In the bathroom, she was wondering how she was going to fix the mess that had become her hair overnight when she saw something that made her stop.
It was there in the mirror just a split second ago...but now it was gone. It might not have even been there in the first place, and it was probably nothing, but a part of her kept insisting that it had been there and she should be careful.
For a while, as she was undoing the curlers in her hair, she thouht she had seen...
Knock it off, she thought. The dream, breakfast, old memories. You woke up this morning, and this is a day just like any other day that you've ever gotten out of bed.
But the sand...another part of her thought. These are the days of your life, each one of them accounted for, remember?
Pffft! Sand is sand. How many grains of sand are there on the beaches across the world, and you're going to be a little surprised that there's sand on both of your hands this morning?
Something, she thought, dropping her curlers into the sink one by one, something was wrong.
Dolly held out her hand level in front of her and saw that she was trembling, as if in shivers. She clenched her fist to try to stop herself from shaking.
In the mirror, her reflection, her hand didn't clench but continued to shake. And on this side of reality, Dolly held her fist to her chest. On the other side of the mirror, in the reflection, in chaos and terrifying definition, she watched as the "other" Dolly threw her head back into a fit of painful convulsions.
"No," she whispered, staggering back, away from the mirror. In high, sharp clacks, the mirror began to crack in a psychotic spiderweb pattern. The earth trembled.
Dolly felt doom and dread pressing into her from all sides as she sunk to the floor and sheltered her head from the falling debris.
She had no idea what was happening. She could feel something bad rushing towards her now, something the complete opposite of what she'd felt just minutes ago. The reverse. The negative. The depression and the lack of all things good. In the mirror, flames were licking at the glass from the reflection. The smooth surface warbled. And all she could do was whisper: "Please, God! Let me still be dreaming!"
(Feels good to be back! This forum is like air...and I was holding my breath all the time I was gone!
Your turn! Welcome, Who Am I! You guys are doing great! I can't wait to see where it all winds up...)