"You are such a coward, can't even express yourself."
"No, no. You did the right thing. You should have kept quiet."
"You lost your job because of that project."
"You'll find another one soon."
"But what about the mental toll. The extra hours this coward spent without ever saying NO."
"S...STOP! please....STOP!"
"Should have said that sooner."
"Don't listen to him, it's okay to cry. Go on."
"Huh! Coward."
"No, go on, cry."
"Such a coward, this is all you can do, anyway."
"Coward! Coward! Coward!"
"AHHHHHH!"
The atmosphere turned eerie as a man stood entrapped in a mirror maze. His breath caught as his palms became sweaty. He fidgeted, as his gaze darted from one reflection to another. He fixed his gaze on one but it smiled back.
Then split.
The voices kept echoing, sweat dripped, as his nervous gaze tried to focus.
His panicked hands searched for a way outside but every mirror reflected the same echo he dreaded. His desparation was obvious, but his escape wasn't.
His ears could only hear the dilemma he was into. Then suddenly the mirrors trembled and with a thud the shattering began. The pieces shedding to the ground as he desperately searched for a way out.
"You can't run, this is your fate. If the glass doesn't shatter you...your memories will."
The man screamed as he ran along with wounds on his body. Just one drop of blood and the floor beneath him flooded in a red tsunami. The tides working their way to engulf his very soul as he gulped for air. Only darkness prevailed. He flapped his hand and tried to swim however a huge wave struck him. He realised the surface was trembling the same way it did with the mirrors.
"No, No, something's about to happen again."
Small bubbles started forming, although he could not see but feel that the water was getting warm.
It was warm, then warmer, and suddenly there was no sound. No splashing, no waves crashing. As soon as he made his mind to look for an exit, a low deep rumble followed.
The pool of blood began to boil violently. Steam hissing, droplets lifted like gravity is falling. The heat reached his chest and he felt the burning on his wound. He screamed and cried for help. Mist enveloped him as if he was in a broiler. Soon gravity defied him and he found himself floating in no direction. He felt drained as he flailed and was about to accept his fate when a fragment emitted light in the mist and began to vibrate, he slowly watched the purple pieces gather and form a single intact mirror. And with a crack, it glowed from inside, lavender light seeped through the crack. It was soft, controlled and almost breathing.
His teary eyes saw fingers and wrist emerge from there.
"You can still come back." A voice from the mirror echoed.
His body shuddered and the way he was being dragged along felt weird to him. He reached, struggling, slipping, until finally their hands touched, the mist reacted and the world...stilled. And the world… stilled.
For a moment, there was nothing. He was not feeling any sensational heat, no droplets and above all no fear. He utilized this time to steady his breath and heard a faint ripple forming beneath him. However, this time his mind was so calm that he felt it before he saw it.
He observed the fog shifting, not violently this time, but gently, like a curtain being drawn aside. The lavender light softened, dissolving into something familiar.
It was endless water but he wasn't sinking anymore.
And this time he was sitting, he curled his fingers slightly, brushing against a worn surface, a boat. He looked down and the water beneath was no longer red. It was clear. And beneath the surface, Koi fish. His eyes stared in amusement and suddenly something tightened in his chest. A memory which felt neither loud nor silent. But somehow it was just there and resided inside, for who knows how long because he knew this place. His gaze shifted and across him there was a figure, seated in a tranquil composure.
Just stillness, everything was calm, grounded and certain. The lavender glow lingered faintly beneath his skin, like something that belonged to the dream itself. The man's breathing hitched.
"…WHERE…" His voice came out fractured and to his surprise the figure didn't rush to answer. I didn't move much at all and just watched.
"You remember this," the voice started without any judgement. The words were soft.
The man's grip tightened on the edge of the boat and his eyes drifted to the empty space beside him. A fishing rod rested there as if someone had just… let go. His throat became hoarse and the memory pressed closer now. The water, waiting for him to speak. The feeling of not needing to be anything. He didn't need to be strong, not enough instead just be there. Hence, a small breath escaped him. The koi shifted beneath the surface, circling slowly. The boat moved without effort, gliding across the water without a hand guiding it.
He looked up again, this time at him.
"…was this real?"
The question lingered between them. The figure tilted his head slightly, as if considering it.
"You felt it." A pause followed.
"That's enough."
The answer didn't explain anything. And yet—it did.
The man's shoulders dropped. It loosened. For the first time, he wasn't drowning in it. The water stretched endlessly around them. The sky above was neither day nor night, just a soft expanse of color that refused to define itself.
The figure finally moved. His hand rested lightly against the surface of the water. The man watched.
And for the first time since the nightmare began, he didn't feel afraid.
The water shimmered and the edges of the world blurred. The boat began to dissolve, not breaking apart, but fading, like a memory slipping out of reach.
The koi further slowed and then vanished. Soon, the sky dimmed and the lavender light returned.
It was soft, controlling and watching.
SOMNIA
The half-open eye blinked once.
"We don't erase your dreams."
"We help you survive them.