Chapter II : The Changes too Small to be Noticed

The lamp buzzed softly, a lonely hum in the quiet of the room. My breathing evened out, lips slightly parted as sleep claimed me, lashes brushing my cheeks like little whispers. I looked peaceful.

But peace is only for those who are truly alone.

And I wasn't.

Not tonight.

Not anymore.

From the mirror frame, the shadow twitched.

It was slow—careful. Like it knew my sleep was still light, still vulnerable to the smallest creak or shift of air. But it was patient. It had all the time in the world.

The mirror above didn’t reflect me anymore. It reflected something else entirely.

Something that crawled—not across the floor—but across the other side of the mirror.

The curled-up figure wasn’t there now.

He had moved.

He was standing now—just barely, hunched like something that forgot how to be human. His head tilted ever so slightly as he watched me with unblinking eyes from the ceiling above.

And his lips, once neutral and vacant… twitched upward. A small, almost childlike smile.

Twisted.

Pleased.

I didn’t see it.

But my room wasn’t as cold as it should’ve been.

Something was breathing with me.

Breathing for me.

And maybe—

just maybe—

Learning how to take my place.

The night passed like a gust of wind,

And so came the next morning--

My eyes fluttered open and the first sight I saw was my own self.

Not so pretty, But for my own self? I was the prettiest girl out there.

The mirror showed me—hair a little messy from sleep, eyes a bit puffy, but still that confident little smirk on my lips like I owned the world. I always did. A queen in my little kingdom of soft blankets and quiet mornings.

I didn't notice it then.

Not the shift in my reflection.

Not the way my mirrored self’s smile lagged half a second behind the real one.

Not the flicker in the eyes like the wrong soul was watching me from behind glass.

I turned away, the reflection still facing forward a beat too long before copying the movement.

As I brushed your teeth, I noticed the towel wasn’t where you usually leave it. The toothpaste cap had been placed back on, even though I never do that. Little things.

Tiny, harmless things.

Or maybe not so harmless.

I was never so organized, Maybe that's why I couldn't pinpoint what was changed.

Was it the book that I placed not so aligned with the table corner now being aligned?

Or was it the picture on the shelf tilted back on its place?

The room felt the same… but not. There was something new hanging in the air. A breath that didn’t belong to me. A presence too faint to touch but too strong to ignore. It was watching. Waiting.

And above my bed… the mirror stayed silent. Calm.

But behind it, he grinned.

The gap had closed just an inch more.

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