INTO A NEW WORLD

I woke up feeling giddy. I feel so bored this past few weeks, especially not much is going on lately. I jump out of bed and then realized that today's my birthday, but I am not anticipating some kind of party with friends, family and lots of food.

I know that every year, when July 13 comes, it's just an ordinary day, just like every day, even much worse than an ordinary day sometimes. But of course, my parents still give me gifts, although I don't like any if those gifts.

Who would love an antique vase? Who would love an old birdcage? I don't even like them. I don't even need them. But every year, I just act like I like the gifts because I don't want my parents to feel bad about themselves or get mad at me for not liking their gifts for me. I don't know this time if I can though...

I make my way downstairs lazily.

"Tasha! Good morning." My mother rush to hug and kiss me on my cheek. She always does this every morning, except if we're not in good terms.

"Good morning!" I hug her back. "Where's dad?"

"He's outside. Cutting firewood." She says. "Happy birthday, Tasha!"

"Thanks." I smile.

"Aren't you excited to see your gift this year?" She asks me, her face bright with enthusiasm.

"Oh! Um, sure! I can't wait!" I say with fake excitement.

After breakfast, my dad went inside the house to eat and he also greeted me. Later, he brought in an antique body mirror. It is tall and have wood as frame. The newly polished wood is carved to form beautiful and intricately designed flowers, ranging from roses to pansies.

"What's that for?" I ask.

I hope it's not what I think it is.

"Happy birthday, Tasha. It's your gift!" Both of my parents say in unison.

It is what I think it is. I sigh and look away for a bit.

"Oh, Tim! It's beautiful! You've really outdone yourself with her gift this year." I hear my mom say.

"Well, what do you think, Tasha? Do you like it?" Mom and dad say hopefully.

I look at them. They both have smiles on their faces.

I know that they're expecting me to cry with joy about the mirror and thank them and say that I love the mirror so much that I'll keep it in my room and be with it forever.

"Well...it is beautiful. It's amazing. Yeah! Totally..." I smile a genuine smile, but my parents looked like they don't buy it. Maybe because of my voice. Ugh.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

"Mom, I don't want to say this because you'll think you just wasted your money about things but—"

"I spent weeks trying to make that mirror look more beautiful for you." Dad say.

"It's not that, it's about my other gifts. You know, the birdcage. We don't even have a bird! And the porcelain vase. And all the other gifts. I don't even need them!"

"It's not about the material value, it's about the sentimental value and the thought out into the gifts that makes it special."

"Well, if it's about that, you should have given me what I really need, not things like someone else's trash that I clearly don't need."

I rush upstairs to my bedroom and close the door behind me.

My heart is still racing.

I plop myself on my bed, look at the ceiling and sigh. My mind keeps replaying what happened earlier. I feel anger rising in me. I don't know why, but it feels like I deserve more than those gifts. I'm full of it.

I know I have to do something.

...●●●...

I was starving when I woke up. It's past noon and I'm still mad about what happened yesterday. I know I'm making it like a huge deal, and I think it kind of is.

I yawn loudly and rub my eyes. I'm not in the mood to go downstairs just like yesterday, even if my stomach is grumbling.

I went over my window and opened the blinds. I peer through the transparent glass window and sigh. Memories filled my mind and emotion suddenly bottles up inside of me and I see red.

I pick up the vase I got for my 12th birthday and smash it to pieces. I open my drawer and pull out the old copper utensils I got for my 14th birthday and bend it with all my might. I pick up the rusty old birdcage I got for my 11th birthday and start to bend it in every way.

Finally, I bolt out of my room and storm into the basement and tried to find my dad's toolbox. After some searching, I finally found it next to the mirror. I feel angry just by looking at it, but I don't know if my next move is right or not.

I let out a huge sigh and try to breathe evenly.

I snap out of my angry state. Looking closely at the mirror, I can see my reflection clearly in the mirror, looking back at me, her eyes wanting to say something.

I smile to myself.

"There's no point in doing this now, instead just thank my mom and dad for remembering my birthday and remembering to give me a gift," I thought.

I've decided not to break the mirror anymore. Turning around, I start to walk out of the basement until I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turn back and look at the mirror.

Nothing peculiar happened at first, but before leaving again, one of the most unbelievable thing happened, and something tells me it's just starting.

My reflection slowly became two, distorted in shape at first until it slowly become into a perfect replica of me. I stand in front of the mirror, looking back at both of my reflections, unable to move and speak. I am rooted to that spot in fear, every muscle of my body paralyzed in shock.

I quickly lifted the hammer I was holding the whole time over my head, aiming at the mirror's surface, ready to break the mirror and hopefully get rid of the other me who sent shivers down my spine.

But something unexpected happens.

My hammer successfully hit the mirror's surface, but it didn't break. Instead, its surroundings was the one that breaks into tiny little pieces like tiny mirror shards and that's me, the basement and everything else.

I look down at my body and see it break into pieces, then I look at the mirror and the two reflections of me disappeared. White light take its place and starts to suck everything in it.

The broken pieces whirls in the air as I watch every part of my body on each piece get sucked into the mirror. I'm surprised to see I'm still alive even though I look like a madman chopped my body into pieces. After the last piece of the broken pieces get sucked in the mirror, I feel that everything fall back into place.

The shattered pieces attach to one another and incredibly, I was back again, along with the basement, in one piece.

I look around and I'm still in the basement. Everything is the same, like all of the commotion earlier didn't even happen at all. I sigh in relief and realize something: the mirror is nowhere to be found! My heart starts to pound loudly in my chest. Beads of sweat stars to form on my forehead. I started to panic.

Maybe my mom and dad can explain what is happening. After I apologize, of course. I feel horrible about what I did, especially guilt is eating me alive. I let go of the hammer and hurried up the flight of stairs that lead to the house.

"Mom, dad, I'm sorry, it was my..."

My jaw drop as I notice the sight in front of me.

It's not what I expected.

Instead of the cozy and inviting living space greeting me, it's a crowd of people dressed in traditional garments from the East in what looks like a bazaar, seemingly lost in time. I am dumbfounded.

Am I hallucinating? This is too impossible to be real. I rub my eyes and again and again but it didn't seem to work as it makes no difference whatsoever—the people are still there, the stalls in the bazaar, everything.

I started to panic. I turn around for the basement door to look for an explanation for all this but it disappeared like thin air, leaving me all alone in a place I have never been.

Where am I?

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