Stray Cat

The sun was beating relentlessly on the old cobblestone streets of the city when the stray cat appeared out of the shadows. It was a small, scruffy feline, its fur dyed a dull gray. Its eyes were a deep yellow, and they seemed to be dancing in the fading light that surrounded it. It stared at the girl for a few seconds and then continued on its way. She followed the cat, winding through the narrow alleys and passages of the old part of the city. There was something about that animal that urged her to go after it and she did so without even considering any other possibility.

The cat meowed softly, looking back from time to time, as if it wanted to make sure that she was chasing it. The girl looked around, not knowing what to do. Despite the fear and confusion that was starting to rise within her, she felt a strange kind of excitement that urged her to continue on the trail marked by her peculiar companion.

The cat led the girl through winding streets and alleyways, and soon they were in a completely unfamiliar part of the town. She felt a shiver run up and down her spine, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she kept her gaze focused on the cat's tail, which swayed slightly as they walked. Concentrating on it helped her not to get carried away by her thoughts.

The cat eventually stopped in front of an old abandoned building, and the girl felt her heart skip a beat. She looked up at the roof, which seemed to tear the sky. The walls were on the verge of crumbling and were shrouded in a gloom that gave her great apprehension. She approached the door slowly, full of intrigue, then she stretched her small hand towards the doorknob, and then withdrew it. She had no idea what was on the other side, but she knew it was something important. So, she took a deep breath, reached out again and opened the door.

The cat meowed softly and stepped back, as if to encourage her to follow. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped forward, to enter a large room, decorated with intricate tapestries and filled with empty bookshelves and furniture covered with sheets. She shifted her gaze across the mysterious and wondrous objects that filled the room. In the center was a large table, with a single chair, just opposite the entrance. The cat meowed softly and the girl felt a sense of anticipation as she sat in the chair.

The room was filled with an almost palpable sense of magic, it was as if she was on the threshold of something wonderful. She waited with bated breath, unsure of what would come next. The cat meowed again and ran to a large, ornate mirror resting in the corner.

The girl followed it, curiously, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. The cat stared at the mirror, as if it wanted to tell the girl something. She stood next to it and saw her own reflection, her long, black hair, her green eyes, and her pale skin. She saw something else besides: in the mirror, there was ancient furniture and bookshelves full of books. She saw that she was sitting at a large table, with a chair opposite the entrance, just as she had been a few minutes before. She saw the cat approaching and staring at her, inside the mirror, meowing softly. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. It could not be...

At that moment, another figure appeared in the mirror, only slightly distorted. It was her, but with different clothes.

"Hello," said the girl, with a shiver. "Who are you?"

"Hello," the girl in the mirror replied. Her voice was soft and soothing, and her eyes were cold, her gaze was stern.

"Am I... dead?" asked the girl, uncertainly.

From within the reflection, a large woman appeared, wearing a long lace black dress, with a red gem in the middle of her forehead. She had black hair and piercing green eyes. Her skin was pale, almost transparent, and her lips were so red they seemed to be bleeding.

"No, not yet" the woman spoke in a husky, alto voice. "But you soon will be."

"My name is..." the girl paused, unsure how she should introduce herself. "I mean, my name is..."

"I know what your name is, Karen, I can see your reflection in my mirror" the woman said, with a thin smile.

The girl wanted to scream, to run away, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed with fear, frozen in place, her eyes were open wide, her mouth was open like a gaping hole.

"You have a gift, child" spoke the woman with a wicked smile that twisted her lips. "You have a power that is rare, even amongst our kind."

The girl in the mirror blushed and looked down. "It's silly, really."

"Oh no!" the woman said, with a hiss. "It does not seem silly to me. In fact, it is quite interesting. Especially since you are reflected in my mirror. I must admit, I am intrigued."

"What is this power?" asked the girl, curious. The woman's smile widened and she walked around the table, approaching the girl.

"You have a gift, child," she repeated "and I am going to teach you how to use it."

The woman leaned over and whispered into the girl's ear. The girl closed her eyes and breathed in, her heart racing. She felt something strange, as if something had stuck to her skin.

"Do you understand?" asked the woman. The girl nodded, still holding her breath. "Good. Now, open your eyes."

She did as she was told and saw her own reflection in the mirror. It was her, but it was not. Her face was pale, whiter than it had ever been, and her eyes were black, as if she were dead. Her hands were covered in blood and her clothes were torn. She moved one of her hands and felt a strand of her long, black hair fall across her face. She raised her hand to brush it off and the motion of her hand made it seem as if she was about to touch herself.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, terrified.

"I showed you how to become one of us," the woman replied. "I taught you to use your gift."

"One of you?" asked the girl.

The woman nodded. "Yes. You have a rare gift, child. You can step in and out of mirrors, and what you see there is not exactly what is real..."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, her voice trembling.

"Well, let me put it this way: you can go into the mirror, and you can come out of this mirror, but what is on the other side of the mirror might not be exactly what you see here."

The girl nodded, her eyes wide, her hand on her mouth. "Why?" she whispered. "Why did you do this to me?"

The cat leapt with agility, landing on the girl's frail shoulder where it pressed its sleek body against her neck. The woman's gaze hardened, and the light in her eyes sent a ripple across the mirror, causing her reflection to crawl back into the deepest corner of the room as if it were afraid of her.

"I gave you a gift," she said, with a low hiss. "I gave you the power to become invisible, to hide in the shadows, to hear the secrets of people and use them in your favor. I gave you the power to be more than you could ever be in life. That is why I brought you here. To show you the way."

"I don't want" said the girl, a pleading look in her eyes.

"You don't have a choice," replied the woman, sharply. "This is what you are. You are a being of the night, of the shadows. You are a being of magic, of mystery and power."

"I don't want" repeated the girl. The woman growled and grabbed her tightly by the throat and pressed her nails into her skin.

The girl let out a scream, a high-pitched, tense scream, which rattled the walls. The cat bristled on her shoulders and leapt at the woman, smashing through the mirror and knocking her to the floor. As she fell, the cat jumped up and ran to the corner where the girl's reflection was and, meowing softly, lay in her lap.

The mirror glass shattered into a thousand pieces, cracking the girl's skin at some points while the blood from the woman's forehead dripped down the rest of the glass, covering it with a thick red layer. The girl stood up, her face pale and her hands trembling. She felt pain but did not know what it was. She heard a moan but did not know where it came from. He was breathing, but he did not know why. She felt something in her chest, something throbbing, something shifting and moving, and something calling to her.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was back in the room with the mirror. In front of her, the scattered panes of glass from the mirror crackled on the floor and there was no trace of the dark woman left.

Then, she felt a faint meow. She turned her head and, next to the door, found the cat, who was quietly watching her, then turned and walked out the door.

Again, she followed its steps. The sun had disappeared, and a full moon illuminated the dark roads. The cat was not there.

It was raining.