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“Don’t you wish for them to love you? To have everything you never had?”
“I-”
“I can give you that, darling. All you have to do is say yes.”
“...yes.”
~~~
Lila walked up the front steps of her parents' house, her head pulsing with pain. When she received a letter from her parents out of the blue three days ago, asking her to come for dinner, she didn’t know what to think. They had all but kicked her out, practically disowning her in the heat of an argument. Lila had attempted to process, wondering why they would only now reach out. She thought about declining- her head pulsed again. The old, wooden porch steps creaked under her feet, the massive house casting a shadow over her in the setting sun. She sighed, pulling the letter out of her pocket, double checking that she got the date and time correct, so that she wasn’t just showing up unannounced. She stuffed it into her pocket, knocking on the door in front of her. On the fifth knock it opened, slowly scraping against the floor. No one was on the other side, the now-open door revealing a dimly lit hallway, flickering candles lining the hall. Lila peeked her head in.
“Hello?” Hearing no response, she stepped in, closing the door behind her. “Mother? Father?” She slipped off her shoes, unconsciously leaving them in the spot she had left them for 21 years.
As she moved deeper into the house, she couldn’t help but watch the candles, more and more of them casting a wavering glow over the family pictures lining the walls. As she passed the most recent photo she paused, backpedaling slightly to take a closer look. It was a family photo from her brother's college graduation a few years ago. Her parents looked at the camera, proud, but the siblings only looked at each other, amusement painting their faces. It was one of the only pictures that her parents liked that Lila could stand looking at. She could have sworn she threw this picture across the room when she left.
She ran a finger down the glass in front of her face. A muffled cry came from down the hall, and she hissed, a previously unnoticed crack in the glass slicing her finger. A bead of blood pooled on the pad of her finger. She quickly stuffed her finger in her mouth, moving towards the kitchen, where she thought the sound came from.
Peeking her head in around the doorway, she squinted at the bright light coming from the room, contrasting the dark of the hallway she had just come from. Her mother was sitting at the table, her brown hair in a messy bun and head in her hands. She was sobbing, using the sleeves of her deep red cardigan to wipe her nose. Lila’s father was pacing behind, looking more worried than Lila had ever seen him, tapping his fingers against his leg in an anxious pattern she had seen her brother doing many times before. He kept running a hand through his hair, breathing heavily. Lila swallowed hard, stepping into the light.
“Mother? Father?” Her parents' heads whipped towards her at the sound of her voice, their faces melting in relief. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh darling,” her mother sobbed, standing up, “We were so worried about you.” Lila froze as her mother flung herself across the room, pulling her into a hug. She couldn’t help but melt as her mother ran her hands up and down Lila’s back, as if soothing a young child. Her mother pulled away, but was quickly replaced by her father, holding Lila tightly to his chest. She couldn’t see anything past his black sweater, the fabric tickling at her nose, making it hard to breathe. She broke away quickly, not used to this much attention from her parents.
“We didn’t know where you were- we were so worried.” Her father said, his tone gruff as if fighting back tears. Lila looked between the two of them uneasily, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I went to stay with a... friend.”
“A friend? You couldn’t have left us a note? You were gone for nine months Lila.”
“You told me to get out of your house. You told me to never come back.” A stabbing pain shot through Lila’s head.
“You were gone for nine months Lila, we were worried.”
“I’m sorry-” Her mother flattened Lila's hair down, running her fingers through the white streak in her blonde hair.
“Shush, it’s alright darling, you’re here now. You’re safe.”
“I was... safe before. With-.” Lila’s head filled with static for a moment. Her mother sighed, hands yanking out of Lila’s hair as she grabbed for her daughter.
“I thought we told you not to talk to that... girl, anymore. She’s a bad influence on you.” Lila stiffened.
“And I told you last time, I love her, I’m not-” Lila felt a sharp crack against her face, her mind going black for a second. She snapped out of it with her mother petting her hair once again.
“You’re home now, darling. Never mind where you were before, you’re safe. Now,” she released Lila from her grip, clapping her hands once. “You should have some clothes left in your room; we didn’t touch anything. Go change.” Lila looked down at herself, shifting uneasily.
“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Her mother sighed, and Lila tensed, not sure where this conversation was headed.
“Green is not your colour, Lila.” She shooed her out the door. “Go. Dinner will be ready soon.” Her father nodded at her once before the kitchen door slid closed, leaving Lila in the dark hallway once again. Lila looked down at her sweater again, the dark green of her sweater blending into her surroundings.
“I thought I looked nice,” she muttered under her breath, turning on her heel and walking towards her bedroom.
Lila’s room was bright, despite the lack of her mother’s candles in this part of the house. The white walls reflected the last remaining bits of sunlight, filtered through a large picture window. Despite it being her own, Lila felt like a stranger, re-entering what was once her safe space. She hesitantly walked to her bed, still unmade and covered in clothes as she left it the last time she was here. She sniffed a light purple blouse, and finding it was clean, switched out her top. As she pulled her shirt over her head, she heard tapping behind her. She slowly turned around, the tapping coming from behind a white sheet. Confused, she slowly walked toward it, knowing that if her parents hadn’t come into her room, the sheet wouldn’t be there, and her floor length mirror wouldn’t be covered by it. Cautiously, she reached out a hand, and yanked the sheet to the floor.
Her eyes met her own, blue staring back at blue. The tension she didn’t know she was carrying drained out of her shoulders. She laughed, dropping her head in embarrassment and relief no one had seen her be nervous over a mirror. She lifted her head back up, her blue eyes meeting brown.
Lila startled, pulling away. The reflection did the same, brown eyes wide with fear. The reflection lifted her hands to push her hair out of her face as Lila did, the ends of her brown hair falling to her hips. Lila leaned closer to the mirror, her reflection following. With a start, she realized that she looked more like her brother.
She put her hand up to the side of her face, turning her head slightly to look closer. She squeezed her eyes shut, nose almost touching the mirror. When she opened them, a pair of pale, golden eyes stared back. Lila yelped, falling to the floor. Her reflection only stared, smirking as she crossed her arms. The reflections’ white hair shifted, blowing as if there were a light breeze. Lila stared, wide-eyed. The reflection only winked, putting a finger to her lips in a mocking ‘shh’ motion.
Out of her peripherals, Lila noticed something glowing a bright gold behind the figure in the mirror. A symbol had begun to etch itself in the baseboards of her room. She made eye contact with the figure again, who only smiled, saying something in a language Lila did not recognize, a challenging look in her eyes. Lila glanced behind her, the glowing symbol on her room's baseboards too. The mirror was normal when she turned around, blue eyes meeting a scared blue again. Lila got on her hands and knees, crawling slowly over to the symbol, which seemed to grow brighter as she neared. A faint ringing noise started in her head. Tentatively, Lila reached out to touch the light.
With a flash, her head felt like it was splitting in two, fragments of voices swirling around her in a cacophony of sound. In her head she could see her brother turn away from someone, making eye contact with her. His eyes widened, frightened confusion mirroring Lila’s. His mouth was moving, but no sound came out. Lila watched as he grew frantic, trying to say something. Her brother reached toward her, and she reached back. As their hands brushed, Lila heard one word.
“Run.”
Lila was thrown back into her room, voices dying around her suddenly like a television shutting off. She was surrounded by near silence, a low humming coming from her mirror. She turned back, the mirror swirling in pale gold light, three versions of herself shifting and amalgamating and shattering through one another in a grotesque display, each one attempting to fight for dominance. Lila could only watch in horror as the flashes of her became faster and faster. Staring at her changing reflection in the mirror, Lila froze. All three reflections turned to look at her, still flashing nauseatingly, until Lila realized she couldn’t remember how she got to her house.
Her brother's voice echoed in her head, joined by the voices of three of her.
"Run.”
The mirror shattered, taking the light of the room with it. Lila could feel glass tearing at her skin, too slow to raise her arms and block all the shards from hitting her. She could feel blood pooling down her face as she quickly bent over, picking up the biggest shard of glass she could find.
Lila took off, slamming open her door, running down the hallway, her makeshift weapon clenched tightly in her hand. The lights of the candles were out, leaving only the light of the moon outside to guide Lila as she tried to make her way to the door. Lila rounded a corner, skidding on the rug in front of her father’s study as it slipped from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground. She hissed, the shard of glass fully in the palm of her hand, pausing to catch her breath slightly.
“Lila...” A sickly-sweet voice floated down the hallway. Lila froze, slapping her non-bloody hand over her mouth in an attempt to quiet her breathing. The click of her mom’s shoes on the hardwood floors echoed throughout the hallway, getting louder and louder with every step. Lila pulled the shard out of her hand, dropping it to the floor with a quiet ‘clink’. The footsteps stopped for a moment, before speeding up. Lila’s head whipped around, looking for something to protect her. Her eye caught the ornamental sword hanging on the wall above her father’s study. She lunged for it, peeling it off the wall just as her mother rounded the corner. Lila swung, pointing the sword at her mother.
“Stay back!” Her mother raised her hands, a look of confusion on her face. Lila trembled, looking her up and down. Her hair was nicely done, flowing down her back as black as ink. Her bright red dress stood out against the darkness of the hallway.
“Lila, darling, what are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.” Her mother’s eyes hardened slightly.
“You’re not leaving.”
“Yes, I am.” Lila’s head pulsed, a sharp pain centering behind her eyes.
“Lila, darling, what are you doing?” Her mother said, a look of confusion on her face. Lila blinked, the sword tipping toward the ground slightly.
“I- I’m leaving.” Lila noticed her mother’s eye twitch. Another shooting pain coursed in her head.
“Lila, darling, what are you doing?”
“STOP IT!” Lila screamed, tightening her hold on the sword. “I’m leaving! I don't know what’s going on, but I want to go home.”
“Darling, you are home-” Her mother dropped her arms, taking a step towards Lila.
“No! I’m not!” Her mother’s eyes flashed black, and Lila’s blood ran cold. “You’re not my mother.”
The imposter frowned, having the audacity to look hurt at the accusation.
“Of course I am, Lila.” She took another step closer. “I’m the mother you asked for.” Lila stiffened.
“What?”
“You wished for a better life, Lila! Let your passion and jealousy overcome you as you begged and pleaded to the gods for parents who would understand you. Accept you for who you are. Love you so much that you could never disappear again.” Another step. “You’ll be safe here. With me.”
“You’re not a god.” Lila’s voice wavered. The imposter sighed.
“No.” Their eyes turned black, “I’m much better.”
The imposter lunged at her, sharpened nails clawing at Lila’s face as it screeched. Lila could only duck, dropping to the floor and rolling out of the way. The sword clattered to the ground by her side. Lila rolled to reach for it, but the imposter landed on her, holding Lila in place. It placed an elongated hand around her throat, slowly squeezing as Lila thrashed against its hold. Lila shot an arm out, reaching for the sword at her side as black spots began to dance around her vision. Her fingers brushed against the hilt, and she shimmied it into her grip. With a big swing, she brought the sword down over her mother's neck, black blood raining down. The imposter screeched, jumping off Lila and crashing into the wall behind her. Lila shakily got to her feet, rushing towards the door as the creature continued to wail.
The hallway only got longer the more she ran, the door getting farther and farther away from her. Lila could hear crashing coming from behind her as the imposter chased after her, calling out her name in a raspy voice. A clawed hand grabbed the back of Lila’s shirt and yanked her back towards a chest. Without thinking about it, Lila reared, biting the hand as hard as she could. Her mouth filled with the bitter taste of congealed blood as she ripped, the creature letting out a blood-curdling scream that almost dropped Lila to her knees in pain. Lila took off running again, hitting the door in seconds with a thud.
She turned, swinging blindly. Her mother’s body dropped, shaking the floor under Lila as her mother’s head separated from her body. Lila stood, shaking against the door. She dropped the sword, trying not to throw up as blood pooled around her socked feet. Without looking away from her mother’s body she grasped behind her for the door handle, swinging it open.
A blast of heat hit her back and she swung around, a hand coming up to shield her eyes from the sun. She stood in an open expanse of grassy field, bewildered. She swung around to face the now non-existent front door behind her. She wiped the blood off her face, looking around. The sun was high in the sky, a gentle breeze pulling at her clothes and hair, swaying the grass around her ankles. It was soft, a contrast between the hardwood floors of her parents house. Her head pulsed with remnants of a past headache as she blinked. Without controlling it she dropped to her knees, her breaths coming faster and faster. Thunder clouds began to roll in over the mountains, unable to cover the sound of her desperate sobbing.
Lila felt the first drops of rain hit her face as she looked up, and as if for the first time, or as if coming up for air, she breathed.