The smell of rotten eggs mixed with that of a dead mouse hung in the air, and a dampness permeated the space.
The place was almost dark, enclosed by four mirror-like glass walls.
I stood there to see my reflection on one of the walls... But the features weren't mine! There was a sarcastic smile on my face, and two piercing eyes staring at me with intense hatred, as if that reflection felt nauseated just by looking into my eyes. His lips moved very slowly as he whispered a single word that pierced my heart:
"Traitor!"
Suddenly, another reflection appeared on the opposite wall and whispered in a faint voice:
"Useless!"
Then a third reflection appeared:
"Trash!"
Then a fourth:
"Loser!"
All those gazes were directed at me, piercing me with merciless mockery, while their words echoed in my mind:
Trash… Useless… Traitor… Loser! I couldn't comprehend what was happening around me.
Terror gripped me, so I clamped my hands over my ears with all my strength and screamed at the top of my lungs:
"Shut up, all of you! I'm not a loser!" But their voices grew louder and louder.
"I'm not a traitor! Shut up… shut up! Damn you! Damn you all!" My helpless words mingled with my sobs. The voices grew so intense that I felt my head was about to explode.
I collapsed to my knees, while the echo of their words seeped deep into my heart.
I muttered softly: "It's not me… it's not me… it's not me… it's not me." My gaze was fixed downward as I repeated: "It's not me."
In an instant, the darkness parted, and a transparent screen glowed with a faint blue light appeared before me, displaying two and only two options: [Accept] or [Reject].
I sighed bitterly and felt as if I were struggling to breathe. I looked at the reflections and said in a desperate tone, "Damn you all…" As the voices grew louder and the tension in my mind intensified, I reached out with my trembling hand and pressed the [Accept] button.
In the blink of an eye, the voices vanished completely, and the reflections faded as if they had never existed! They turned into cold stone walls,
and from among the shadows in the corner of the room emerged a woman wearing a long black robe; her face was covered by a semi-transparent black scarf, revealing only the lower half of her face.
She began to approach me with quiet steps.
She reached out her hands.
My breathing quickened and my chest tightened, so I stepped back, screaming in terror:
"Who are you?! Get away from me! Get away!"
But she didn't stop. She came so close I could feel her breath, then she stretched out her cold hands and placed them on my cheeks, whispering softly:
"I love you… to death."
I gasped sharply.
I was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I felt a warm liquid trickling down my cheek.
I slowly got out of bed. At that moment, the first orange rays of sunlight crept in through the window and settled on my face. I turned my head slightly.
My eyes fell on the clock… It read 4:30.
I stood under the warm water in the shower, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
But the more I tried to sort through those thoughts, the more tangled they became.
I stood in front of the mirror. Dark circles were clearly visible under my eyes, while strands of wet hair hung around my neck and face. I muttered under my breath, "This isn't me." I'm not that person.
I kept staring at my reflection for a long time, until the water on my skin turned cold.
I raised my hand to wipe the water droplets from my face, but I stopped mid-motion, as if I'd forgotten what I was doing.
I stepped out of the bathroom and couldn't find a clean place to sit.
The room was a mess: clothes strewn about, books tossed aside, magazines and manga scattered everywhere, half-eaten canned food. The sound of crickets filled the room.
I opened the fridge to grab the last pack of noodles, then cleared some of the clutter off the floor and sat down in front of the TV.
I took a bite… and at that very moment, that warm liquid trickled down my cheeks again, dripping onto my clothes.
I didn't understand what was happening to me.
I set the food aside, then curled up on the floor.
I began to repeat in a broken voice: "It's not me… it's not me… it's not me…"
Then my voice gradually grew fainter: "I'm tired… I'm tired."
Tears choked my words and blurred my vision as I remained curled up on the floor, lost in silence.
Moments of quiet stillness.
Then a low, cold voice came from the other room.
"Siraj…"
I stood up and sat down, fixing my gaze on the source of the voice.
I raised my sleeve and wiped away my tears to see clearly.
The voice echoed again, cold and low, repeating my name:
"Siraj… Siraj…"
Then the call was interspersed with whispers and faint laughter.
It was the voice of a little girl… . Elusive.
I stood there, feeling a wave of tension wash over my mind.
The voice came again:
"Siraj… Siraj…"
I stepped toward it with extreme caution, sweat pouring down my forehead, my breath coming in gasps.
I raised my hand to grasp the doorknob.
I hesitated for a moment… then opened it nervously.
My eyes fixed on a dark corner of the room, where a little girl in a pale blue dress, streaked with white threads, was crouched on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest with slender arms, her head buried between her shoulders.
She was rocking back and forth in a strange rhythm, and with every movement came a sharp creak, as if old, worn-out wood were rubbing against itself.
My body and limbs trembled, and I felt a shiver run through my entire body.
I took a single step toward her, and the creaking grew louder, mingled with a faint muttering in which she repeated strange words:
"El… Faris… Nokal… Sira…
She repeated them in a low voice, as if it were a never-ending ritual.
I didn't understand what she was saying… Those words seemed like a language from another world.
My voice came out trembling:
"Who are you?"
She didn't stop swaying and continued to mutter strange words. I approached more cautiously and repeated:
"Who are you?"
But I got no answer. She kept repeating incomprehensible words until I placed my hand on her shoulder.
She paused for a moment… then turned toward me very slowly.
My eyes widened, and I froze in place.
She had no face… just dry, skull-like bones and a wide smile stretching across her features. Where her eyes should have been were two empty sockets.
A sound came from her mouth: "Siraj…"
I staggered backward before my legs gave out and I fell to the ground.
I tried to scream, but the sound choked in my throat.
"Get away… get away… get away…"
I kept repeating it as I crawled backward, while she continued to advance slowly, chanting, "Siraj… Siraj… Siraj…"
My breathing quickened.
And in an instant, her hand lashed out at my chest with a tremendous blow.
Blood gushed from my mouth, and my back slammed hard into the shelf behind me; it collapsed, its shelves shattering, and books and pieces of wood scattered all over me.
I felt a warm, sticky fluid pooling around me, seeping from my nose and ears.
I tried to raise my hand, but I could no longer feel it.
I lifted my gaze with intermittent blinks. My vision was drenched in red, yet I could see her approaching slowly, step by step.
She came closer… then stopped right above my head.
She leaned down slightly and whispered:
"I love you… to death."