House of Mirrors

Chapter 1 — Breaking Point The house was dark and silent as Julia crept into her uncle Ralph’s bedroom, a long kitchen knife clutched in her trembling hand. She moved like a predator stalking its prey, her face flushed, heart pounding.  Time seemed to stand still as she crept closer to Ralph's bed. The air felt thick with a sense of impending doom. Julia held her breath. Her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest as she leaned over him, the knife poised above his neck ready to strike, moonlight glinting off its razor-sharp edge.  In the distance, a siren wailed. The sheer curtains billowed in a sudden gust of wind. Ralph stirred in his sleep, groaning. Julia froze, overwhelmed with emotions — confusion, dread, and a dark wrath that threatened to consume her. Her eyes were fixed on Ralph's throat at the spot where she meant to plunge the knife and end his life, and a vision flashed before her — Ralph’s lifeless pale eyes blindly staring in shock as a red tide oozed over his pillow.  Julia recoiled in horror, jolting herself awake. Her eyes flew open and she inhaled with a sudden, startled gasp. She was inexplicably next to her uncle Ralph’s bed, a knife glinting ominously in her grip. The remnants of a fierce rage still throbbed within her, fueling her confusion. How had she made her way to his room? And why was she holding a weapon? Tears streamed down her face as she staggered backward, the knife slipping from her grasp and landing with a soft thud on the thick pile carpet. "What am I doing? I c-can't…," she gasped. Julia’s mind spun in a whirlwind of chaos and pain as she fled the room, her pulse pounding in her temples and her breath straining in ragged gasps. Something had snapped inside of her, a dam of emotions had burst and left her feeling raw and exposed. It was only a nightmare, she told herself. She had been sleepwalking — but what if it happened again? She could not go on the way things were. What if she had actually murdered her uncle? She knew she couldn't stay. Not even for another hour. Not after what she'd almost done.  This isn’t who I am, she told herself. Her mind strained to remember better times, before the darkness took hold — how she had bottle fed a litter of kittens she had found abandoned in a storm drain, volunteered at the animal shelter, and collected food for homeless children. These memories of her kindness and empathy starkly contrasted with the scene that had just unfolded, reminding her of who she really wanted to be. Dashing to her bedroom, Julia yanked her backpack out of the closet and crammed it full of warm sweaters, cotton T-shirts, blue jeans, a hair brush, toothbrush, socks and underwear. As she strapped her sleeping bag to the backpack, she recalled her grandmother’s words, “You have a heart of gold, my dear, but your temper is the redhead’s curse.” Julia was determined to prove her wrong. She had to regain control of her life and her emotions. She pulled open a dresser drawer, grabbed a pile of cash hidden under her pajamas and stuffed it into her pocket. She had been saving her pet-sitting money for years, not being the type to squander it on clothes and makeup the way some of her friends did. All that stuff was superficial nonsense in her opinion. As prepared as she could ever be for the void into which she seemed to be falling, Julia threw on a heavy jacket, shouldered her backpack and headed for the kitchen to grab a bunch of bananas, a water bottle and a bag of granola. At the front door, she hesitated as she reached for the doorknob. Once she turned that knob everything would change. She didn’t know where to go or what she would do next, but, she reminded herself, anywhere else had to be better than living here with the rage that threatened to consume her soul. A gust of chilly wind rushed in as she pulled open the door and she braced herself to face the unknown. Stepping out beneath a sky full of stars, she resolutely marched forward, feeling a mixture of dread and relief. She glanced back only once. The house was cloaked in shadow, its dark roofline stark against the starry sky, the walls blending with the houses on either side. Like a black hole, she mused. She didn’t have a car, so she headed on foot toward the Greyhound bus station a few blocks away, bought a ticket and climbed aboard the first bus heading north. It was less civilized up there, she figured — better for hiding out. Julia wondered what Ralph would think when he found her gone — what he would make of the knife on his bedroom floor. It almost made her chuckle sarcastically, but a wave of remorse quickly washed away her amusement. She must have subconsciously wanted to murder him, but she knew she was better than that. She had to be. Chapter 2 — Three Months Later Flames surround me, licking, crackling, searing my skin like devouring monsters. The stench of smoke and my burning flesh chokes my lungs. My body recoils, yet I feel detached. There is no pain. I feel peaceful, even blissful.  I feared this was the end, but now I realize it was only the beginning.