The Silent Side
Arjun had stopped counting time.
There were no clocks in the mirror world.
No sun.
No night.
Only a dim, grey stillness that never changed.
At first, he had tried to measure time using his heartbeat.
Counting seconds.
Minutes.
Hours.
But eventually… even that lost meaning.
Because nothing moved.
Nothing changed.
Nothing lived.
Except him.
And the others.
Arjun stood in what used to be his bedroom.
Or at least… a reflection of it.
Everything looked the same, but wrong.
The bed was there.
The desk.
The chair.
Even the dust in the air.
But everything felt hollow.
Like a copy of reality made without understanding what reality truly was.
He walked slowly toward the mirror.
From this side, it looked like a wall of faint light.
Beyond it, he could see the real world.
Blurry.
Distant.
Like watching life through water.
And sometimes…
He could see himself.
Or rather—
The thing that had become him.
It moved perfectly.
Spoke perfectly.
Lived perfectly.
No one suspected anything.
Not the landlord.
Not the neighbors.
Not even Anaya.
Arjun pressed his hand against the glass.
Cold.
Unmoving.
“Please…” he whispered.
No sound came out.
It never did.
He had screamed for what felt like days when he first arrived here.
But sound did not exist in this place.
Only silence.
Endless silence.
Behind him, something shifted.
Arjun turned quickly.
He wasn’t alone.
He never was.
In the far corner of the room, another figure stood.
A boy.
Maybe sixteen.
Thin.
Pale.
His eyes were wide with fear that had long ago turned into emptiness.
Arjun recognized him.
Not from memory.
But from understanding.
Another victim.
Another replacement.
The boy didn’t move.
He rarely did.
Most of them didn’t anymore.
Arjun had tried talking to them before.
Tried reaching out.
But they had been here too long.
Their minds had… faded.
Only their bodies remained.
Watching.
Waiting.
Existing.
Arjun clenched his fists.
“I won’t become like that,” he mouthed silently.
But deep inside…
He wasn’t sure.
Something about this place was changing him.
Slowly.
Subtly.
His thoughts felt heavier.
His emotions… distant.
As if the mirror world was erasing him piece by piece.
He turned back toward the glass.
And that’s when he saw her.
Anaya.
She stood in the real room, near the mirror.
Looking directly at it.
At him.
Arjun’s heart raced.
He slammed his hands against the glass.
Tried to shout.
Tried to warn her.
But as always—
Nothing reached the other side.
Anaya leaned closer.
Her reflection stared back.
Perfect.
But Arjun saw what she couldn’t.
Behind her reflection…
Something moved.
Not him.
Not anymore.
The creature.
It stood just behind her.
Smiling.
Watching.
Waiting.
Arjun shook his head violently.
“No… don’t…”
Anaya frowned slightly.
As if she felt something.
A presence.
A shift in the air.
She leaned even closer to the mirror.
And then—
For the briefest moment—
Her reflection didn’t match her.
It tilted its head.
A second too late.
Anaya froze.
Arjun’s eyes widened.
She noticed.
She actually noticed.
Hope surged through him for the first time since he had been trapped.
Anaya stepped back slowly.
Her breathing quickened.
“What… was that?” she whispered.
The creature behind her reflection smiled wider.
And then—
It looked directly at Arjun.
Through the glass.
As if it knew he was watching.
As if it had always known.
Its lips moved slowly.
Deliberately.
And this time…
Arjun understood.
Even without sound.
“You can’t stop this.”
The mirror flickered.
Just for a second.
The world trembled.
And for the first time since he had been trapped—
Arjun felt something new.
Not fear.
Not despair.
Something worse.
The mirror…
Was changing.
