Author's Note~

As usual, I am once again really sorry. This time has been way longer and I am truly sorry for that :c I have been so damn busy lately it's sad. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways. :)

Also, don't be sad if this is short ;D As an apology I've done a double chapter update c:

P.S. HOORAY FOR NOT BEING LAZY AND ACTUALLY FORMATTING THE DESIGN

~~~~~~

She weaved in and out between the hundreds upon thousands of mirrors, mirrors, mirrors.

She watched a warm droplet fall down her face with every turn she made, sobbed at her own fear-widened eyes as she stumbled through the merciless labyrinth of what she had come to know of as pure fear.

Hundreds upon thousands of her very own self repeated and repeated in front of her very own eyes. The waterworks kicked in and she broke down in tears.

Every step she made seemed to speed up time as every corner she rounded displayed splitting copies of what had been right in front of her mere milliseconds before. Repeated repetition and twin-shot vision.

Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors.

She stopped.

She stood at the dead end, chest heaving. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

She stared at herself, mouth agape at her bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks. The tinted mirror blackened her dilated pupils, tainted her pale skin.

Then there was warmth.

It ebbed through her veins like heat through ice and it stopped somewhere deep inside her chest, pooling inside her heart, assuring her that she was safe. Arms curled around her trembling shoulders, and all of a sudden there was a cheek pressed against her cheek, and fingers intertwined with her fingers, and a heart beating in time with her heart.

She drew in a breath and smiled. Just a little.

She stood there for a while, breathing in the joy that lingered in the air around her. She closed her eyes, willing it to stay.

Her eyes shot open and she watched the glass around her shatter.

Who am I?

~~~~~~

I knocked on my mother’s door with a trembling fist. Sweat seemed to stream out of every pore in my body and my knuckles were clenched white against my sides.

She opened it, donning her black-framed glasses and a frown on her face.

“It’s 2 in the morning, Yumi, what could you possibly want?” she shook her head, placing a hand on her hip. She was working. I thought so. I had wanted to go back to my room and leave her alone because I knew troubling her then was not a good idea. But I couldn’t just push it aside any longer. I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“I had a nightmare.” I said softly.

Mum, look at me. I’m dying. Help me.

“This isn’t the time, Yumi, I’m busy. Just go drink some water. Get some rest.”

“I can’t go back to sleep.”

Please. I can’t. I know you’re stressed now, but I can’t do this anymore.

“Why not?”

“It’ll come back.”

I can’t do this.

“Yumi, please.”

“Mum…”

I can’t.

“Just try not to think about it okay? If there’s nothing physically wrong with you then just go to bed. Please.”

“Umma…”

I can’t…

“What?”

“I need to go to Korea.”

~~~~~~

“What?”

I froze in fear, eyes widened, rooted to the spot. Did I really just ask that?

I slowly looked up into my mother’s eyes. They were hard, cold. Unwelcoming. They were not the ones I had grown so accustomed to as a little girl.

“What?”

I slowly opened my mouth, and said it again.

“I need to go to Korea.”

I stood there, bearing an emotionless face, staring her down. My heart ached as she brought her hand to her forehead and heaved a sigh. Her long fingers came down to pinch the bridge of her nose and she took a step back. The light that brightened the dark hallway darted back inside as she closed the door, plunging me into darkness. I kept my eyes where they were, fixated on the painted wood of my mother’s office door. I didn’t know what to feel. What was I thinking? What was wrong with me? I turned away, padding across the empty hall back to my room.

Slowly, I crossed the unlit space to my window, fingers tightening around my drawn curtains before yanking them back. Stars littered the moonless sky, twinkling prettily upon pitch blackness. I looked at them, letting my head rest on the window ledge. I allowed my heavy lids to fall, squeezing a tear out the corner of my eye before letting sleep take my mind.

Are you looking at the same stars I am? Can you see the same stars I can?

Maybe you’re not so far away after all.