In a New Reality (A La Squadra and IRL Story)

Something Strange

I was suddenly awoken by my cat meowing directly in my ear. As I opened my eyes and put on my glasses sleepily, I started to realize that it wasn't his usual "alarm clock" waking me up on time behavior. It was still dark outside, the moonlight shining through a crack in my red curtains. Not to mention that his meowing, which is usually quite cute and friendly, sounded almost panicked. I looked at my Hello Kitty-themed alarm clock. The red numbers on the screen said 3:12 AM.

"Lucas, buddy," I murmured, softly petting his fluffy head. "Why did you wake me up at 3 in the morning?"

I was met with him nudging my hand toward the large vanity mirror on my dresser, covered in trinkets and things I collected. But instead of seeing my reflection, I saw something else. Something that shook me to my core.

In the mirror was a young man with dark brown hair. It was tied into six equal-sized pigtails with purple elastics. His outfit looked quilted, wearing a white top with dark gray sleeves that left most of his abdomen and neck uncovered. His bright red eyes stared at me, and before I could say something, poof. He was gone.

"Am I tripping, or was that Illuso?!" I thought, trying to comprehend what I just saw. But before I could finish my train of thought, I heard a noise down the hallway in the living room. It sounded like talking. "Are there intruders in the house?!"

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I leaped up and grabbed my yellow wiffle bat from under my bed. I slowly approached my bedroom door and stepped carefully not to alert whoever was in the house to me being awake. Although, with the man in the mirror seeing me, would that even be worth it?

I'd made it just outside my door when I felt something jab into the skin of my hand. I bit my bottom lip, trying to keep myself from reacting to the pain I felt as I looked down at my right hand. Beneath the skin on my hand was a fishing hook attached to a line. I watched as the hook moved under my skin, wrapping around the bones in my palm before yanking me forward, causing me to fall with a loud thud and drop my bat.

"Anaki! I caught someone!" I heard one of the voices say as I was dragged into the living room by my hand.