02

The scent of lavender hung in the air, a delicate fragrance that seemed comforting—familiar. A soft tune played in the background, wispy sounding notes ringing in Nina’s ears contrasted with the sharp sound of her own steps. There was the glimmer of the mirror just a few steps away as Nina’s heart pounded.

Two steps away and she felt a foreign sort of panic, distant yet still distinct. Her steps halted.

Green eyes stared back from a pale face—unwavering—and Nina knew it was wrong. Panic crept up, clawing at her throat in the form of a scream being muffled even as the placid look on the face that should have been Nina’s stayed in place.

She awoke with a start, heart still beating wildly in her chest and hands shaking so very slightly. The clock showed the time as being just past five and Nina felt already exhausted. It was a feeling that persisted for the rest of the day.

Nina felt her whole body ache as she sat at her kitchen table some hours later, a cup of coffee in front of her. Steam rose from it, carrying the usual, earthy scent that had never failed to soothe Nina. Even so, at that time it did nothing to rid her of the unease she’d carried from the moment she’d woken up.

“Breaking news, this morning the commissioner of the FDA passed away in the hospital. . . .”  The woman on the screen looked grim as she read the news. Nina only half listened, the voice sounding distant as her mind swam with thoughts of the oddness in her life.

Two days had passed since the dream. The one where Nina stared at a face that wasn’t her own and felt like screaming from the wrongness of it all. Two days since visions of the strangely familiar hallway—with it’s ever changing pictures hanging on the wall—began to interrupt Nina’s daily life, wearing at Nina’s already strained mind.

“. . . No motive for the attack has been found. . . .”

Her once comfortable apartment felt stifling. Nina, for the first time since she’d moved into the city and occupied the brightly lit apartment, felt trapped in her own home. Perhaps that was why she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that surprised even herself when she received a message from a friend.

This time it was from Natalia—or Nat, as she preferred to be called—someone Nina had known since they were both children living in a smaller town. Simply seeing her name brought the image of the tall young woman to mind, her brown eyes as sharp as her smile. Nat was a clever woman, but she was also kind, and Nina found that made for a good combination in a friend.

It was, Nina thought, just the type of friend she needed at the moment. Maybe that was why she found herself smiling when she read Nat’s message, asking if Nina would like to meet up. The timing couldn’t have been better.

After sending a quick reply, Nina readied herself, thinking perhaps the fresh air and company would be of help. Perhaps for a short while, the hallway that had come to haunt her would leave her mind.

As soon as she stepped out of the building, Nina felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders; swept away in the cool, late autumn breeze. She took a deep breath of the crisp air, took a look around at the scene of people simply going about their business all around her, and went on her way.

The place where she was to meet Nat was a short walk away. Normally, Nina would have driven there, but she needed some time to get out of the shaky frame of mind she’d been in as of late. Taking a walk always helped her clear her head, and at that moment, she found that simply being surrounded by others walking along that same street helped.

By the time Nina reached the coffee shop where Nat waited for her, she was feeling more like herself—or at least, like her old self. That was something that had become rare after the accident and the surgery. Nina liked to think it was simply because she was still recovering. She liked to think that things would get better.

Despite that, some part of her must have known the things she’d gone through had changed her too much.

The bells on the coffee shop door jingled daintily when Nina walked into the cozy little store. There were not so many people waiting around, perhaps because of the odd hour—too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Nina was glad for that much.

Nat sat at a table off to the side, next to the window where she could watch people walk by and go about their business. She looked much like she had the last time Nina had seen her, something that must have been more than a month back. They were both busy people, after all.

Nat’s long, dark hair was neatly clipped back and a thoughtful expression was on her face, making her look as if she was caught in her own thoughts. Even so, her eyes still held a keen sort of look that Nina had come to associate so closely to her friend. Of course, Nat’s eyes had always stood out to Nina for more than one reason.

When Nat finally saw Nina, she smiled, crimson lips curving across her pale face as she stood to greet Nina with a hug. Her warmth was comforting, despite Nina’s usual dislike of physical affection. She supposed, at times, a bit of it was needed—maybe even appreciated. The embrace was quick, Nat drawing back to look at Nina, seemingly appraising her friend’s condition.

“How have you been?” Nat asked, voice soft and just faintly tinged with concern.

“I’m fine,” Nina said, feeling as if that were true at that moment. “Tired, but fine. I guess it’s just taking some getting used to not remembering so much.”

“I bet it does.” Nat took her seat once more as Nina sat across from her. She noticed a warm drink already waiting for her. “Oh, I ordered something for you. Figured you’d need something to warm you up with this weather.”

Nina smiled at the gesture and took a sip of the drink Nat had ordered for her. It was sweet, a bit too much so for her taste, but she still smiled as she set her cup down.

“Thank you,” she said, the taste of cream and sugar still stuck to her mouth. Nat smiled, pleased. “How has work been for you?”

“Busy, like always. The company’s expanding and we might be moving to a new location soon, but I won’t bore you with the details.” Nat waved the issue away with a simple gesture of her hand. “By the way, I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you before, things have just been so busy and then I wasn’t sure how you were doing.”

“It’s fine, I understand. We all have our own lives. I’m just glad we could meet up now, it’s a nice change from being stuck at home all the time.” Nina smiled at her friend in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to bother you before you were well enough. You look good,” Nat commented, lifting her cup to her lips, steam still rising from the drink.

Nina supposed she did, considering all she had been through. The mention of it—the very thought of it—still made her all the more conscious of the burns that were still healing. Skin grafting could only do so much and Nina knew she’d have scars left over to remind her of the accident. Constant reminders of what had happened. Subconsciously, she tugged at the sleeve of her sweater beneath the table.

“I feel good, it’s just odd sometimes,” Nina said, halting before she said anything about the real issues she had been dealing with. Unfortunately for Nina, Nat was a very perceptive person. Her brown eyes seemed to look through her, the mismatched tones—something Nat claimed only Nina had ever been able to notice so quickly—unsettling for the first time since Nina had first gazed at them so many years earlier.

“Is something wrong?” Nat asked, brow furrowed

Nina hesitated for a moment, mulling over whether she should tell Nat. She was well aware of how ridiculous what she was going through sounded. Still, Nat was someone she could trust, someone she had known for a very long time. There were few people Nina could trust to the same level as she did Nat.

“It’s just, lately I’ve been having these strange dreams,” Nina started, still feeling uncertain but needing to tell someone. Nat looked interested, her left eye—the one that had been replaced—seeming to glimmer even in the soft lighting of the shop.

“What kind of dreams? About the accident?”

Nina shook her head. “No, they’re not really about that. Honestly, I don’t know what they’re about. I don’t even know if they’re really dreams anymore.”

The last part seemed to pique Nat’s interest. She sat up straighter, hand drifting away from her drink and gaze fixed unwaveringly on her friend. Nina chose to take that as a sign that she should continue. She struggled for a second, thinking of how best to describe her issue.

How best to tell her friend that she thought she was losing her mind.

“When you had the accident, did you have any strange side effects?” Nina began, hesitant to ask about the event that had cost Nat her eye, but needing to get a better understanding on what was going on. Nat seemed surprised, something Nina expected. She was glad to note that she didn’t also look offended.

“It took some getting used to,” Nat said nonchalantly, fingers idly stirring her coffee. “There was some sensitivity to light the first few weeks, headaches, trouble focusing my vision. Little things. Now a days I don’t even think about it so much. If I strain my sight too much the headaches might come back, but everything else is fine. Sometimes I can almost forget the whole thing ever happened. Why? Are you having issues?” Nina nodded.

“Nothing serious. The headaches are fading, but those I expected,” she said. “But the dreams. I didn’t expect those.”

“It’s not unheard of to have strange dreams after something like what you’ve gone through.”

“No, it isn’t,” Nina agreed, because she’d seen it before. People who’d gone through traumatic experiences often found little respite in their sleep. “At first I thought it was normal, with everything that’s happened. I thought maybe it had to do with the time between the accident and the surgery.”

“The period of time you don’t remember,” Nat said, nodding in understanding.

“Yes, but that can’t be it. Those memories are gone, so I know it’s something else. But I still have no idea what it’s all about. There’s places I know I’ve never been to, and they just keep popping up in my head like triggered memories, and they’re so vivid,” there was a trace of desperation in Nina’s voice that she recognized all on her own. Nat appeared to do so as well, if the expression of gradually growing concern she wore was anything to go by.

“Maybe you should talk to the doctors, see what they have to say about it. It is a new procedure, there’s bound to be things even they don’t know about, or maybe things they forgot to mention.”

Nina had considered that, had hoped that was all it was, but she knew there were others who’d received hippocampal implants before her and had not reported such strange side effects. Still, she’d said enough. She didn’t want to worry Nat any more than she already had.

Mostly, Nina didn’t think she should mention the woman in the mirror.

They left not long after, Nat wearing a smile that Nina was certain was meant to be reassuring. She found no comfort in it, but still put on a smile of her own. Nat gave her one last hug before walking away. Nina watcher her go until she was lost in the crowd. The sickly sweet taste of the coffee Nat had ordered for her stuck to Nina’s mouth and she found her mind wasn’t any clearer than it had been at the start.

Nina was just glad to make it back to her home without the image of the hallway returning to her mind. She was still tired, the exhaustion appearing to reach her very bones. That was how she ended up laying on her living room couch just shortly after arriving. The television was instantly turned on at her command. As was usual for Nina as of late, she had no real interest in the programs currently playing, but the sound served to cut through the overwhelming silence of the apartment. Distracted her from recalling the unsettling silence of the hospital room she’d woken up in all those weeks earlier.

“. . . is currently awaiting sentencing. . . .”

The conversation she’d had with Nat replayed in her head. For a second, Nina found herself wondering whether her friend was right, whether she should simply go back to the research center and ask about the strange memory-like visions that were plaguing her. That was, after all, the most reasonable course of action she could take. If anyone could tell her what was wrong, it was the doctors who’d treated her. Nina might have done that, if it weren’t for some part of her pushing her away from that, telling her that she shouldn’t go back—not yet. Nina’s instincts had yet to give her a reason to doubt them.

“. . . Fearnley was indicted on the murder of Alice Cassill. . . .”

Nina sat up on the couch, intending to head to the kitchen to start on a somewhat late lunch. Perhaps that would help rid her of the remnants of the overly sweet drink she’d had not so long ago. Her gaze swept across the television screen as she turned towards the kitchen. And then, Nina froze.

There, on the screen, was the face that had haunted her for the last couple of days. Green eyes stared back from a pale face, dark circles giving the otherwise young woman a tired look. Nina felt like screaming—felt like the world around her had fallen away in that instant.

The woman from the mirror finally had a name.

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Hey everyone, hope you've all liked this chapter! Next one will be out soon, but in the meantime, please comment and vote if you can. As always, thank you for reading and have a great weekend!