CHAPTER SIX: A Fragile Promise of Light
593 Words
For the first time since everything began, the dormitory didn’t feel completely suffocating.
Emilia stepped inside quietly, closing the door behind her. The familiar space beds neatly arranged, soft murmurs in the distance, the faint rustle of movement felt comforting.
Almost normal.
“Emilia!”
Tessa rushed toward her the moment she noticed her. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere!”
Emilia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I found Naomi.”
Tessa’s expression shifted instantly, they moved closer to Emilia’s bed, lowering their voices.
“I told her everything,” Emilia said. “About the mirrors, the reflections, everything you and Maxwell know too.”
Tessa’s eyes widened slightly. “Everything?”
Emilia nodded.
“And she didn’t think you were crazy?”
“No,” Emilia replied softly. “She believes something is wrong.”
Tessa let out a small breath. “Okay… that’s good,, that’s actually really good.”
“She said she’s going to look into it,” Emilia continued. “School records, past incidents… anything that could explain what’s happening.”
Tessa sat down slowly. “So we’re not just imagining this.”
“No,” Emilia said. “We’re not.”
A brief silence settled between them not as heavy as before, but still uneasy.
“What do we do now?” Tessa asked.
Emilia hesitated.
Then she said quietly, “We wait.”
Tessa frowned slightly. “That’s it?”
“For now,” Emilia replied. “Naomi said we should be careful. Not panic. Not draw attention.”
Tessa nodded slowly.
Then her eyes drifted almost unconsciously toward the mirror by the wardrobe.
She froze.
Emilia noticed immediately.
“Don’t,” she said quickly.
Tessa looked back at her.
A pause.
Then, Tessa said, firmly “Okay, new rule.”
Emilia raised an eyebrow.
“No mirrors,” Tessa continued. “No reflections. Not until we know what’s going on.”
Emilia felt a strange sense of relief at the idea. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Tessa nodded. “We avoid them completely. Windows, glass, anything that can reflect.”
“And we don’t look,” Emilia added.
“No matter what,” Tessa said.
They held each other’s gaze for a second.
A silent agreement.
“I promise,” Tessa said.
“I promise too,” Emilia replied.
For the first time, it felt like they had a little control over something.
Even if it was small.
Even if it was fragile.
Then Tessa’s expression darkened slightly.
“The girl…” she said quietly.
Emilia’s chest tightened.
Neither of them had spoken about it since morning.
Tessa swallowed. “Do you think… it was connected?”
Emilia hesitated.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But something felt wrong.”
Tessa looked down at her hands. “What if she didn’t do it?”
Emilia’s breath caught.
“What if…” Tessa continued slowly, “it wasn’t her?”
A chill crept through the room.
Emilia’s voice dropped. “You mean the reflections?”
Tessa nodded faintly.
“Or whatever is inside them,” she added.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Emilia felt her pulse quicken again.
Because deep down,
It didn’t sound impossible.
And that was the most terrifying part.
They said nothing more after that.
The dormitory lights dimmed slowly as night settled in.
And though they avoided every mirror, every piece of glass,
The feeling didn’t leave.
Because even without looking,
It still felt like something was looking at them.
- Writer
