Whispers
It was the morning of April 23. The anxiety about the presentation at school had stolen my sleep the previous night. You know that feeling of anxiety that keeps you from sleeping, and when the long-awaited hour finally arrives, you're hit with a wave of exhaustion? Damn! After so much rehearsal.
I wasn't going to let fatigue get in the way. The girls and I had practiced so much, we were ready. I looked in the mirror and saw my deep dark circles. I decided it might be time to review the lines. I grabbed the script on the table next to my bed.
— Good afternoon, my very dear little friends. I'm the clown Lollipop, and this is my girlfriend, Maria Bubblegum — I made an exaggerated bow in front of the mirror. It was not my intention to memorize Bianca and Anita's lines, but after reading that script so many times, I ended up knowing it all by heart. However, knowing my clumsy way, I was sure that I would end up forgetting my own lines.
After getting ready, I hurriedly left home, as I was sure that Bianca and Anita would already be at school. My mother dropped me off at the school entrance, giving a goodbye kiss on my forehead.
— You're going to do well, my dear — she said.
— Mom, careful not to smudge my makeup — I retorted, checking my forehead in the car's sun visor mirror.
I arrived at school late as always, passed through the gates, and went to the amphitheater where I met Bianca and Anita. Bianca, always electric, came running in my direction, while Anita, the vain one, was admiring herself in the mirror, fastening her pigtails, already very well tied, on top of her head.
They were both quite different, both in appearance and personality. And I, in some way, was attracted to them. Over time, this attraction turned into something more, something I could call a crush.
When my parents separated, it was a blow to me, especially after the murder of my brother. I stopped going to football and guitar lessons, stopped hanging out with my school friends. That's when Anita and Bianca came into my life. They were friends with each other before they knew me, and God knows why, but they pitied me and became my light at the end of the tunnel.
After losing myself in thoughts, I came back to reality and was interrupted by a sudden sensation of darkness that invaded me. A shadow, dense and palpable, seemed to take shape in front of me. I was facing a creature that emerged from inside the mirror. She came close to me, her touch was cold and terrifying. Then, I heard a voice, a voice I will never forget.
She whispered in my ear:
— Welcome, Marcos.
And then everything went dark.
The world around me seemed to darken, a thick shadow engulfed everything, choking the daylight. My chest was heavy, almost as if the air was lacking. With my trembling hands supported on the table, I turned my gaze to the mirror, the only light source in an environment that seemed swallowed by the void.
Suddenly, the mirror came to life, rippling like the surface of a lake. A figure emerged from it, a being without a mouth, without a nose, just a pair of intense black eyes that stretched out.
An entity born from a parallel world.
I was immobile, captivated and terrified by this surreal vision.
The creature, a mix of shadow and reflection, seemed to stare at me. And even without a mouth, I felt as if it were smiling at me, a twisted smile that gave me chills. That's when I felt
the uncomfortable heat going down my legs and realized, to my horror, that I had wet my pants.
Suddenly, the creature's image was replaced by Bianca's worried face, screaming my name. The world went back to normal, light flooded the place again.
— Marcos! Marcos! You're scaring me! What's happening? — she asked, her green eyes wide open.
I blinked a few times, still disoriented, before managing to stammer:
— I don't know... I-I think nothing.
Anita, always observant and with her usual mocking tone, intervened:
— Dude, you peed your pants!
As the embarrassment washed over me, a voice whispered in my ear: "Don't tell them yet". The shadow's voice.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, reality returned.
The show, even after all, still had to go on.
