CHAPTER 3: THE REFLECTION DOESN'T WAIT
1032 Words
Morning should have felt safe. It didn’t. Light filled the hospital room, clean and bright, washing away every shadow from the night before.
But Harith still didn’t move. He was awake. He had been awake for a long time. Because even with the lights on… He could still feel it. Something had been lying beside him.
He didn’t remember falling asleep. He didn’t remember it leaving. But the space next to him. Still felt warm.
Harith stared at the ceiling, unmoving, his breath shallow. Think. Be logical. Stress. Trauma. Post-surgery hallucinations. That’s what this was. That’s what it had to be. Because the alternative… Didn’t make sense.
A soft knock broke the silence.
“Mr. Harith?”
A nurse entered. A real one this time. Harith’s eyes snapped toward her. He studied everything. Her uniform. Her face. Her eyes.
Normal.
Alive.
“Good morning,” she said with a gentle smile. “How are you feeling?”
Harith didn’t answer immediately. He just… watched her. Carefully. Because now he knew. Looking normal didn’t mean anything.
“…I’m fine,” he finally said.
The nurse nodded and stepped further into the room, placing a tray beside him. “Doctor will be here soon. We’ll run a few final tests before discharge.”
Discharge. The word hit differently now. Leaving the hospital meant leaving the only place where things were supposed to be controlled.
But were they ever?
Harith swallowed.
“…can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“…is there a mirror in this room?”
The nurse paused. Then nodded.
“There’s one in the bathroom.”
Harith’s chest tightened. He hadn’t looked at himself yet. Not properly. Not since the surgery.
“…thank you.”
The nurse gave a small smile before leaving. The door closed softly behind her. And suddenly, The room felt heavier again.
The bathroom door stood slightly open. Harith stared at it from his bed. It looked normal. Too normal. But something about it felt… Wrong. Like it was waiting.
Harith forced himself to stand. His legs were weak, but they held. Step by step, he moved toward the bathroom. Each step felt louder than it should. Echoing.
The door creaked as he pushed it open. The bathroom light flickered once... Then steadied. Everything inside looked clean.
Sterile.
Unremarkable.
And there, Above the sink.
The mirror. Harith stopped. For a moment… He couldn’t breathe. This was it. The first time he would see himself again. Slowly... He stepped closer. And looked up. His reflection stared back. Same face. Same features. But his eyes. They looked… Deeper.
Not brighter.
Not clearer.
Just… Wrong. Like something was looking out through them. Harith leaned closer.
“…it’s just me,” he whispered.
⸻
The reflection didn’t answer. Of course it didn’t. Harith let out a shaky breath. Maybe this was all in his head. Maybe...
The light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Harith froze. Because in that flicker. His reflection… Didn’t match him. It was subtle. Just for a split second. But it was there. His reflection Smiled. He didn’t. Harith stumbled back, hitting the sink.
“No…”
He looked up again. The reflection was normal.
Still.
Silent.
“…I’m imagining things…”
But his voice lacked conviction. Slowly, Carefully He raised his hand. The reflection raised its hand too. Perfectly synced. Harith lowered it. The reflection followed. Everything normal. Too normal. Harith exhaled. Maybe he was...
The reflection stopped moving. Harith’s breath caught. Because his hand Was still lowering. But the reflection’s hand. Had already stopped. Mid-air.
Frozen.
A delay.
Just a second. But enough.
“No… no no—”
⸻
The reflection slowly turned its head. But Harith didn’t. He felt it. He knew. But he couldn’t move. His reflection… Was no longer copying him. It was watching him. Directly.
And then, It leaned forward. Pressing its face closer to the mirror.
Closer.
Closer..
Until its forehead touched the glass. A faint crack spread across the surface. Harith staggered back
“STOP—!”
⸻
The reflection’s lips moved. This time... He heard it. Not from outside. From inside his head
“You’re too slow.”
Harith’s vision blurred. Because behind his reflection, Something appeared. A shadow. Standing in the bathroom. Right behind him. Harith spun around.
Nothing.
Empty.
Back to the mirror. The shadow was closer. Right behind his reflection. Its hand rested on his shoulder. But Harith felt nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing...
⸻
Until, Cold fingers.. Pressed into his real shoulder.
Hard.
Harith screamed. The mirror cracked violently. Lines spreading like veins across the glass. The reflection grinned.
Wider.
Too wide.
“We don’t wait for you to look anymore.”
The hand on his shoulder tightened. Digging in. Pulling him. Toward the mirror. Harith struggled.
“No—LET GO—!”
The surface of the mirror. Rippled. Like water. Something inside it… Moved. Trying to come through. Or pull him in.
“Come closer…”
The voice multiplied.
Layered.
Hungry.
“You’re already one of us.”
CRACK...
The mirror shattered. Glass exploded across the floor. Silence slammed into the room. Harith collapsed, gasping for air. The bathroom was empty.
No reflection.
No shadow.
No hand.
Just broken glass. And his own shaking body. Minutes later. The doctors rushed in.
“What happened?!” one of them shouted.
Harith couldn’t answer. He just stared at the shattered mirror. Because in one of the broken pieces. He saw it. Not his face. But something else. Smiling. Even after the mirror was gone.
That afternoon, They told him he was ready to go home.
“Everything looks perfect,” the doctor said.
Perfect. Harith almost laughed. As he was wheeled out of the hospital... He passed by a large glass window. For a brief moment, He glanced at his reflection. And froze. Because this time. The reflection wasn’t looking at him. It was looking past him. At something standing right behind his chair. Something tall. Something familiar. Something that had been in the corner…
Since the very beginning..The reflection smiled. Not Harith. The reflection. And slowly. It raised its hand. And waved. At whatever was behind him.
End of Chapter 3 👁️🔥
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