22

Twenty two
I opened my eyes and blinked, trying to focus in the murky darkness that engulfed me. A thick fog swirled around my body like ghostly tendrils, its iciness sending shivers down my spine. The air was unnaturally still and silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Not a single sound reached my ears–no chirping of birds, no whisper of wind, no signs of life at all. A deep, primal terror seized my heart as I realized I was utterly alone in this nightmarish place. Where the hell am I?
“Hello?” I called out, my voice sounding small and feeble against the suffocating silence. “Is anyone there?”
Only the echo of my own words came back to me, mocking and hollow. I wrapped my arms around myself, fingers digging into the fabric of my nightgown. Where was I? How did I get here? My mind raced as I tried to recall what happened before I woke up in this hellish landscape.
I remembered storming off to my chambers after that terrible fight with my stepmother. Hot, angry tears had streamed down my face as I flung myself onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow to muffle the sobs that wracked my body. Exhausted and emotionally drained, I must have cried myself to sleep at some point. But I had no memory of leaving my room or venturing out into the night. So how on earth did I end up in this weird, otherworldly place?
The questions tormented me as I stood frozen, the fog curling around my ankles like icy shackles. I had never felt so lost, so frightened, so desperately alone. “Who brought me here?!” I raised my voice, my temper slipping. Was someone messing with me? One of the girls maybe? I tried to glance around again but I could hardly move. It was as if the thick fog was holding me in place, not allowing me to move an inch.
As I tried to wiggle my way out of the fog, I suddenly heard a guttural growl that shattered the silence, sending icy shivers down my spine. Slowly, I turned around, my heart pounding against my ribcage. Through the mist, I saw a monstrous figure emerging, its form becoming clearer with each step it took towards me. Instant fear gripped my bones. I knew I had to get out of here, whatever it was.
The creature was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Its skin was a dark sickly gray, stretched over a skeletal frame. Razor-sharp claws glinted at the ends of its elongated fingers, and its mouth was a gaping maw filled with needle-like teeth. But it was the eyes that truly terrified me – two glowing orbs that burned with an insatiable hunger.
I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The monster lunged at me, its breath hot against my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the painful impact of its claws tearing into my flesh…
But the blow never came. Instead, I felt a strange, disorienting sensation, as if the world had suddenly tilted on its axis. I cautiously opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar room, the fog and the monster was nowhere to be seen. I heaved a deep sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t dark in here.
“What… what’s going on?” I whispered, my voice trembling from the effect of being scared shitless. I looked around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The room was lavishly decorated, with patterned wallpapers and plush, expensive-looking furniture. But there was something off about it, a sense of wrongness that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I wandered around the room, trying to make sense of my new surroundings. Then a glint of light caught my eye. I turned and saw a small, old looking mirror hanging on the wall, and beside it, a photograph of my mother. My breath caught in my throat as I moved closer, my heart pounding in my chest.
The photograph was definitely old, taken before I was born, but I would have recognized my mother’s face anywhere. She looked so young and beautiful, her eyes sparkling with joy and vitality. And there, draped around her neck, was the necklace – the stunning piece of jewelry that my father had given his new wife the first time she came to our home after Mom had died.
With trembling fingers, I reached out and touched the cool, smooth surface of the mirror. As I did, a sudden wave of emotion washed over me, so powerful that it nearly brought me to my knees. It was as if my mother’s presence had filled the room, enveloping me in a warm, comforting embrace. I missed her so much.
“Mom?” I whispered, my voice choked with tears. “Where are you?”
I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder and spun around, my heart leaping with hope that somehow, my mother was in this strange place. And there she was, standing before me, looking just as she had in the photograph.
“Mom? Mom!” I wanted to run to her, to throw my arms around her and never let go, but I found myself rooted to the spot, unable to move.
“My darling Freya,” she said, her voice soft and achingly familiar. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Tears streamed down my face as I drank in the sight of her, trying to memorize every detail. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. I realized right there that we looked so alike. Our facial features were practically the same.
“Mom… I love you so much and I miss you. why… why can’t I move?” She opened her mouth to answer me, but then the room around us suddenly began to vibrate and distort, the walls crumbling and dissolving like sand in the wind.
“No! Mom what’s happening!” I cried out, reaching for her. “Please, don’t leave me again!”
But it was too late. My mother’s form began to flicker and fade, her features blurring and melting away. I lunged forward, desperate to hold onto her, but my hands passed through empty air.
“Mom, please!” I sobbed, my heart shattering into a million pieces. “I need you!”
As the last traces of my mother’s presence disappeared, her voice echoed through the crumbling room, soft and urgent. “Open your eyes, Freya. Open your eyes and see.”
I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. “I don’t understand! What do you mean?”
But even as the words left my lips, a flicker of realization sparked within me. There was something more to her message, some deeper meaning that I couldn’t quite grasp. I blinked hard, trying to clear my sight, and in that moment, the world around me shifted.
The crumbling walls and dissolving furniture seemed to ripple and waver, like reflections in a pool of water. I spun around, my heart pounding, searching for any sign of my mother. But she was gone, leaving only the faint trace of her perfume lingering in the air. I closed my eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
“Open your eyes,” I whispered to myself, echoing my mother’s final words. “But what am I supposed to see?” then the room completely disappeared.
I bolted upright with a strangled gasp, sheets tangled around my sweat-drenched body. For a long moment, I couldn’t comprehend where I was. Then I recognized my soft bed and fluffy pillows. My heart hammered against my ribs as I fumbled for the bedside lamp with shaking hands. Light flooded the space, and I nearly wept with relief as I recognized my sweet, cozy bedroom. It had all been a dream.
“Do you always have these nightmares?” A low, familiar voice said.
I screamed so hard in alarm and jumped off my bed, landing on my butt to see Rafe leaning over my bedframe, watching me with amusement on his devastatingly handsome face.
“What the hell are you doing in my room Rafe?” I yelled, my voice trembling with the shock of being caught off guard by him. He had been in my room all this while, watching me sleep??
“I love watching you sleep, but tonight I noticed you weren’t sleeping peacefully,” Rafe said as he pulled me onto his lap. My breath caught in my throat as I felt his warm hands wrap around my waist. We were so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
Our eyes clashed and I could see a storm raging behind Rafe’s intense gaze. Without a word, he leaned in closer, his breath mingling with mine. The world around us seemed to fade away as his lips hovered above mine teasingly.
He was about to kiss me.
****