The Book of Flops

Coven of the Phoenix Remnants

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I had a story called Coven of the Phoenix. I wrote the beginning for an English project, and it went well, but quarantine started, and I left it as a WIP for about 7 months too long. I tried to salvage it back in September, but the plot I had was super boring and I decided against publishing any more. So what used to be the first two chapters are here now. 

I hated crying, especially crying in public. Yet here I was, shuffling against the rush hour flow of foot traffic, trying to get back to my apartment, on the verge of a meltdown. I hid my face as I walked past the front desk of my complex's secretary. I impatiently awaited the elevator's ding of arrival. I quickly stepped in while tears welled in my eyes. I pressed the buttons in the elevator anxiously, eager to get back to the security of my home.

How could he do this? I thought to myself as the tiny box ascended. Less than 10 minutes ago, I found Asher, my boyfriend of almost three years cheating on me. Well, cheating would be an understatement. I'd found him with presumably nothing on next to another woman, equally as scantily clad. It hadn't taken a genius to put two and two together, and I stormed out of his room before we could talk. I knew that if I'd stayed, he AND his other lady love would have been unconscious in a matter of minutes.

Questions raced through my mind as tears rolled down my cheeks. How long had this been going on? Why didn't he tell me he wanted to see other people? What did she give him that I couldn't?

I heard another ding and looked up to see the doors of the elevator opening. Pull yourself together Maddie, I thought to myself as I searched for my keychain in my purse and exited the elevator. I unlocked the door to my apartment and instantly went into the bathroom to attempt to salvage my face. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was a mess. My mascara was running down my cheeks, my eyeshadow had smeared from me dabbing at my eyes, my complexion was tear-streaked, and my eyes were red.

I fought back another wave of tears as I looked for the makeup wipes. I had stood at this exact mirror less than an hour ago, putting on makeup and getting ready for a surprise date with Asher. Giddy and lovestruck, so full of hope. Then I found him with her. I laughed dryly at my foolishness, swearing revenge on Asher and his mistress.

Believe me, I've always been one who takes out their anger through tone of voice and other non-harmful activities. But when it came down to relationship problems, communication was key to resolving any issue. The problem with this scenario was that I hadn't calmed down enough to talk to Asher yet, and was in a pretty aggressive mood.

I didn't even know her name and I hated her. The rage for her boiled inside of me and anger coursed through my veins like adrenaline. I screamed, my arms lashing out, mauling an invisible restraint. I leaned over the sink, short of breath, my eyes closed to fight off the oncoming headache I was getting from my outburst. I looked up at the mirror again, and I couldn't believe what I saw...

My reflection no longer depicted a grief-stricken girl. Instead, I was wearing a floor-length burgundy dress with swirling gold embroidery, and long medieval-style sleeves. My long, curly, red hair had been somehow tamed and was in a half up-half down style. My makeup was also more natural than my usual bold looks. Perched atop my doppelganger's left shoulder, I noticed a phoenix ruffling its feathers. Sparks and tongues of flames were swirling around my counterpart. My reflection stared back at me and smiled, while my own mouth hung agape. My duplicate raised her right hand up to shoulder height, made a flourishing motion, and snapped. The flourish yielded flames identical to the ones flying around my counterpart, and the snap made sparks appear from her fingers. The flames surrounding her multiplied and roared, completely concealing her. The tunnel of flames grew tighter, and then vanished. I was left staring at my own shocked expression in the mirror.

I massaged my temples and rubbed the inner corner of my eyes, knowing that this couldn't have been real. That was not me. That was not me. That was NOT me. I thought to myself as I paced around my bathroom. If it wasn't me, then what or who was it? I questioned as I sat down on the edge of my bathtub. To know me was to know that I was a logical thinker. So when my analytical mind couldn't find an explanation for something, it started freaking out, which was exactly what it was doing now. I shook my head, attempting to dismiss the freak-out session upstairs while I walked across the hall and into my kitchen. I fixed myself a glass of water and entered my living room. I sat down on one side of my couch, the one farthest away from my still open bathroom door, while still being able to see it. My brain felt more comforted if I could see any potential "suspicious activity". I sat there staring at my bathroom for a few minutes, as if daring it to produce another apparition. Ten minutes later, my mind grew bored of my silent vigil, and I decided to turn on some television. Twilight had long past and now the moon was up high in the sky.

I meandered over to my large glass window and gazed out over the edge of the forest my apartment overlooked. Beyond the forest, there was a placid river and if you followed the river, you would come to a waterfall with a ridge overlooking it. I used to hike that forest and go to the waterfall all the time. I even took Asher there once. We had stood there, hand in hand, for about an hour talking about how thankful we were to be with each other. The forest usually looked ominous in the moonlight, but tonight there was something different about it. On the very edge of the forest, there was a softly glowing, golden, light. It didn't reach above the trees, so nobody in town could see it, only those with an aerial view of the landscape. I was tempted to leave a message at the town hall, but I'd had enough mystery for the day and chose to just shower and go to bed.