The Seven Reflections

They always murmured in hushed, fearful tones that the mirror never lied—yet what if it unveiled a terror so unspeakable that mortal minds would crumble at its revelation? In the dead of night, when Jessica’s quivering eyes beheld its fractured, ghost-like surface, she did not merely confront her reflection; she beheld a raging maelstrom of spectral voices clawing mercilessly at the fragile remnants of her sanity. It began as a barely perceptible, sinister echo on the outskirts of her mind—like the rasping of dead leaves stirring memories far too forbidden—before erupting with savage ferocity into seven distinct voices, each unleashing its own brutal assault upon her very soul. While her psychiatrist dismissed it as Dissociative Identity Disorder, to Jessica it reeked of pure, unadulterated damnation.

1. Evelyn – The Protector: In the bleakest of moments, Evelyn emerged from the darkness—a spectral guardian with the cold precision of a scalpel and the relentless fury of a tortured warrior. But her fierce, unyielding defense came at a ghastly price; her chilling detachment imprisoned Jessica in a realm of isolation and relentless, inner warfare.

2. Lila – The Innocent: Lila’s once-angelic laughter had rang like the gentle chimes of a sunlit childhood, a fleeting whisper of a time untainted by sorrow. That innocence twisted into a grotesque mockery when her sweet melody contorted into a malevolent cackle—a vile reminder that even her purest self could succumb to the depths of cruelty.

3. Desmond – The Cynic: With venom dripping from every word, Desmond unleashed bitter truths that pried open Jessica’s wounds. His caustic barbs sliced through her hope, each derisive laugh a vicious summons to confront the relentless, excruciating agony she had long sought to escape.

4. Margaret – The Mother: Margaret’s soothing whispers masked a starvation for control—a maddening, possessive embrace that bound Jessica in an endless cycle of dependency. Every soft murmur was a sinister pact, demanding a love that was both smothering and hollow, leaving Jessica torn between desperate gratitude and seething loathing.

5. Thomas – The Architect: In the swirling chaos, Thomas meticulously dismantled her mind, reconstructing it into a nightmarish labyrinth of shattered memories. Each calculated manipulation drove her nearer the brink, casting a cruel question: had freedom ever truly been hers, or was she fated to dwell forever in a prison of fragmented thought?

6. The Hollow One: Nameless, mute, and sinking ever deeper into the periphery, this abomination loomed like a void incarnate—a ravenous maw that devoured the very light and life from the room. Feeding on the palpable terror of its kin, its silent, oppressive presence served as a macabre reminder that pieces of her soul were irretrievably lost to the abyss.

7. Jessica – The Remnant: Amidst this cacophonous clash of harrowing voices, the true Jessica flickered like a doomed candle amidst a tempest of malevolence. Nearly drowned by the relentless torrent of relentless titans within, her fragile voice struggled in vain to assert its existence. In that violent collision of wills, she was reduced to a trembling fragment—doomed to wrestle forever with the desperate urge to reclaim herself, even as her inner demons tightened their grip.

That cursed night, the internal war attained its ghastly zenith. As the clock tolled midnight, the mirror exploded into chaos—Evelyn’s frostbitten determination colliding headlong with Desmond’s scornful sneer; Lila’s unnerving giggles ricocheting against the oppressive silence of the Hollow One; and Margaret’s possessive murmur interlacing with Thomas’s sinister reshaping of shadows. In the midst of this unholy convergence, Jessica’s scream was brutally wrenched from her throat, swallowed whole by the voracious tempest of her torment.

Shards of shattered glass strewn across the cold, unyielding floor became a grotesque mosaic—each jagged fragment a reflection of seven distorted faces, a macabre parade of twisted grins testifying to a soul shattered beyond salvation. The house then sank into an oppressive, spectral silence, punctuated only by the fading, disturbing echoes of manic laughter.

At the break of dawn, a deeply troubled neighbor, trembling with dread, summoned the police. They scoured the forsaken dwelling but discovered no trace of Jessica—only the mirror, its surface unnervingly restored to a flawless guise. Yet as the officers peered into its polished depths, they swore it stirred with a malevolent life of its own. Hidden beneath that deceptive smoothness, seven spectral whispers and seven elusive, malign grins writhed in unison—a silent, fractured chorus, forever condemned to echo an infernal torment.