Chapter Two: The First Look
It wasn't the first time.
That's what I kept telling myself.
Everything seemed normal that day…
so normal that it has now become disturbing in my memory.
The room was white.
Whiter than it should have been.
The walls, the ceiling, even the light…
everything felt lifeless, as if the place didn't want to be remembered.
I sat on the metal chair.
Cold.
As usual.
I placed my hands on my knees, staring at the floor.
I had nothing to do… and nothing to think about.
Or so I believed.
"Look at it."
The voice came from behind me.
Calm… formal… devoid of any emotion.
I didn't turn around.
I knew they were there.
Always there.
Watching.
Recording.
Waiting.
"Niyar."
This time, they said my name.
Slowly.
Heavily.
I lifted my head.
Not because I wanted to…
but because I was tired of the silence.
It was in front of me.
The mirror.
Mounted on the wall,
with a simple black frame,
as if it were something ordinary… not worth attention.
But I felt it.
From the moment I entered the room,
something inside me…
wasn't at ease.
"Approach."
The voice said it.
I hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then I stood.
My first step felt natural.
The second slower.
And the third…
I no longer felt it.
I stood in front of it.
My reflection was clear.
Pale face.
Tired eyes.
Someone who looked like they hadn't slept in a long time.
Me.
I raised my hand slightly.
My reflection did the same.
Perfectly.
Precisely.
As it should be.
"Do you see anything?"
Their usual question.
I stayed silent.
I stared more closely.
Into my eyes.
Into the small details.
Into… something I couldn't quite describe.
No.
Everything was normal.
…almost.
"No." I said quietly.
The silence returned.
But this time…
it wasn't empty.
It was filled with something…
waiting.
I breathed slowly.
And was about to step away.
But—
I stopped.
Something was… wrong.
Very small.
So small it was almost invisible.
But I saw it.
My reflection…
did not blink.
I froze.
Stared more closely.
One second…
two…
I blinked.
It… didn't.
A cold sensation ran down my back.
"…Do you see anything?"
The question returned.
But this time,
it wasn't directed at me alone.
It felt as if the entire room… was waiting for my answer.
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
I looked at myself again.
Or… at the thing looking back at me.
And suddenly—
it blinked.
Slowly.
Delayed.
I stepped back without realizing it.
My heart began to beat faster.
But my face… remained calm.
"No." I said again.
But this time…
I wasn't being honest.
The silence lingered.
Then:
"You may sit."
I returned to the chair.
Sat down.
Placed my hands on my knees again.
As I had been before.
As I was supposed to be.
But…
I was no longer the same.
I looked at the floor.
Trying to forget.
To ignore.
To convince myself that I had imagined it.
But one thought…
refused to disappear.
It stayed there.
Clear.
Steady.
Watching me.
Just as it had been moments ago.
"She doesn't just reflect you…"
I slowly lifted my head.
No one spoke.
The voice didn't come from behind.
It wasn't from the room.
It was… from it.
I swallowed.
With difficulty.
"She… sees."
I didn't move.
I didn't scream.
I didn't run.
I simply sat there.
Staring into the void.
And realized…
that at that moment…
I wasn't the first one to look at the mirror.
But I was the first one…
to feel that something…
was looking back.