A shattered mirror

"Who are you? And what was that thing?"

The guy called Straid still seemed skeptical and on edge, like a person not being able to believe what they saw reflected back at them. Not that I could blame him whatsoever, he had just narrowly escaped death, and on top of that, he had seen a part of the truth of the hidden world, the world denounced by reason itself.

"What does it matter Straid, the guy saved our lives"

"Oh, how can you be so sure?"

"Because we all saw the risk he took, plain as that Straid"

Got to try to explain this one I guess, "Straid, Theresa, June", they all turned to me "yes?", it was time "I will now, make an attempt to explain this night's happening to you all. Firstly the thing that charged at you and I put down, is referred to as a Vannluohg. A Vannluohg is a body possessed by several mad spirits, they all fight for dominance over the body, and as they fight some of the spirits are temporarily dejected from the host with still a link lingering between them, these dejected spirits will then take hold and possess anything giving off a reflection in the nearby area, that goes for mirrors, windows, lakes, rivers, and even eyes, that explains its sharp senses even tho it itself lacks any eyes of its own. A person both living and dead can turn into a Vannluohg by either swimming or floating in a part of a river that has seen many tragic deaths, turning the Vannluohg still haven't adjusted and its own self will be mutilated by the power struggle, and it will then go for an eternal hunt for warmth and sight, leading it to maim people, consuming their flesh and eyes.".

They all give me this strange look, was it shock perhaps? June suddenly puts both her arms around me, shivering, sobbing, was she crying? Theresa takes a few steps back, shaking her head, and Straid just stood there with his jaw dropped, a few minutes went by in silence, except for the silent sobs of June, then Straid suddenly broke the silence "okay, it is at least an explanation for what that thing was, I'm not completely sure I can believe you just yet, or what to believe at all, but how did you kill it? You just suddenly dropped out of nowhere, placed your hands on it, you and that thing, Vannluohg you said it was were both enveloped in a bright glowing light, then suddenly you and it was on the ground, just completely still, what seemed like hours of shock went by and not you nor that thing showed any signs of life, until quite recently when you just woke up and started to vomit this black liquid, can you just tell me what happened?"

Truly, he seemed now more approachable than what he was minutes before, I should just tell them. "I exorcised it, using my own body as a catalyst to shepherding the mad spirits away to the next world, cleansing and removing the cursed shackles that still held them here. That is what I did, but I rushed it, As a result, I got overwhelmed and lost consciousness for a moment". June tightened her grip, it was getting hard to breathe, Theresa was mumbling to herself, walking in circles, while Straid seemed reasonable and calm, "I see... could you teach me how to do exorcisms? I can't just be defenseless when I know this is all real, and please Theresa, pull yourself together", Theresa stops and just stares, then "HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO ACCEPT ANY OF THIS STRAID!?", she was just berating Straid now, like a child throwing a tantrum, seems like she couldn't handle the situation she had just been in. Theresa just kept going on and on about how this was just a nightmare and how she probably would wake from it at any moment, pinching her arms, crying, and yelling.

As this kept going on and on I could feel June undoing her grip around me, she turned to Theresa, and *SMACK*, slapped her across the face before she embraced in a tight hug, and with that Theresa broke down into tears and embraced her friend back. The vision was, strange, perhaps touching, I don't know. While this was going on, Straid took several steps towards me, with a look that could be described as hopeful, "so?", so he was hopeful, well the things I could say could either shut him down or ignite a stronger flame of hope, I should just go with it, "Straid, I'm afraid that there isn't really much you can do to learn it per' say, I personally was born with the abilities to sense and bend spiritual energy ingrained in me. So the main question would be if you have the compatibility to do it, also if you cant do it you would need to acquire a catalyst, a tool where you can process and sense the spiritual energy with, also you would need more experience with these type's of cursed beings so you would naturally learn how to conduct exorcisms on them". He did not seem to get undetermined by the news, he seemed to process it all for some moments, then "Then I just guess I'll see you around, do you have any means of contacting you?".

Surprise, I didn't guess he would go so far, well anyway I guess it isn't any turning back for ones getting involved with the curses of this world "I'm Chrys, give me your number and I will contact you", "I'm looking forward to it Chrys". I guess I just have to say goodbye then I guess, then I'll get back home, I said my goodbyes and turned to leave, but June came over and grabbed my hand, her eyes were worn and red, while her cheeks were blushed "Just... take care", a smile was stretching across my cheeks, "I will".

The stretch was long and tiresome since my body was worn out, I had to stop and force up the rest of the black liquid that had grown stagnant in my belly, and after a while, I stood before the door to our apartment, maybe I should just go straight to bed? Just lay down and be enveloped by the gentle and caring bed-sheet, stretching my hand out, "Hey Chrys, welcome home, did it go well? Anyway, you don't have to tell me today since you are probably tired, the foods on the table, just take care to eat it before you sleep little brother", Alexanders embrace was warm and calming, everything else seemed inconsequential, except, what was it? Was it the food awaiting me? Was it the new crack that had appeared in the mirror? Or was it the shade of red I sensed, just before I drifted to sleep? No, it probably didn't matter, Nah I guess it didn't matter at all.