slightly,
a brief moment, barely noticeable…
but I saw it.
My reflection didn't move with me instantly.
A faint smile formed on my lips.
"You're still doing this…"
No answer.
Of course.
But I wasn't expecting one…
because I know.
It never speaks first.
I placed my hand against the glass.
Cold.
Unnaturally cold,
as if I were touching something… not from this world.
One second.
Two.
…
My reflection didn't raise its hand.
It just stared at me.
Not with the same look…
but with something closer to…
knowing.
I slowly pulled my hand back.
"Late…" I whispered.
I don't know why I said it,
but the word slipped out as if it had been stuck in my throat for a long time.
I closed my eyes.
And in that moment…
I heard it.
A faint voice…
not from outside.
From within.
"…You."
My eyes snapped open.
The mirror… unchanged.
My reflection… unchanged.
But the voice wasn't an illusion.
I stepped closer,
almost touching it again.
"I know you," I said quietly.
And for the first time…
my reflection smiled.
Not my smile.
It was slower…
heavier…
deeper.
As if it didn't belong to me.
I froze.
"…Of course you know me."
This time, the voice was clearer.
Closer.
As if it came from behind the glass,
or… from inside me.
I took a step back.
But my gaze didn't move.
"It's over…" I muttered, as if trying to convince myself.
Silence.
Then…
A faint laugh.
Broken.
Inhuman.
"Do you really think so?"
My chest tightened.
For a moment—
just a moment…
I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Fear.
I smiled again… but this time, it wasn't calm.
It was tired.
"I didn't survive…" I whispered, without looking away.
"I just… remained."
I fell silent.
Then added, in a lower voice:
"And it doesn't let anyone remain… without a reason."
The mirror didn't move.
But I felt it.
It was watching me.
As it always had.
As it never stopped.