4. What's happening?

As I pulled away the white cloth covering the mirror, a cloud of dust rose into the air. My reflection slowly came into view, and I found myself staring at a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

My hair, once a mousy brown, was now a deep, raven black. A single lock of red hair stood out against the dark waves, catching the light in a way that made it seem almost alive.

My face looked average—nothing extraordinary like my brother's. I think I will just look like a jellyfish next to him. My features looked plain and ordinary, the kind that would blend into any crowd and it's all the same in this world too. I sighed till my vision got stuck into my ever-glowing eyes. 

'A bit more change can be found.', a little smile bloomed on my face. My eyes responded by glowing more like synched with the morning sun rays. 

But my eyes... they were different.

Golden-red irises stared back at me with a depth and intensity that seemed to reach into my very soul. They were not just eyes—they were windows into something more, something powerful, something ancient. I felt a strange pull, like I was looking at someone else entirely, and yet, it was undeniably me.

'Maybe that's why I look so different. Is this what Ariana looks like?' I wondered, my mind racing as I tried to match the reflection with the comic as much as I remembered.

I couldn't tear my gaze away. It was as if I was possessed, my past and present selves colliding in the reflection before me. Something unbelievable started to happen. I looked in the mirror with confusion.

"What's happening?" I whispered to myself, gripping the edge of the sink as I studied my reflection just like before.

The familiar setting of the room felt like a distant memory. For a fleeting moment, the face staring back at me seemed to shift, overlaying itself with the image of my old self—whoever I was before this.

The two images merged, a silver line connecting them, and I could see the faintest hint of recognition. My reflection smiled at me, a gentle, knowing smile that sent a chill down my spine. 'Is this Ariana? Am I really her?'

"I am sure I am not smiling. How came the reflection is smiling at me?" I murmured while I tried to touch the mirror as if this would be the passageway to return back to my world.

But the mirror felt solid, nothing special. I felt like a fool, Maybe I hoped too much.

Suddenly, the reflection changed. It was no longer the face of Ariana Rain Hart. It was my past self, the person I used to be.

She looked at me with those same golden-red eyes, her expression soft but filled with a quiet determination. However, me of that world had dark-black eyes...

"How can this happen???" I questioned my eyes. Am I dreaming?

'Dream within a dream?' I asked myself in my mind.

"When I am gonna wake up?" My hushed and unfamiliar voice sounded within the empty room.

But her lips moved...

"Good luck... and protect my brother," she whispered, her voice barely audible, yet it echoed in my mind like a command.

I reached out, my fingers trembling as they touched the cool surface of the mirror. "Wait! Who are you? What's happening to me?" I asked desperately, my voice shaking with the need for answers.

But the reflection didn't respond. She just smiled that mysterious smile, as if she knew something I didn't, as if she had all the answers that were just out of my reach.

"Please, tell me something... anything!" I pleaded, but the reflection remained silent, the smile still playing on her lips.

The reflection looked at me with eyes full of pity or something else??? 

"Rain! Dinner's ready!" Evan's voice suddenly broke through the heavy atmosphere, pulling me out of my trance. I blinked, my heart pounding as I turned away from the mirror, half expecting to see someone standing behind me.

"Coming!" I called back, glancing one last time at my reflection. When I looked back at the mirror, the reflection was gone. It was just me again, with my raven-black hair and golden-red eyes, staring back at me, as if nothing had happened.

But something had happened. I knew it. I could feel it deep inside me, a shift, a change. The past and present had collided in that moment, leaving me with more questions than answers.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves as I headed towards the door. Whatever was happening, I knew one thing for certain: I had to protect Evan. And maybe, just maybe, I would find out who I really was in the process.