I stared at the woman who looked exactly like me, at her glowing red eyes, and at the black butterflies hovering around her as if they were a part of her. I didn't understand anything… but a strange feeling crept into me—a feeling that I knew her, that I had seen her before.
"Who are you?" I asked in a trembling voice.
She gave a faint smile and said, "The real question is… who are you, Iris?"
A shiver ran down my spine. Why was everyone asking me this? I… I was just Iris, a normal girl, right?
But deep inside, I knew I was wrong.
❈ ❈ ❈
Memories flooded my mind—memories I had never lived… or perhaps I had forgotten.
I saw myself in this place before. I saw the man who claimed to be my father. I saw that woman…
But most importantly, I saw the little girl I once was, surrounded by shadows, controlling them as if they were a part of her.
That was when I realized the truth…
I was never an ordinary girl.
❈ ❈ ❈
I looked at the woman before me and said, my voice stronger this time, "Tell me… what am I?"
She laughed softly, then said, "Finally, you're beginning to understand."
She reached out her hand, and before I could pull away, she touched my forehead with her finger.
And suddenly, a flood of memories overwhelmed me…
I saw myself as a child, but I wasn't normal. I could control shadows. I could see things others couldn't. I had power… dangerous power.
And that was why… they made me forget.
❈ ❈ ❈
I collapsed to the ground, my breath quick and unsteady, silent tears streaming down my face.
"Why?" I whispered.
The woman stepped closer and said in a calm voice, "Because they were afraid of you, Iris. Afraid of what you could do. That's why… they locked you inside your mind and kept you asleep."
I slowly lifted my head, and at that moment, everything became clear.
I wasn't in the real world… I was inside my mind, trapped in a place they had created to keep me here forever.
But I wouldn't stay any longer.
❈ ❈ ❈
I turned to my other self, who had been silently watching all this time, and said, "It's time to go back."
She nodded, and with one swift motion, she opened her arms…
And the world around me collapsed.
❈ ❈ ❈
I felt pain in my head, a bright light piercing through my closed eyes, distant voices echoing around me.
Then… I heard a familiar voice.
"Iris! Can you hear me? Please wake up!"
I slowly opened my eyes and saw my best friend's tear-filled face.
I gasped, trying to catch my breath.
"Where… am I?" I murmured.
She gripped my hand tightly and said, "We were so scared! You've been in a coma for a long time… we thought we were going to lose you!"
My eyes widened… A coma?
Was everything I had lived through just a dream? Or was the truth more complicated than it seemed?
I turned to the window, and there, on the glass, sat a black butterfly… watching me.
The End.