CHAPTER FIVE: Answers in the Quiet
713 Words
“Naomi…”
Emilia’s voice came out softer than she intended, barely steady as she stepped closer. The hallway felt longer than it should have, stretching between them like something unseen was pulling it apart.
Naomi didn’t turn immediately.
For a brief, unsettling second, Emilia thought of the mirror again of delays, of wrong timing, of something pretending to be real.
Then Naomi moved.
Slowly, she turned around.
“Emilia?” Her voice was calm, but her eyes searched her cousin’s face instantly. “What’s wrong?”
Relief hit Emilia so quickly it almost hurt.
She closed the distance between them, her breath uneven. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Naomi frowned slightly. “I was in a meeting with the senior prefects. After what happened this morning” Her voice trailed off.
The hallway fell silent again.
Neither of them mentioned the body.
Not directly.
Emilia swallowed. “We need to talk.”
Naomi studied her more closely now. “You look terrified.”
“I am.”
That was enough.
Naomi nodded, “alright, talk to me.”
Emilia hesitated for few seconds.
“It’s not just what happened today,” she began. “Something has been wrong since yesterday.”
Naomi didn’t interrupt.
So Emilia continued,
She told her everything.
The mirror that moved late,
The reflection that moved first,
The whisper that called her name in her own voice.
Her words came faster as she went on, like something inside her had finally broken open.
“Tessa knows,” she added quickly. “And Maxwell too.”
Naomi’s expression shifted at that. “Maxwell?”
“He saw a reflection in the science lab, one that didn’t belong to anyone.” Emilia said.
Silence followed.
Not disbelief.
Not dismissal.
Something else.
Naomi exhaled slowly.
Emilia’s voice dropped. “It’s spreading.”
She described what she had seen the delayed reflections, the ones that didn’t match, the feeling that something was watching from inside the glass.
She didn’t mention everything.
Not the way the dead girl’s reflection had seemed to move.
Not the feeling that it had noticed her.
But Naomi seemed to understand anyway, for a long moment, she said nothing.
Then finally,
“Okay.”
Emilia blinked.
Naomi nodded, her voice calm but firm. “I don’t think you’re imagining this.”
That alone made Emilia’s chest loosen slightly.
“But we need to be careful,” Naomi continued. “If this is real, then we don’t know what we’re dealing with yet.”
“So what do we do?” Emilia asked.
Naomi’s eyes hardened slightly not with fear, but with focus.
“I’ll look into it.”
She said,. “School records, old incidents, anything unusual tied to this place. If something is happening, it didn’t just start now.”
Emilia hesitated. “And until then?”
Naomi stepped closer, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
“Until then, you stay calm.”
Emilia let out a small, shaky breath.
Naomi gave her a faint, reassuring smile. “You don’t have to be brave. You just have to be careful.”
There was something grounding about the way she said it.
Something solid.
Something real.
“Come on,” Naomi added gently. “I’ll walk you back.”
They began moving down the corridor together, their footsteps quiet against the floor.
The school felt quieter and heavier now.
Like it was holding its breath.
Emilia kept close to Naomi, her eyes flickering occasionally to the windows they passed.
She tried not to look too long.
Tried not to check if anything was wrong.
But the urge was there.
Always there.
“You’re safe,” Naomi said as if sensing her thoughts.
Emilia nodded, though she wasn’t sure she believed it.
They reached the entrance to Dormitory Three.
Naomi stopped. “Try to rest.”
Emilia hesitated. “Will you be okay?”
Naomi smiled faintly. “I’m not the one being followed by mirrors, remember?”
It was meant to be light.
But it didn’t feel light.
Emilia turned and stepped inside.
And behind her,
For just a second,
The glass panel on the door caught her reflection.
It looked normal.
Still.
Perfect.
But as the door slowly closed it didn’t follow immediately.
- Writer
