House of Mirrors

Starla has been holding my hand, my wrist, my elbow. She has even been brushing against my arm. Twice I got a squishy arm hug, which was amazing. I’m working up to making my move on the Terror Ride, but first, she wants to go to the House of Mirrors. 

We have to split up to go in, but I am confident I will find her inside. She laughs and steps in, turns and gives me a wink, then crooks her finger as she moves left and out of sight. 

I’m practically frothing at the mouth waiting for the attendant to let me follow her in. I finally get the wave and receive a wink and, “Good luck, buddy,” at my back as I charge in. 

I quickly cut left, then look around. Starla might be waiting close by, but I don’t see her.  Thinking she might stay on the same strategy, I go left when I can, and keep moving.  I don’t see her in any of the mirrors, but I do sometimes hear shuffling.   

The lights in the “House of Mirrors” are mostly yellow and pink.  A little strobe here and there. And there are the requisite distracting horns and honks that bounce all around. Unexpectedly, I think some of the “House of Terror” inhabitants have come over to give out an occasional moan and groan.  

After ten minutes of this nonsense, I figure I better just solve this thing and meet her at the exit.  My real opportunity is the “Terror Ride” anyway.  So, I start the “go left” strategy.  I know that this will eventually get me out of here.  I know not to trust the brackets on the floor, or ceiling, as there will be false ones.  I just put my left arm out and start picking up a rhythm. 

As I start to get somewhere, I catch a reflection of Starla’s boot in a mirror to my right. If I can see her, she must be close, so I cut over to follow.

I can hear her; she’s calling out to me.  I’m moving pretty quickly now, it’s like I have a sense of where the mirrors are.  With her voice, “Are you coming?” as my guide, I pick up speed.  

There’s “smoke” on the floor in this part of the maze.  That’s cool.

I hear Starla’s voice, “what’s taking you so long?”  I am less cautious, more aggressive in my movements. Left, right, right, left, it doesn’t matter.  It’s like the mirrors are moving out of my way.   

Just as I think I’m about to catch her, I run into the attendant. “Well done.  Starla said you would fly through that.  Now, it’s time to see what comes next.  This is a blue-pill / red-pill moment.  I can show you out, you’ll forget about this, other than an intriguing story, and you will probably forget about Starla.  Or you can see how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

“Starla is in there.  She thinks you can find her and do the thing you are supposed to do.  Don’t ask, I don’t know what the thing is, I’m just the guy she paid twenty bucks to say this stuff to you.  Starla says you’re the one.  No, I don’t know what that means either.  There’s a door to the left, but it’s locked, and I don’t have a key. Apparently that's not going to stop you. The exit is to the right and comes out next to the dip dot stand.  I highly recommend those.”

As he was leaving, he turned, “Oh yeah, Starla says I have to tell you that it isn’t safe.  You are not safe.” 

With that sage advice, he went out the exit, towards what I could see was the dip dot stand, before the door swung shut behind him. 

Just then I felt my backside bump against the door behind me. As I turned it closed behind me. I was on a conveyor belt that had just carried me through the choice. 

*** 

Here, the lights are no longer bright. A deep blue and purple atmosphere reigns. There is more smoke, but it’s not cold anymore. It’s humid in here.  There is also different ambient noise.  Croaking, skittering, snapping, and crickets. 

I need someplace to start, so I call out, “Starla!” 

My heart jumps out of my chest when someone grabs my arm and covers my mouth.  I feel her warm breath against my ear, “Shh.  We need to be quiet now.” 

Starla pulls me to her, and I forget everything as her breasts crush against my arm and side. 

“ma glbat durt thawnto grbl boob,” she said. Or something like that. I can’t remember. Her hands are so soft and warm.  I can also feel the warmth from her leg against mine. 

“bi blattan der quirble da boob,” she said. I have never had such a pretty girl stand so close to me. I nodded in agreement, though I had no idea what I was agreeing to. 

Mostly, I can feel the warmth from her chest against my arm.  It’s soft, firm, and welcoming.  I'm lost in the moment when I feel a slap across my cheek. 

“Hey, pervert, they’re just boobs.  Pay attention.” 

“I was paying attention.  I was just thinking about that noise I heard.” 

“Well think about this, the pill thing has passed, you came through the door.” 

“About that. I didn’t get to make that choice.  It happened to me while I was distracted by dip dots.” 

“Hold it together, Alice.  It doesn’t matter now.  Be quiet, they’re coming.” 

I held my tongue as three shadows appeared in the mirrors around us, two to the right, one straight ahead.  I heard them speak. 

"She brought him.  She found him and brought him,” said the one ahead. Clearly a woman, it was a smoky singer’s voice, mellifluous and full. 

“She could be mistaken,” whined a voice on the right, nasal and tinny.  A slappable man. 

“She is not wrong. It is him.” 

“We could interfere. We could make him disappear. We could take him far from here,” said the third figure. 

“You could try, but I would stop you,” said the singer. 

“There are two of us. We could overcome you. We could stop this now,” said the slappable man. 

“You could not. This moment has already happened. We three know what must come next,” said the singer. 

“Do you really think you can?” said the man. 

“I already have,” she said. 

Dozens of shadows rose from the mirrors around the two figures on the right.  The shadows swarmed the two and pulled them down. There was no sound, but I know what being torn apart looks like. 

The singer turned to us, “I have done as I promised. You must not tarry, they will not be distracted by me for long.” On that note, the shadow creatures jumped across the mirror and swarmed her. She rose for a moment, the shadow of a great bird, but then was pulled back down. 

Starla grabbed my arm and pulled. We ran. 

Moments later, we heard the shadows begin to follow. 

Starla said, “You must clear the way.  It is our only chance.” 

“I don’t...” 

“There is no time for that now. You must, or we are lost.” 

*** 

I forgot about my friends. I forgot about school. I forgot about the park. I forgot about the attendant. I even forgot about Starla. I looked at the mirrors and the shadows they held and hid. I put all those things out of my mind and close my eyes. I see past those distractions, and I step into the light. 

I am alone. Everyone is gone. Every thing is gone. The light comes from every where. There are no colors, no shadows, just an expanse of white. I turn 360 degrees and see nothing. I hear nothing. I smell nothing. I do not call out. I know that I could stay here, safe, for as long as I wish. I know that weakness would cost too much. 

I open my eyes and feel Starla on my arm again. 

“Where did you,” she began. 

“There is no time,” I say. “We must hurry.” 

We run as quickly as we can, without encountering an obstructing mirror. Though it smells of jungle, nothing tangles our feet, or impedes our motion. The sounds of pursuit follow us, snapping branches and upset wildlife punctuated by breaking glass and howls of pain. As we run, I again feel the mirrors moving out of our way, closing ranks behind us. I don’t consciously choose to dodge left and right, but that is the path. Though it would be faster and easier to let go of each other, we hold tight. We will never let go now. 

We finally arrive at a small clearing and stop to catch our breath. 

“You have done well,” comes from seven cowled figures stepping from behind seven different mirrors around the clearing. “You have evaded the hunt.” 

The sounds of pursuit trail off. The purple and green atmosphere drifts away. We are in the blue and green light of a country hillside. 

“Welcome,” the seven intone. 

Starla says, “Thank you,” and gives my arm a squeeze. 

I feel her lay her head on my shoulder, but as I turn to look at

her, she is gone. I am alone. 

And so it is done. I am here now.