Supernatural thriller | Rising fashion influencer Rhea is gearing up for her runway debut, but her perfect world is upended when she finds herself haunted by a ghostly doppelganger.
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Twenty-four-year-old Rhea Patel has it all-the career in fash...
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The ghostly redhead had faded as the other Rhea lifted herself from the floor to crawl. I watched in awe as she fought to slither along the white tiled floor toward the apartment door. Would she make it beyond the threshold, to the photo studio, and out the front door of the building like I imagined was her goal?
Nolan's attention remained on his ghost as the dark figure hovered near the bar counter. His deep voice instructed Nolan to, "Get rid of her phone," and relied on a bad attempt of sign language to get his point across. Deep-set hollow eyes receded in his head. The look of utter anger exuded from the entity. "As long as you do what I say, you'll be fine."
It was amazing that the sight of him didn't scare Nolan. I imagined he had grown well acquainted with the figure as it represented all that he truly was but kept hidden from the world. It didn't surprise me at all that the most handsome and successful can hold onto such ugliness on the interior.
So many girls looked at Nolan as the perfect man, companion, and lover, but like me they were looking at him from inside a neat little bubble. Nolan had ejected me from that bubble quite harshly me from that bubble, and soon our fans, family and world would see
I too had an ugliness that consumed me. The fragile, naïve, girl afraid to use her voice or speak out when needed. And look where that led me. But now I was determined to make sure that version of me spoke up today.
While the two Nolans tried to communicate with each other, I went to Rhea's side. "Come on," I encouraged. "You need to get out of here." Her attention was on the blood pouring from her head and down the side of her face. I wasn't even sure she knew I was there, but I instructed her anyway. "Move faster, Rhea. You have to get out of here."
As I reached out to help pull her along, the transparency of my hand revealed the bright red pool of blood on the floor beneath her. Why was I fading? From what I had put together, I thought I would remain in the misty realm only if my physical body died. So why was I disappearing if Rhea and my physical body was still alive. Whatever was happening it was clear that I didn't have much time to figure it out.
Rhea collapsed again as her hands slipped on the growing puddle beneath her. It was then that I saw the phantom within her struggling to push itself up as well. It resembled me in every way, including the weightless strands of hair surrounding her injured head. If Rhea dies, will the phantom within her replace us both? Would that begin a new cycle, the final cycle as Nolan suggested?
"Get up." I tried to nudge the collapsed body but like every time before, my hands went straight through. Neither Rhea or her phantom acknowledged me or my efforts. In fact, it was as if I was invisible to everyone in the room.
Getting as close as I could, nearly mimicking her on the floor, a wave of relief briefly washed over me to see the subtle movement of her torso rise and fall with her breaths. She slowly blinked her eyes as if each time would be her last. Was she on the verge of giving up? Knowing myself, I was convinced she would just lie down and let her life drain. She had to know she still had a chance, and she had my support. I still existed for a reason, and that reason was to get her out of this hell.
