Mirror mirror on the wall

Gigi stood motionless, lifting her gaze. Before her stood four doors, each distinct in color and design. One was adorned with intricate gold carvings, another was painted a deep, ominous red. The third was plain, almost unassuming, while the last shimmered as if it weren't entirely real.

She scanned them carefully, her lips curving into the faintest smirk.

Slowly, she stepped forward, reaching for one. As her fingertips brushed the surface, the door creaked open, spilling a flood of brilliant light that swallowed the shadows around her.

And waiting beyond the door was… him.

*

*

*

"You've got nowhere else to run, Sol."

Solana gazed down over the cliff, the wind whipping past her harshly. Below, the ocean mirrored the color of the sky, its waves crashing violently against huge rocks. But that wasn't what made her heart hammer in her chest. It was the people behind her. 

A large group of armed men climbed out of their trucks, every pair of eyes locked onto the woman standing at the cliff's edge. 

"You damn woman…" one of the men spat. "You really gave us a hard time catching you." 

Solana clenched her teeth and looked back, only to be met with barrels of multiple guns aimed at her. Her sharp gaze flicked to a man standing several feet away. Unlike the others, his bright floral blouse stood out more than the rifle in his grip. 

"If I were you, I'd just give up," said the man in the floral blouse. "Stop running, stop resisting. You're gonna die, anyway." 

"This many people… just to catch me?" Solana mocked. "I'd say that's quite flattering." 

The man sneered. "This bitch and that damn mouth of yours." He then glanced at the men beside him. "Take her." 

The armed men advanced in her direction. Solana's eyes darted between them as she took another step back, her mind racing for a way out. Her thoughts ran at four hundred miles per hour, yet all she could see was the ever-decreasing distance between herself and her captors. 

And then, her mind suddenly went quiet.

"Have I ever told you…" Solana's voice cut through the tense air, making everyone pause. Her gaze fixed on the man in the floral blouse, her lips curling into a slow grin. "...you are so damn ugly, your mama cried the first time she saw you." 

"You bitch—!" the man roared.

Using that moment of diversion, Solana turned and leaped off the cliff. 

"Fuck!" 

The man rushed forward, nearly stumbling off the edge as he peered down. Clenching his teeth, he raised his rifle and aimed at the free-falling woman. 

"That bitch thinks she can get away?" he hissed, his finger tightening on the trigger. "I'm going to kill her!" 

BANG!

--- 

Solana opened her eyes, her lungs burning as her body sank into the ocean's depths. Red liquid swirled around her, and she winced as she clutched her side. 

She'd been hit. 

'Damn it!' she thought, looking up at the dim, distorted light filtering from the surface. 

She tried to swim upward—though she didn't even know how. She couldn't die like this. Not when she was so close to taking down a massive syndicate. Solana refused to let it end here, but no matter how hard she struggled to reach the surface, she only felt herself sinking deeper. 

'No, please!' she pleaded internally, her lungs screaming for air. 

Reaching toward the fading light, she silently called for help. But no one reached back. 

'Damn it…' 

Her consciousness slowly slipped away, the world around her growing darker. As she drifted downward, a single thought flickered in her fading mind: 'How deep will I sink before I reach the bottom?' 

Just before she lost herself entirely, she saw movement from a distance. A figure was swimming toward her, his movements were swift and fluid. 

'What… is that…?' 

Her vision blurred, and when she blinked, the figure was already right in front of her. 

'Help…'

Sadly, she could no longer fight off her drifting consciousness. The last thing she remembered was warmth — a gentle touch against her lips — before she surrendered to the darkness. 

The figure pulled back, watching her unconscious form. Wrapping his arms around her, he swam deeper into the ocean's depths, his powerful tail fin slicing through the water. 

--- 

GASP! 

"Oh, my god!" A woman's voice rang in the air as Solana jolted awake, gasping and coughing violently. 

She turned to her side, spitting out seawater as she clutched at the damp sand beneath her fingers. The sensation of breathing fresh air sent waves of relief in her heart, but something within her felt like burning. 

"Young Miss!" 

A high-pitched voice pierced her ears, making her wince. Before she could react, a pair of slim arms wrapped around her. 

"Young Miss! I thought you were going to die!" the woman wailed. "Huhu! I was so worried when you turned purple!" 

Deep lines creased Solana's forehead. She barely had time to recover from nearly drowning, and now someone was hugging her? When the woman finally pulled back, Solana's confusion only deepened. 

"Young Miss, you're really okay now!" The young woman wiped her teary eyes. "I was really worried about you — huhu!"

Solana blinked. Then blinked again. And again. 

Her gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces surrounding her, their expressions a mixture of relief and worry. When she turned back to the crying woman, her frown deepened. 

"Who…" she trailed off, tilting her head. "... are you?" 

"Huh?" The young woman's face froze in shock. She pointed at herself hesitantly, her pale lips quivering. "Young Miss, what are you talking about? It's me, Bubbles." 

Solana stared at her, unblinking. "Bubbles?"

Bubbles opened and closed her mouth before forcing out a nervous laugh. "Young Miss… don't you… remember me?" 

"Uh..." Solana studied her face, then bluntly asked, "Do I have to?" 

Bubbles gasped so loudly that Solana instinctively flinched. 

"Oh no! My Young Miss!" Bubbles wailed, grabbing Solana's shoulders and shaking her frantically. "Young Miss, what do you mean you don't remember me?! Did you hit your head or something?!" 

She shook her again. And again. And again. 

"Hey—" Solana clenched her teeth, the vein in her forehead protruding. "You… you're making me… very… dizzy—" 

Before she could finish, her world spun violently. Her vision blackened, and then — she fainted. 

"Young Miss!" Bubbles screamed hysterically, catching her just in time. "My Young Miss! SOMEBODY HELP HER! HUHU!" 

Little did Solana know that Bubbles was only the first of many unfamiliar faces she would meet. The next person who would baffle her was the one who would soon stare back at her from the mirror.