Sisters of the Shadows

Author’s note: As you read, you’ll find the first two-thirds of this short tale to sound familiar. That’s because I’ve included parts one and two in this one; it is the story in its entirety, meant to allow for a fluid reading experience. If you recently read the previous two parts, you may skip ahead to this section. However, the previous parts will be removed from the website after this, so you may want to reread the whole thing if it’s been a minute.

Sorry that it took so long, and… Enjoy.

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Night 1

Where am I?

I couldn’t see further than a meter in front of me. The term darkness didn’t do it justice–I was surrounded on all sides by an expanse of black nothingness. It was empty, void of life or light, but oddly enough I didn’t feel afraid. I was just as empty, emotionless. Calm.

That’s when the window appeared.

It was square, with no partitions or bracings. The window hovered ahead without the help of a wall, and a dim light spilled through the glass, a dusty bone-white glow that fell off the bottom of the window like a waterfall at the edge of the world. I had expected the light to stretch on for eternity, but the emptiness swallowed the rays. Captured them.

Snuffed them out.

I moved closer, curious. What is this place? Am I dreaming?

With each step toward the window, I saw more details through the glass–and each new detail made my blood run cold.

I was peering into a bedroom; the covers were drawn over two sleeping figures, and nightstands stood on either side of the bed. The closed doors of a closet were visible off to the right, and another, smaller window could be seen on the left wall. The moonlight bathed the room, filtered only by sheer white curtains.

Another step, more details. Each nightstand had its own lamp, matte steel with white shades. The table on the right also held a smartphone, a wallet, keys, some spare change, and a couple crumpled receipts. The opposite table also carried a smartphone, as well as two notebooks, a pen, a tablet, thick-rimmed glasses, and a television remote.

I frowned, my eyes scanning the room again. Where’s the TV?

I was up against the glass, peering directly below in confusion. There seemed to be a dresser in front of the window, littered with papers and clothes and various objects. My eyes widened at the familiar disarray.

This… This is my room.

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Day 1

“Nereida?”

I groaned and rolled onto my side, pulling the down comforter over my head. Rocío let out a frustrated grunt and began shaking me violently.

“Wake up, Reida!”

“Okay, okay!” I huffed and pulled the covers down. “What is it?”

“We’re going to that concert today,” she reminded me. Her hazel gaze studied me questioningly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?” I sat up and stretched my arms out, urging the heat to spread along my extremities. I’m not used to this kind of winter.

“You were talking in your sleep.”

“Oh, yeah?” This was not abnormal; I had been informed of this habit by previous partners, though they all told me the same thing. “What did I say?”

Rocío shrugged. “I don’t know, you mostly mumbled.”

Yeah, I figured as much. I plucked my dream journal from my nightstand and jotted down every detail I could recall from my bizarre dream. Dark place, window, light, moved closer, saw our room…

I scowled at the page, disturbed. There was something I was missing, something important.

“C’mon! I want to get there early,” my girlfriend insisted. She was already dressed and ready to go with her favorite slim-fit jeans and a red graphic tee displaying the logo of her favorite band–the very one we had tickets to go see.

“Alright, just give me half an hour,” I sighed and shut my journal, setting it aside. I had preemptively picked out my outfit for the night, so all I really had to do was shower, fix my hair, and apply some makeup.

“Thirty minutes in your time is, like, two hours, babe,” Rocío complained. Her wavy golden hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and it fell to the side as she tilted her head and watched me. Her greenish-brown eyes took in the way I stood slowly from the bed and stretched. I caught her burdened expression just as she looked away.

“What is it?” I asked.

She shrugged. “You’ve been talking a lot in your sleep. Anything you want to talk about?”

Yes. “No, not really. I’ve always had weird dreams, you know that.”

Rocío nodded distractedly and turned to leave the room. “Thirty minutes, starting now. Got it?”

“Got it,” I smiled reassuringly.

She left the room as I rounded the bed, pausing by the dresser to dig through my underwear drawer. After I settled on my favorite black bra and cheeky panties, I turned to face the closet when a way of déjà vu washed over me.

I was standing at the foot of my bed, and the view of my room from where I stood seemed to jog my memory. I saw this in my dream, I realized. I saw our room, the bed, the nightstands…

Then I spun around and stared into the mirror. It was a square structure that came with the dresser, lined with black wood. Our television was mounted above it, angled down for optimal viewing from the bed. My dark hair was a frizzy mess of curls, framing my round face as I gazed into my soot black irises. Bruised lines sat beneath my eyes, putting my insomnia on display for all to see.

I’m going to need a lot of makeup, I sighed as I left the room, my dream forgotten.

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Night 2

I’m here again.

I looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings. At first, all I could see was the same empty void as in my previous dream. The same window appeared before me, and the usual scene played out. Rocío and I were fast asleep in our bed; I even saw my chest rise and fall in time with my own even breaths.

I stepped closer, peering over the edge of the window, only to find the top of our messy dresser.

I knew it! I’m in the mirror.

Then, without a second thought, I turned my back on our mirror and floated further into the darkness.

If our mirror leads here, I theorized, my eyes peeled for any lights or movement. Then other mirrors should lead here too, right?

As if responding to my theory, a series of mirrors appeared in the void. They were all around me, in all shapes and sizes. Each one displayed at least one person sleeping. I must have peered into thirty or so mirrors, amazed by the sheer volume that remained.

Have I always been able to do this? I wondered, thinking back on my many nightmares. Are there others who can do this, too? And… Wait, why aren’t there any bathroom or hallway mirrors?

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Day 8

I spent the next several nights exploring the dark world I visited in my dreams. I noticed some similarities: every single mirror was placed in a bedroom, where I saw other sleeping people. Some of the bedrooms were empty, but most contained people going about their daily lives. Sleeping, watching TV, reading, getting ready for work or school. I never lingered on any of them–I saw no point in getting attached.

After all, it’s just a dream.

“What’s the matter?” asked Mercedes, Rocío’s mom. Her hair was dyed black, but her roots were flaxen blonde. She was already seated at the kitchen table by the time I trudged out of the bedroom. “You look tired. Didn’t you get any sleep?”

I shrugged as I entered the kitchen. “I’ve just been having weird dreams.”

“She tosses and turns and mumbles in her sleep every night, Ma,” Rocío revealed, throwing me under the bus. I threw her a scowl, which she ignored.

“What kind of dreams?” Mercy badgered.

I sighed and shook my head. “They’re just dreams, okay? They’re just kind of vivid, and I’m not used to that.”

“Well, maybe the dreams are trying to tell you something,” suggested the older woman. “What happens in them?”

“Nothing, really,” I insisted. I poured myself a bowl of sugary cereal. “I’m in this weird other dimension, like a void, and there are all these mirrors all around me. And the mirror that’s in front of me is the one in our bedroom–but instead of seeing my reflection in it, I’m seeing into our bedroom. A-And I go around and explore the other mirrors for a while before returning to our mirror and waking up.”

Mercedes frowned. “What happens if you don’t make it back to the mirror before you wake up?”

“I…” I paused, thinking back on the last few nights. “I don’t know. I’ve never woken up before returning to the mirror.”

“God, that sounds so creepy,” Rocío shuddered from her seat at the table. “I don’t know how you can deal with your dreams, Reida–and to even keep a notebook filled with them. What for?”

I shrugged again. “My parents taught me that my dreams are important, so I always try to write them down.”

“Important how?”

Don’t tell them, a small voice whispered. I fidgeted on the spot. “I don’t know. Anyway, don’t you guys have to get to work?”

“Shit!” Rocío hopped up from her seat, ran over to the sink where she placed her bowl and spoon, and she kissed me goodbye on her way out the door. “See you later!”

“Later!” We called back to her.

I finally finished preparing my own bowl as the thunderous sound of my girlfriend’s truck could be heard from outside the small home. I took her seat at the kitchen table just as Mercedes stood and placed her own dishes in the sink.

“Reida?”

“Mm-hmm?” I hummed over a mouthful of cereal.

“Don’t go too far from your mirror.”

I blinked. Did I imagine that? I swallowed the food in my mouth and cleared my throat. “What was that?”

“Your dream,” Mercy reminded me. Her eyes were as black as the void I wandered through aimlessly in my dreams. “Don’t go too far away from your mirror, the mirror that brings you back. You might not be able to wake up.”

Then she walked out, taking my appetite with her.

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Night 9

I wasn’t sure how to take Mercy’s cryptic warning. Her serious tone and expression made me think she believed it to be more than a dream. But what else could it be? How else could I explain this?

You could tell them what you were taught about your dreams, a tiny voice whispered inside. I had spent the last hour or so traversing the void beyond our mirror, and I was deliberating returning when I began to think back on Mercy’s advice.

Yeah, like they’d believe me, I thought to myself as I let out a snort. “Oh, my dreams? Yeah, my parents taught me that I’m some sorta psychic who can see the future and talk to the dead. No biggie.” They’d commit me before nightfall.

I waded through the shadows and peeked into an oval window that was undoubtedly a vanity mirror. A group of girls around ten years old were sitting on the hardwood floor of a bedroom, huddled around a ouija board in their pajamas. I shook my head at their choice of slumber party activities and turned, floating back the way I came.

You don’t know that Rocío won’t believe you, part of me argued.

Yeah, I kinda do. She’s a huge skeptic—when she’s not scared shitless over horror movies. She’d never accept that I believe this, not without trying to convince me to see a shrink.

What about Mercy? The voice offered. She’d believe you.

That thought had me stop in my tracks. Yeah… Maybe. I don’t know.

Oh, c’mon! You know you want to talk to someone about this. If not your scaredy-cat girlfriend, then why not her mom?

I sighed and resumed my return to my mirror. I had covered a lot of ground—er, void, so I knew it would take me at least another half hour at my current pace, as I wasn’t stopping to take in the sights. Yeah, okay. Fine. I’ll think about talking to Mercy.

The tiny optimist within me pranced around in a victory dance as I floated along, ignoring her. I barely let her out these days. She deserves something to look forward to.

Hell, it’s not like I was a stranger to internal dialogue. When you’re exploring a strange pocket dimension that can only be accessed through your dreams, you’ll find yourself in desperate need of company or entertainment. There’s only so much drama in other people’s lives for me to consume through the mirrors—marital disputes, playtime among siblings, a streamer during a live charity event, make-up sex, live birth…

Yeah, that actually happened. Some people actually give birth at home, on their bed, messing up their own sheets… Wild. To each their own, I guess.

My point is that I indulged my inner voice by actually debating with it. It was a way to pass the time, and fill the endless, deafening silence, which was only ever interrupted by the noises from the other side when I touched the mirrors. That silence had wrapped itself around me, straining my ears. It was almost painful to experience.

And then I heard it. Movement.

From behind me.

I paused and glanced over my shoulder, my eyes raking over the darkness. The mirrors I had left behind disappeared, leaving shadows in my wake. It felt as if I had my back to a pitch-black room—I felt vulnerable, defenseless.

I felt like I was being watched.

My body shuddered as I shook my head and faced away, as if I expected the thought to dissipate from the gesture. There’s no one here, I reminded myself. I’m just hearing things… Which probably means I should head back—

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling sound. My body tensed up as I spun around completely, my eyes straining to find any hint of another living soul.

All I found was darkness… But the sound continued. It was as if someone—or something—stirred in the shadows, swishing around in the empty air.

Moving closer.

I-It’s just a dream, I trembled, my eyes still scouring the void to no avail. That’s when it hit me—I had some autonomy here, some pull over this world. If I can make some of the mirrors out there light up, then I’ll see that there’s nothing to worry about.

I raised my hand, palm out to the void. It felt different somehow; less like the endless, empty space I had grown accustomed to, and more like a small room with no windows or light.

Like I wasn’t alone anymore.

And my only escape was far behind me.

I focused on my intention, determined to prove myself wrong. I’m just being paranoid. There’s no one here.

A few of the mirrors began to appear, varying levels of light pouring through them as they slowly began to illuminate the dark space.

There’s nothing to fear here.

More mirrors appeared on either side, like a makeshift corridor. Stretching out into nothingness.

My heart was pounding in my ears. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until I gasped for air.

There’s nothing to fear… My thoughts trailed off as more mirrors came into view, shedding light on my uninvited guest.

I froze, horrified by… I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. An enormous mass of shadows hovered before me, its shape pulsating like the muscles of a viper beneath inky scales. Its serpentine body was coiled around its head, like a barrier from the light. Instead of reflecting the luminous beams, the entity’s scales appeared to absorb them, negating their shine like a black hole.

Even curled up, I could tell this thing was massive. It was taller than a three story house, and its slender body was so long that the ball it formed was wide enough to block traffic on a two-lane road. Hell, its body looked wide enough to fit two of me…

Which means it can swallow a person whole. I realized, my breath hitching. I could feel the panic rising within me as I tried to make sense of this—this thing. What the hell is this thing?!

Then one of the mirrors beside me shone through the gaps of its coiled body, and I caught a glimpse of the beast’s face.

It was dark, covered in a thick leathery hide. A mane surrounded its head, thin and spindly like a crown of spiders. The long snout of a canine protruded from its face, and rows of long, rotting fangs were on display as it grinned in my direction.

It huffed, and my stomach turned at the disgusting scent that filled the space between us. It smelled of roadkill baking on the filthy asphalt of a highway in the middle of summer. Like spoiled meat being grilled long past its expiration date. Like a bloated corpse lying in its own feces.

Its breath smells like death.

My eyes watered and my nostrils burned, but I fought the urge to cover my nose. My hand was still raised, palm out, but I couldn’t bear to lower it. That thing was glaring at me with obsidian eyes deeper than a bottomless pit, and it took every ounce of energy not to move. I remained still—my body shook with fear, and I was certain tiny whimpers squeaked past my lips between short, shallow breaths.

I didn’t move… And neither did the beast.

I stared, caught in its empty gaze, and it glared back at the deer cowering before it.

A predator hunting its prey.

The gap between its coils widened ever so slightly, and as its head reared back in preparation to strike, I did the first thing I could think of.

I activated all the mirrors, aimed them at the beast—and then, without a second thought, I turned and ran back to my mirror. The eternal abyss below was replaced with a flat surface, and my bare feet surged ahead, carrying me as far away from that thing as possible.

It let out an ear-piercing roar behind me, so powerful that I nearly fell forward. I pressed on, sprinting as if my life depended on it. My lungs felt like they were on fire—I was never much of an athlete, and my body was begging me to let up, to slow to a light jog—

DON’T STOP! I told myself. My calves were screaming for me to quit. My tears fell freely, streaming down my cheeks. Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop—

A whooshing sound interrupted my train of thought, accompanied by the scent of death.

My mirror was just ahead, moonbeams trickling over the edge like a waterfall. My legs were so numb I could barely feel them. My head felt like it would split in twain from the stress on my body and mind.

Don’t stop don’t stop don’t stop—

The whooshing grew closer, and it brought menacing growls with it. My stomach was doing somersaults, desperate to dispel its contents after taking in the beast’s toxic fumes. The mirror was just a few meters away. My thoughts were a mess of despair, spurred on in terror.

It roared again, the very force of it making my body tremble as I surged forward and slapped my hand against my mirror.

Nothing happened.

No, no, no! I began smacking my hand against the glass repeatedly. Wake up, Reida! Wake! Up!

The whooshing came to a halt. Shuddering, I turned to find the coiled mass of scales and muscle hovering in the air directly before me, its nasty breath filling the space. I pressed my back against the mirror, my tears streaking my cheeks, my heart and mind resigned to being devoured by this hellish beast.

Then a light shined from behind me—from the mirror. The monster with the obsidian eyes recoiled with a snarl, its rotting teeth bared in a grin. Suddenly, I began to fall backward, almost as if the mirror had disappeared, and the bright light overwhelmed my senses as someone shoved my shoulder back and forth.

“Babe? Babe!”

Rocío’s voice snapped me out of that dark place. I was back in our bed, in our room, with the light on.

The void beast was nowhere in sight.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. Then I rolled over and wrapped my arms around my girlfriend in a tight embrace. “Thank you, thank you! I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t woken me up.”

Rocío’s eyebrows furrowed over her nose. “What do you mean? I only woke you because you were mumbling and thrashing in your sleep. I’ve never seen you do that before! You were freaking me out.”

“I was in that mirror place again,” I began to explain. “When I traveled too far out and came across this horrific monster. It hated the light, so I made the mirrors around us shine light onto it as I made my escape. It caught up to me at the last minute, and I thought I was a goner. I probably would have been if it wasn’t for you waking me. Thank you for that, babe.”

“You’re welcome for waking you from your nightmare,” Rocío chuckled, prying my arms off of her and standing from the bed. “You do realize it was just a nightmare, right?”

She moved to flick off the light switch when I called out, “Wait, don’t!”

“Babe, shush! My mom’s asleep in the next room.”

“I-I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Could you leave the light on? I don’t want to be in the dark right now.”

Rocío sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Baby, I have work in a few hours, and I can’t sleep with the light on. Can’t we just turn on the TV? Just keep it down.”

Deflated, I nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry you’re awake so early because of me.”

“It’s okay, just try to get back to sleep, okay?”

Rocío waited for me to turn the television on before she shut off the light and returned to our bed. We shared a brief kiss good night before she rolled over, and within minutes she was snoring softly. I always envied her ability to sleep through anything.

With a sigh of my own, I found something on Netflix to watch, a show I wasn’t completely invested in, and let it autoplay as I nestled into my pillow and shut my eyes, willing sleep to take me.

That was until a noise in the hallway made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I frowned. It wasn’t unusual for Mercedes to stay up late or wake in the middle of the night, but it was only the three of us there. How could I be certain it wasn’t an intruder?

That was all it took for me to slide out of bed slowly, slide my feet into my pair of fuzzy slippers, and tip-toe to the bedroom door. Another noise in the hallway sounded as I quietly turned the doorknob and silently pulled the door open.

None of the lights were on in the house. I peered down the hallway to see Mercy’s bedroom door open; then I gazed in the opposite direction to see the rest of the small home bathed in darkness. It reminded me of the void, which made me want to turn back and jump into bed.

I need to make sure Mercy is okay.

As mutedly as I could muster, I trudged out of the bedroom and flicked on the hallway light. The familiar yellow glow bathed the hallway, illuminating some of Mercy’s room.

Her bed was empty.

I turned to stroll down the hallway when I heard another noise—this time coming from the bathroom.

The bathroom directly in front of me.

I gulped. I’ve already made it this far.

“Mercy?” I tried to call out; however, her name came out in a whisper, barely audible in the surrounding stillness. The bathroom door was ajar, so I pushed it open and reached in to flip the light switch. I fumbled against the wall feebly, unable to find it as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

I was able to make out a familiar figure, with pin-straight void-black hair and skin so pale it was almost translucent. She merely stood there, facing the mirror in the darkness, her head bowed, her face obscured by her hair. It reminded me of the dark mane that surrounded the lupine head of the void beast I ran from not moments before.

My fingers found the light switch, and I immediately flipped it up. The overhead light came on, and my breath caught in my throat.

Mercedes stood before me, looking into the mirror.

The void beast stared back.

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Thanks for reading!