Reflection

I woke up from the nightmare I was having. My first reflex was to throw up but I barely controlled myself. My eyes were watery. I opened my mouth and checked its inside with my hands, I didn't find any trace of that blob or its goo. My face twisted with emotions, none of them being happy I'm sure. I felt like I could break down and cry at any moment. 

I looked to the side and saw the woman wake up as well. For some reason she was still inside my apartment. I didn't know what exactly was going on in that dream but I blamed it all on this woman. 

She started speaking after getting on her feet.

"I'm sure you're messed up right now…, but you need to come to my workplace ASAP."

"GET OUUUUUT!!!!!!"

She was startled by my scream but patiently replied.

"... fair."

The woman picked up the dreamcatcher that had fallen down to the floor and stuffed her bag with the stuff she came with. Before leaving she said one final sentence.

"When you are able to talk properly and need help, call that number again. He will wait patiently and someone will come pick you up soon"

She walked out of the door after saying all that and I rested my head on my hands. A lot was going on in my mind that I couldn't describe. In a few seconds I rushed to the toilet and vomited.

—x—

After spending 30 minutes in the toilet, throwing up then resting and then throwing up again, I requested for a sick leave from my office. I would get yelled at later but I couldn't care less about that right now. I was in no state or mood to go to work. I would have kicked that job already if I had another source of income.

I spent hours on my bed, unmoving. My stomach rumbled again and again but I didn't have an appetite. Still I forced myself to make instant noodles. 

When I sat on the chair with the food, I just kept staring at it instead. I still couldn't completely let go of that dream. The end of it occupied my mind so much that I didn't even think why that woman appeared in my dream and whether she was having the same dream or not. 

I remembered closing the door yesterday after she left, that means she forced herself into the apartment. That was definitely illegal activity. I pondered if he should report this to the police but argued that it would be a long process that I didn't want to deal with.

The noodles were getting cold but I still didn't have the will to eat. I forced myself to take the first bite. When I swallowed the noodles, I almost instantly threw up. I took a few more bites and then my hunger grew stronger than my disgust and I ate all of it. Even if my hunger was sated, my mind was still disgusted, there was no telling if I would throw up again or not.

I laid on the bed again and looked at my clock. It was 11 AM right now, I remembered I called work at around 9 AM and I must've woken up at around 7 or 8 AM. That means I got more than 6 hours of sleep, but unlike in my dream I didn't feel even the illusion of being refreshed. 

I laid on my bed with my thoughts, later I started doom scrolling. When I looked at the time again, it was 1 PM. Then I thought to myself 'Wasn't I going to stock up on groceries today'. I got up from my bed and started changing from my comfortable home clothes to more presentable ones I could wear outside. 

My parents were very strict with outward appearances since my childhood, so I got into the habit of wearing presentable clothes when going outside of my house even for very small matters. 

—x—

I got dressed very quickly and used half a bottle of cheap perfume to mask my bad smell. 

When I was standing before my door, my heartbeat fastened. My hands were trembling as I reached for the handle. I closed my eyes while opening the door. 

When I opened my eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief. I saw the hallway this time and was not transported directly to the market. I think I might be on edge the whole day today.

I saw my neighbour going somewhere as I stepped out. I wanted to ask her if she had heard any noise since yesterday to make sure that woman was not a ghost. She was leaving in a hurry, I was going to shout her name when I remembered, I don't know her name. Before I could think of how to stop her, she left. 

Not wasting any time myself, I left on foot. The market was not far from my house, I could reach it in about 15 minutes leisurely. With nothing to do I was looking around me to find something interesting. Some funny situations or encounters take my mind off things.

Sadly I saw a mirror again and looked away instantly. I halted myself and started breathing heavily. I felt like I would cry if I didn't control myself. I just saw that one eyed blob again, on my right shoulder. I wanted to puke again. I was seriously going to throw out the noodles I just ate.

I looked again, its eye was moving around, scanning our surroundings. Then our eyes met, we stared at each other for a few seconds. I could sense it read through my thoughts and I instinctively looked away. I wouldn't have kept my cool if I wasn't in public. Looks like there is more to this nightmare.

—x—

In the first floor of some building, a knock was heard from the other side of the door where a man was seated. The lock on the door opened by itself and the man spoke.

"Come in Myra."

The woman from earlier entered the room. She sat on the chair next to the man. It was a room filled with monitors displaying cctv footage of the floor below and outside the building. The man started to speak.

"You look very exhausted dear, did you encounter trouble?"

"Yes, I failed today, even though you warned me. When I found the nightmare attached to him, I attacked and killed it in one strike. Then I thought it was over but there was another one. He entered his mind and is now probably hiding deep inside."

"I told you that there was a strong one attached to him, it was not possible to kill it in one strike even for you. So there were actually two. Now tell me in detail what happened."

She told him all about what went on in the dream and Aayan's reaction.

"It is too late to regret now. We should be focusing on getting him to join us or else he will die."

"Should I drag him by force?"

"Let's wait and observe. You should go and rest now. I'll call you so be prepared. "

Myra took out the dreamcatcher from her backpack and gave it to him. Then she left the room and closed the door behind her, it locked by itself. Then the man faced the monitors and they turned off by themselves. His pupils started spinning and created a spiral pattern. He then stared at the air silently as if in thought or focusing on something with the dreamcatcher in his hands. After a few seconds he faced the dreamcatcher.

—x—

I got back to my apartment without much trouble. Bought all the groceries I needed for the week. I crashed on my bed once again. I didn't care about changing my clothes.

I pinched my right arm to make sure I wasn't dreaming, then I went to the bathroom and in the mirror… I was looking at that thing. It was almost transparent and I couldn't see its entire body but I still felt the same disgust and fear towards it. 

I left the bathroom and checked my phone and saw it was working properly. I opened up my contacts and saw dozens of missed calls, some from my coworkers and most from my boss. I ignored them all and dialed the last number I called last night. It was picked up very quickly.

"..."

There was only silence from the other side. I wanted them to say something, I wanted to say something myself but I couldn't bring myself to. 

After about 5 minutes of sitting silently I finally broke.

"Help me."

"Okay."

The call was immediately cut. I sat on my bed and turned on my phone camera in selfie mode. I looked at myself and the things around me, I could not see that thing. Then I picked up my alarm clock. It said the time was 5 PM. I saw my reflection in its glass and 'it' as well. 

I looked at both the smartphone screen and the glass reflection. I deduced 'It' could only be seen in reflections and not in cameras or pictures. While I was performing this experiment I heard a knock on my door. 

I stood up to open the door but just two steps away from it, it opened by itself. The same woman was standing there. She was in casual clothes this time. I stared at her face and started speaking after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Do you always barge into people's homes uninvited?"

The woman ignored me and turned to her back. She gestured for me to follow her. I picked up my keys and locked the door.