DEAREST

PART 6: SECRET HEART, Ch. 2

2

Odette

Just as if I woke up from a comfortable dream in my bed back in Bachassau, I open my eyes.

However, after blinking a couple of times to adjust my vision to what is around me, my first thought is that, clearly, I don't know this place at all.

I seem to have woken up from one dream to appear in another. My mind, floating somewhere away from my head: this is how I feel at this moment. Behind me, there is absolutely nothing. A wall of a black so deep and intense, without any light that reflects in it, scares me even to look at it, and it gives me chills.

In front of me, the longest gallery corridor I've ever seen. It's so long, that the other end vanishes through that same darkness that haunts me. It's the strangest place I've been, and it feels so unreal that for a moment it gives me a sense of alienation, as I try to make sense of what my eyes see.

I want to think that it's just a solitary gallery somewhere in this dimension, illuminated by the light of the moon, but even the light is unusual. This light enters through the arches that flank the gallery. It's blurry, and has some dark red notes, but manages to be clear and strong. A rarity from a dream.

I stand up and venture to walk down the hall. This is when I discover a new rarity. The left side of the gallery is only a reflection of the right side, which means that the left wall is an extensive mirror that also ends where this gallery vanishes. I move with caution, trying to assimilate everything that surrounds me.

Luciana.

Next, I am tempted to turn around and enter that darkness behind me, but I have a feeling that when I cross that portal I will lose myself again. Maybe... the power of the Inquisitor is not as limited as I thought, and he has locked me in a place with no escape. Maybe this is my end.

But, is it possible? There are some things that I would like to tell Luciana yet, but I think it's too late.

I move cautiously into the darkness, and reach out to touch the wall.

"Don't."

A female voice stops me an inch from touching the wall with my finger. It's a familiar voice, and it comes from the mirror.

It's me who is reflected in the mirror, but it's not my current stance. Instead of having the arm extended to the side, my reflection remains with the fingers intertwined at the level of my bellybutton. That's a habit of mine, to interlock my fingers that way. However, although I can distinguish elements such as my silhouette, hair and height, the expression of my reflection is different from what I have seen reflected in other mirrors, or simply the general expression that I usually keep. The Odette in the mirror keeps a serene expression, worthy of admiration, as if she knew everything about me. There is even a small gentle smile on her lips, something that doesn't reflect at all the fear I feel at this moment inside me.

I'm not sure what to do, but then it occurs to me that the mirror is not an ordinary mirror, so I approach it and touch it. It's the texture and coldness of a normal mirror, but its function, I've found, is different.

"Oh, come on, what's this?"

"Odette."

The reflection in the mirror, unlike me, hasn't moved an inch, and maintains her peaceful expression. I wonder what kind of spell this is, what the Inquisitor has actually done to me, and I'm positively surprised at his abilities. However, I think that anyone could get great capabilities if you offer your soul to the Dark Force, I suppose.