amxxrawrites-blog

[amxxrawrites-blog]

Her Eyes, Like Night - a short story

“Like the noose on your neck,

This cold is suffocating me,

Like the snowflakes from the sky,

Your memories surround me,

Like the flowers on your grave,

Your death has wilted me,

For nobody admires beauty,

When it is framed by grief”

 I stared in awe as Ava made her way back to her seat. Usually, the class would erupt in a hasty discussion after someone has read their poetry but this time, it was absolutely silent. We could hear the winds blowing against the windowpane, filling the room with its cold presence. Ava adjusted her beige scarf, tucking her blonde hair into the softness of the cashmere for added warmth. She turned her head and we locked eyes. I looked away immediately, feeling a sense of sadness after having heard something so deeply personal from someone I barely knew.

 Miss Waters cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Does anybody have anything to say about Miss Watts’s piece?”

 Silence.

 “Well, if so, let’s move on,” she said, unable to mask her relief. She began calling out other students to recite their poetry but I was no longer listening. Ava’s words echoed in my head like a shout into a never-ending tunnel and I couldn’t help but steal glances her way. She was listening attentively to every poem, nodding her head, smiling, furrowing her brow and contemplating. I’ve never noticed her winsome beauty until now.

 Ava Watts has always been an enigma ever since she stepped foot in Blackmount Academy a year ago. She was pretty with her wavy blonde hair, piercing green eyes and slender stature. But she was never anything spectacular, at least not to me, at least not till now. However, everyone else fell madly in love with her. She happened like a storm, at first a couple of rumblings here and there and then suddenly, all at once. It didn’t take her long to drift into the wrong crowd. She joined Raina Hefner and Nisha Kapur to form what our student body calls the Unholy Trinity: the cheerleader, the actress and the new girl.

 The bell rang, signalling the end of class. Miss Waters handed us our take-home assignments and I struggled to catch up to Ava as she was heading out the door. I knew exactly what I was going to say, that I was enamoured by her and her poetry, but as soon as I got close enough, I halted when I realized where she was going.

 Raina and Nisha were playing a practical joke by asking the students to sign their names next to a picture of the girl they found the least attractive. The girl who garners the most signatures, wins Prom Queen. They had a gaudy pink table set up in the middle of the halls, chatting animatedly to anyone who agreed to participate in their sick and twisted joke. Ava pulled up a chair and sat next to her friends in nonchalance.

 I could feel my blood boiling with rage as I stormed towards them. Like a volcano that has erupted, I slammed a hand on the table, causing the ugly flyers to scatter everywhere.

 “What’s up with you, weirdo?” Nisha taunted me, her eyes glaring under the clump of black mascara.

 “Do you think this is funny?” I barked, grabbing one of the papers and shoving it in their faces.

 “Clearly, or we wouldn’t be doing it,” Raina quipped before laughing.

 “You two are pathetic, you know that? It’s sad that you have to put other people down like this just so you can be less insecure about how superficial and ephemeral your looks are,” I snapped. Nisha and Raina glanced at each other before bursting into laughter.

 “Okay, Mr. Big Words. We hear you, but um, why don’t you point your nasty little tongue at Ava since she’s the one who curated this idea,” one of them said but I wasn’t paying attention to whom because I felt my heart drop at the revelation.

 I looked at her. Her eyes were vacant and emotionless. I decided that Ava Watts is fireworks, an eruption of ethereal beauty until it stops and you realize you’re just looking at a barren sky.

 “That’s not true, right?” I asked, dangling on a single strand of string, hoping to give her a chance.

 “Sorry to break it to you, Noel, but this was my idea,” she answered, her words cut sharp as a knife, causing me to plunge.

 I laughed dryly.

 “Screw you all but especially you, Ava. You know, you’re more complex than I thought. Just now, I thought you were beautiful but now, I realize that you’re a meretricious piece of garbage masquerading as an art piece. You’re not special. You’re just disposable,” and I walked off without waiting for a response.

 *

 “Come on, Noel! Lighten up! It’s Prom Night!”

 I’ve decided to go stag instead of tormenting my brain on who to ask to prom. My friends and I were sat together at a table far from the stage and far from the Unholy Trinity. I was downing endless glasses of fruit punch, battling the heat that was rising up from my tuxedo. Throughout the past couple of weeks leading up to prom, the whole prank on crowning Prom Queen was all anyone could talk about. Teachers tried to shut down the entire operation but alas; the Unholy Trinity always finds a way.

 Thankfully, Ava, being the event manager, had the decency to sit those scumbags far away from my friends and I who were alienated for not participating in the selection of the Prom Queen. I huffed. I didn’t know why I even bothered to come to a party that celebrates the repression of an innocent girl. I knew as soon as Ava walked up the steps to announce the queen, I was getting the hell out.

 As if on cue, the music stopped and an image of fireworks and balloons framed the ostentatious font that read “BLACKMOUNT ACADEMY’S PROM QUEEN”

 Everyone began to cheer and whoop and I was on my way out. I stood up and began shuffling through the sea of students dancing on the dance floor. I couldn’t begin to count how may times I had to say “Sorry,” and “Excuse me,” interchangeably.

 “Are ya’ll having a good time?” she shouted into the mic, which caused me to roll my eyes. It’s a microphone; you don’t have to scream into it.

 Everyone responded with a resounding “Yes!”

 “I bet you are all dying to hear my special announcement of the evening, aren’t you?”

 Again, an unequivocal yes.

 “You had fun voting, didn’t you?”

 Cheers and whistles surrounded the room. I was nearing the door.

 “Well, my special announcement is…”

 I pulled on the knob. It was stuck.

 Wait…

 I tried it again with much greater force, but it didn’t budge.

 Oh my God…

 “You are all going to die”

 I snapped my head back to look at her and immediately the first four tables near the stage exploded into tiny splinters of wood. The impact was colossal; it felt like a wave had swept me off my feet and thrust me backwards. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, trembling with my arms covering my head, instinctively protecting myself from the debris. My ears were ringing, ringing, ringing but I could still hear the shrieks of terror in the background. Like a vortex consuming itself; my hearing came back to me and I quickly got up. I swore I was still alive but the view in-fro rvhnt of me made it seem like I was treading into the gates of hell.

 A raging fire quickly permeated the hall and people were scurrying towards me, thinking it was their way out. The microphone hummed and Ava’s voice re-emerged in the form of a cackling, maniacal laughter. Her face was now projected onto the blood-stained walls that were engulfed in fire, as if she were the devil’s incarnate.

 “Not so funny now, huh?” she taunted.

 “My sister died because of people like you. She took her life and all the warmth in the world because of bullying scum like you! Now, die! Die so your family will know the pain that mine has been forced to carry! Die because all of you combined could never come close to the kindness and selflessness my sister alone had. And don’t worry, none of you will be missed,” she spoke. She ripped off the microphone from the plug and threw it into the fire across her, feeding it and causing it to grow.

 I looked around. The windows were boarded up, the doors were locked, and there was no way out. I was inevitably going to die, but the least I could do was try to save the people who were still caught up in the blaze.

 I ran over to the front, pushing against the people that were in my way. That was when I heard gunshots. She had climbed down the stage and was starting to shoot people mercilessly. Some of them were pleading before her and others were on their knees in prayer.

 “Noel!” I heard a cry and saw Nisha. I stifled the bile that was threatening to escape my mouth when I noticed she was missing a leg, her femur protruding appallingly as she crawled on the floor. I picked her up and attempted to run to the entrance but I heard a voice warning me not to.

 “Noel Miller! Don’t you dare! She deserves what she’s got!” Ava threatened.

 “Nobody deserves this, Ava!” I pleaded but she was as rigid as the words etched onto her sister’s tombstone.

 Without hesitation, she pulled out her gun and shot Nisha point blank in the forehead. She fell limp in my arms and I released her in shock and unflinching terror. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor. Soon, I was looking into the barrel of her gun.

 “Shoot me, Ava. Let me see your sister so I can tell her that you’ve become the exact monster that put her in her grave,” I said.

 Her eyes wavered and I could see the realization dawn upon her. She looked around and took in the destruction and peril that she has caused. She looked back at me.

 “I’m sorry,” she muttered before pointing the gun at her temple and pulling the trigger. Her head snapped distortedly and her blood splattered on my face. I cried and screamed, attempting to wipe it off but that only made it spread wider.

 The last thing I remembered before passing out due to the carbon monoxide in my lungs was the image of Ava’s eyes, and what used to hold constellations now just a starless sky.

[amxxrawrites-blog]

??? - a poem

i taste the salt in my tears,

i feel the cut of your words,

i smell the anger in your breath,

i hear the shattering of my heart.

i sit,

and rub the small of your back the way you like,

but your eyes and ears are elsewhere,

and you can’t see how small you’ve made me,

and you can’t realize how the pain you deafen yourself with,

has greatly silenced mine.

how incredible it is,

that the voice that lulls me to sleep,

is the voice that leaves me with gashes.

how incredible it is, 

that the eyes that look at you adoringly, 

are the eyes you water with tears.

how incredible it is, 

that the weight you carry on your shoulders,

is the weight i carry to my prayers

for, i meet Him everyday,

to beg and plead for your happiness,

even if it means,

you will not be a part of mine.

it is truly incredible,

how a sinner,

always

bends

to

the

will

of

their

vices.

[amxxrawrites-blog]

Midnight Coffee - a jumbled up poem

Plastic crushing bereft of thought,

Liquid jerks, sprays straight,

Her side-glances precise,

His gestures stiff,

She ties-up him up in raffia string.

 Deed is done,

Tea and Coffee poured,

A stream of red belie her see-through looks,

Frothy and hard,

The killing is milk and marble.

[amxxrawrites-blog]

Life Imitates Art - a short story

Ian

 My heart does somersaults in my chest when I hear my phone’s gentle ping. It’s a message from her. I unlock my screen and am greeted with her selfie. Despite it being a still image, I can see the mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes, I can feel the softness of her pink cheeks, and I can smell the sweet scent of her dark hair. She’s the epitome of the perfect girl. I still can’t believe I’m on my way to meet her for the very first time.

 nadra_02: hey cutie

its_ian_00: hey back

nadra_02: did u know nadra is a rlly common name in Russia? don’t fact check that!

its_ian_00: haha no i did not. but what i do know fossure is that not all nadras are as gorgeous as u

nadra_02: okay smooth talker, now i rlly cant wait to see u! where r u?

its_ian_00: will be there as soon as u can say “facebook”

nadra_02: facebook!

 I smile to myself. I lock my phone and fasten my pace. I can feel the sweat cascading down my spine, making my green shirt stick to my back. I huff. If only my mom allowed me to drive, but she never lets me do anything. Before Nadra, I barely had any friends or anyone at all to talk to. Being the only child with a single parent, I was always under close watch. Everything I did, from dusk to dawn, was always monitored and controlled. Nadra, to me, was the key that unlocked my lonely, isolated cage.

 I met her online after seeing her pretty profile picture amongst a sea of people on Facebook’s Racing Towards Lightspeed’s fanpage. Racing Towards Lightspeed is an underground band that played heavy metal music and she was arguing intensely about the true meaning behind one of their songs. There were many commenters who harshly disagreed with her but she was adamant that she was right. Personally, I disagreed as well but I admired her gumption. I added her and we began to chat.

  nadra_02 accepted your friend request!

its_ian_00: hey! so… about the lyrics to that song…

nadra_02 is typing…

its_ian_00: wait wait! before u murder me viciously with ur argument, i just want to say that i see ur point of view and i think u have a really interesting way of thinking

nadra_02: go on…

its_ian_00: i like that u think the song is about a ruthless monster. ur interpretation gives it an edgy and antagonistic vibe which i never felt prior to reading ur perspective. however, i, myself have a different outlook

nadra_02: which is?

its_ian_00: i don’t think he’s a monster, i think that’s just how people see him. society looks upon him as this grotesque and destructive thing but rlly he’s human like everyone else. he goes out into the world, longing for love and because he isn’t what society would deem as attractive, he gets shut down and that fuels his anger, causing him to appear as ugly as people make him believe he is

nadra_02 is typing…

nadra_02: ian, u have officially become my new favourite person

 I check the time; it’s almost 1am. I start running. I feel the gentle breeze on my face and smell the dew of the freshly cut grass. She wanted to meet at the park near her house. I never thought this day would come. We are finally going to run away together after months of wanting it. I halt when I see the tall Elm tree. My heartbeat quickens. She described her location meticulously in our chat, making sure I knew exactly where to find her amidst the darkness of the night. As I slowly approach the tree, I begin to see a pair of shoes idly knocking against each other in rhythm. When I finally get to the other side of the tree, I smile because she looks up, noticing my presence. Her beautiful face is framed by the glow of the moon. She looks exactly like her photo but exceptionally more stunning in person. I battle the hitch in my throat and utter my first words to her.

 “Hi, Nadra. I’m so glad we’re finally together”

   Nadra

 I storm into my room, slamming the door shut and locking it behind me. I can still hear my adoptive parents screaming at me from the other side. I slide down the wall and curl up into a ball of rage, sadness and misery. Ever since I was adopted, my life has been a mess. It’s funny how you think you’re breaking walls to escape the darkness but really, you’re inching your way closer and closer into the abyss. That’s how it is for me now, living with two people who hate me more than they hate each other. I should’ve just stayed at the orphanage, at least there; I didn’t receive fresh cuts and bruises as presents painted in a dark crimson tint.

 “So help me God, I will rip this door right off its hinges! Do you hear me, Nadra?” my so-called dad shouts. I stand up and ignore him, deciding that I’m deaf to his calls.

 I grab my phone from my desk, scoot under my bed, and open Facebook to message Ian. As I type, I stare endearingly at his profile picture. He’s smiling widely, showing off the dimples on each side of his cheek. His hair is a mess, yet the kind of mess that leads you to believe he was too cool to care about how he looked. Effortless, would be a great way to describe him, effortlessly handsome with his tall and lean stature and effortlessly charming with his natural sense of humour.

 nadra_02: what r u doing

its_ian_00: helping my mom clean the dishes, u?

nadra_02: wishing i was with u

its_ian_00: aw, me too

nadra_02: then lets do it

its_ian_00: haha yeah, we will

nadra_02: no, im serious. lets be together. tonight!

its_ian_00: wait… don’t joke around. are u serious?

 The pounding on my door is incessant. I can feel a headache coming, making the tight space underneath my bed feel even tighter. I steady my breath. I’ve been with these people for 4 years, ever since they adopted me at the age of 12. I know exactly what to do every time the going gets tough. I close my eyes and go to my happy place. It differs every night. Sometimes, it’s back at my old home with my real parents, because loved ones don’t die from car accidents in your imagination. Sometimes, it’s at the park, near my house with Ian. This time, I’m with them both.

 The headache subsides along with the pounding. I check the time; it’s 12am. They’ve worn off their alcohol and they’re probably leaving to get more. I can’t stand living like this anymore. It’s now or never.

 its_ian_00: nadra, r u there?

nadra_02: i’m serious ian. i love u, i want to be with u. let’s run away! tonight!

its_ian_00 is typing…

 Nobody ever tells you how seeing three dots in succession could fill you up with such dread. I feel like I’m waiting for an eternity.

 Finally, my phone pings.

 its_ian_00: where shall i meet u?

 My back is against the ribbed trunk of an Elm tree. I am overlooking the lake that is glistening under the moonlight. I look over to my left and I make sure that I’ve packed everything that I need. I have two bags, both filled to the brim with money, clothes, toiletries and other belongings. I chuckle dryly. I’m so used to moving from home to home that I can pack my entire life in just 10 minutes flat. I sigh, checking the time. He should be here by now.

 I hug myself, wrapping my jacket tighter around me to resist the cold that is fighting its way through my clothes. I exhale and my breath forms a cloud. Sometimes, I wish I could climb atop it and float to nowhere. I just want an escape. I hope Ian can give me that.

 I hear the rustling of the grass. Someone is approaching. I can hear my heart thud through my chest. Anxiety and excitement are bubbling in my stomach, struggling to rise to the top in the form of vomit. I can’t contain myself. I’ve never been so nervous in my life. Finally, my gaze at the mundane ground is overcast by a shadow. I look up, smiling, eager to be met with the gorgeous face I’ve been admiring for the past year. However, what I see is something completely different.

 I see not a handsome 18-year-old boy, but a morbidly obese 30-year-old grown man.

 His hair is messy, indeed, for it is matted to his forehead due to the immense amount of grease.

 His jaw his completely hidden from sight, enshrouded by a patchy beard that permeates all the way down to his neck.

 He is panting aggressively and his sweat has made his clothes stick to his body, showing every curve and layer.

 I can’t breathe. I can’t speak. I feel like I’m absolutely paralyzed.

 This can’t be him.

 Please, let this not be him.

 But, it seems like I can never escape. It seems like the only thing permanent about my life is the abyss in which has rendered me dormant.

 Because he speaks and his words, instead of setting me free, have shattered any chance I had to escape.

 “Hi, Nadra. I’m so glad we’re finally together.”

[amxxrawrites-blog]

Drops of Crimson - a short story

An incessant alarm rang in my ear, stealing me from my sleep. I sat up and rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. It was another day at Multimedia University. I showered, got dressed, combed by tangle-ridden black hair and noticed I had a bump on the top right of my head. Before I could inspect it further, my alarm sounded off again, reminding me that I was indeed late.

 As I climbed down the last flight of steps at my dormitory, my head started to throb and my body felt sore and exhausted. I tried to recall what exactly happened the night before but for the life of me, I couldn’t. Everything was such a blur and I simply had no time to ponder over my thoughts. I had to get to class.

 *

 “Free fall. Isn’t that an interesting concept? To feel weightless as you plunge into oblivion,” Calvin said blithely as he twirled a pen between his thumb and forefinger.

 I turned to my right to look at my boyfriend, Lucas, who was nonchalantly laughing at his friend’s morbid remark. I, on the other hand, sat silently, feeling a sense of awkwardness bubbling within me. Calvin was no stranger to saying uncomfortably morose things. Like a moth to a flame, he was attracted to all things dark and sinister. His appearance even reflected that, for he was wearing an all black outfit with his hair interminably in disarray.

 I shifted my eyes to look at Calvin who was now drawing a stick figure at the edge of a cliff on his notepad.

 “Weh, are you okay?” I asked, genuinely disturbed by his behaviour. He looked at me and his eyes were drenched in sadness.

 Before he could respond, Lucas cheerfully interjected, as he always does.

 “Sayang, Calvin is always like that, remember?” he mocked.

 He was smiling widely, showing off his prominent dimples. He truly was handsome in every sense of the word. Unlike Calvin, Lucas had perfectly gelled hair and a glow to him that illuminated every room he ever walked in. Despite that, he dressed casually, donning a slightly tattered shirt.

 “I guess so… By the way, any of you have minyak cap kapak?” I asked. It was hard for me to keep my eyes open and maintain balance due to the stinging pain behind my eyelids and on my lower back.

 “No. Why? You have a headache?” Lucas asked, concerned. At the corner of my eye, I could see a shift of discomfort as Calvin averted his gaze to the mundane beige floor of the Creative Multimedia building.

 “Yes, a bloody agonising one. And I can’t seem to remember what happened last night? It’s as if someone had knocked me out cold,” I joked dryly which received a chuckle from my boyfriend but not even the slightest smile from Calvin. Instead, I garnered the most abnormal reaction.

 “Nala, Lucas, I gotta go. I just remembered my mom’s waiting for me for lunch. If I’m late, she’ll mengamuk kaw-kaw,” he muttered hastily while attempting to joke. In a flash, he packed his things and rushed out, abandoning us.

 “Well, that was awkward,” I acknowledged. Lucas nodded in agreement. He grabbed my hand and began leading me out the class. I pulled it back.

 “I can’t leave yet. I have to submit my assignment. You go on without me,” I said.

 *

 While waiting for Madam Razana to arrive, I caught a girl standing at the end of the hallway. Her back was turned towards me. I felt alarmed when I noticed she had blood gradually permeating the white fabric of her skirt.

 “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, walking towards her. I stopped dead in my tracks when she turned around.

 She had no face. Where her eyes, nose and lips were supposed to be was completely barren. I felt the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck erect and I stood frozen to the ground. I willed my limbs to work but I was paralyzed with fear. The entity sensed my horror and in a split-second, she hovered above the floor and bolted in my direction. I snapped out of my trance and ran.

 I sped through the hallways but my attempts to outrun her were to no avail, as if I were a mouse trapped in an inescapable labyrinth. I found myself being led to the Siti Hasmah library. I must’ve seemed mad, frantically dashing towards the entrance and barging into the glass doors. However, as soon as I entered, all the lights shut off in unison. Inundated with fear, I halted, completely blind in the pitch-black darkness.

 Suddenly, I felt cold.

 A loud smack against the library tiles startled me. I turned my head and the lights atop the bookshelf illuminated. There was an open book on the floor. The lights flickered as I began walking towards it.

 The words RAPE and DECEMBER 5th 2017 were scrawled all over the book in bold, jagged letters. I screamed when the lights shut off again. I waited apprehensively for something to happen. All of a sudden, a loud whoosh echoed throughout the room coupled with an intense cyclone that flung hundreds of books toward me. I tried to dodge but I was constantly pummelled to the ground. Pages were being ripped straight off the spine and chucked towards my face. I kept reading the same words over and over again as if it were on an everlasting spiral, that instead of going outward was going inward, tightening around me, constraining me, suffocating me. The winds raised me off my feet and blew me to the end of the room. The entity appeared again.

 “What do you want?” I screamed.

 She looked at me and I immediately felt an unfathomable grip, causing my body to go limp. She walked toward me and with every step, the grip loosened.

 “I want to show you what happened to me.”

 I was taken aback by how an animalistic, foreign, incomprehensible being could sound exactly like… a normal girl.

 As soon as the words left her, I felt something heavy slam against me and I shut my eyes, wincing at the pain before opening them again. My vision became blurry as if I were looking through a cloud.  

 “Stop! What are you doing?” I heard a girl exclaim. I peeked from behind the bookshelf to see her swatting away a man’s hand that was placed coyly on the inside of her thigh.

 “Come on-lah, nobody’s here. Let’s do it,”

 “No, get off me!”

 “Sial lah!” he growled before he shoved her headfirst against the frame of the bookshelf.

 He proceeded to climb on top of her, pin her down with a strong forearm and pull up her skirt.

 The library was so silent, I could hear her tears fall and splatter onto the floor like shards of glass. She became unconscious as he mercilessly continued to rape her. Gradually, rage started to build up inside of me like a crackling inferno until I finally exploded.

“Stop it!” I yelled. They turned around and my life changed immediately.

 The girl.

 She was not some faceless entity, nor was she a stranger or friend. She was someone much closer and dearer to my heart.

 The girl was me.

 And the guy.

 Calvin was always an abnormal guy. He truly was. But never did I ever think he would be capable of rape.

 And I was right.

 Because the eyes that were looking back at me were not his, it was Lucas’s.

 “Nala,” he whispered under his breath.

 I stood silent.

 Suddenly everything around me began to evaporate into dust and I screamed at the top of my lungs, shutting my eyes willing it all to be gone.

 Only then did the pain fully hit me. My body ached and my head throbbed but it was no contender for the pain that hurt the most.

 My heart.

 It bled and stung, for it was prickled with the thorns of betrayal.

I remembered everything, every word, every cry, every thrust, every drop of crimson that fell, tainting the floor and my innocence.

 “Nala!” I heard a cry and opened my eyes.

 There he was, standing tall and I noticed that I was kneeling on the ground. The library was packed with people and the books were neatly arranged on their respective shelves as if nothing had happened. I looked up at him. The lights behind him were casting an angelic shadow upon his handsome face. He had no guilt and he had no remorse.

 Who knew that the devil could disguise as the love of your life?

The thing is, nobody tells you that a ghost is not a faceless, deformed creature but a handsome, smiling boy.

 Nobody tells you that the same boy you would cross rivers and trudge mountains for can now have you terrified, plagued and locked up in the chains that bond you to him.

 These are the ghosts that no one talks about yet these are the ghosts that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

[amxxrawrites-blog]

??? inspired by Black Mirror

He turned the key to the lock and opened the door. To his horror he saw his girlfriend, perched quietly on their old and worn couch. She averted her gaze from the television to him and they locked eyes. He immediately slammed the door shut and ran outside. When he finally felt like he was far enough from his apartment, he stopped and took a sharp intake of breath.

 She looked so beautiful. Her eyes were bright and blue like he remembered and her soft strawberry blonde hair shined underneath the fluorescent lights. He started to cry. None of it made sense. How can she look so stunning after being dead for over a month?

 After regaining his composure, he strode back into his apartment, confident he was just imagining it. She was after all the love of his life. He couldn’t simply let go without having a few hallucinations every once in a while. However, when he opened the door one more time, there she was again.

 He stood still, incredulous of the sight before him. She smiled and held out her arms.

 “Aren’t you going to hug me? You’ve been away for so long,” she said and her voice was exactly alike.

 “Who are you?” he asked with a sturdy tone despite the fact he was shaking in his shoes.

 She laughed. “Very funny. So, what are we having for dinner?”

 “WHO ARE YOU?” he yelled.

 She snapped her head back in horror. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked at him. Her expression was desolate, as if he had slapped her.

 “You’re scaring me, Toby,” she whispered faintly.

 In an instance, he felt terrible. His initial reaction was to walk over and comfort her but his logic contradicted his emotions. She was not real! She had died in a car crash a month ago! He pulled out his phone to call the police before reading a notification on his screen.

 It was from an application from the iTunes store. It read;

 You have successfully downloaded your very own Mirror Bot. Now you can enjoy your bot’s presence to your fullest capacity. Additional charges will be included per month.

 Without a moment of hesitation, he clicked the notification which led him to a page that listed all of his girlfriend’s personal information. It ranged from her pictures, her videos, her messages, her voice memos and everything else in between. He felt betrayed. Those were all his private mementos of her and somehow it had been uploaded onto an app. He scrolled further and stopped when he saw the name of the person who had registered for the service. It was his sister.

 “Toby? Are you okay?” the bot asked sweetly. He looked up at her and she was kneeling on the couch, her eyes wide with curiosity and concern.

 “I—I’ll be right back” he answered curtly before leaving the room to call his sister.

 As soon as she picked up, he began drilling her with questions.

 “What have you done?”

 “What do you mean?”

 “She’s in my house! Rachel is in my house! She’s dead!”

 “Oh, so you’ve received your package. How is she? It’s amazing how life-like they are, aren’t they?”

 “Why did you do this? Do you know how hurt I am? I’m still trying to forget her and here she is in my apartment!”

 “Toby. Calm down. Let me explain”

 “Please”

 “When Derek died, I was lost. He was the only man I had ever loved. I knew I couldn’t love another man ever again. So I searched the web and found out about this app. You upload all your loved one’s personal information and they mirror that image and turn it into a human like bot! I didn’t tell you about this because I was ashamed but now that Rachel has passed, I see how miserable you are. My Derek has made me so happy and I thought maybe, if I brought you Rachel back, you’d feel the same. Just try it out. If you don’t like it, you can always get a refund. Wouldn’t you like a chance at happiness again? Listen, I gotta go, I’m actually driving. I’ll talk to you later” and she hung-up.

 The incessant ringing that filled Toby’s ears after the call had ended was deafening. He shut his phone and made his way slowly into the living room. She was crying.

 “Toby! Please. What is going on?” she yelled as she wiped her eyes dry of tears. He scooted next to her on the couch and embraced her. He smelled her hair and it smelled of the exact same shampoo she used. He pulled her face away to observe her and her expression was so familiar, his heart dropped. It wasn’t her, he knew that deep inside but it looked like her, talked like her and even smelt like her.

 Can a mirrored robot emulate the one true love he had ever felt? No. But he couldn’t imagine losing her again. So, he smiled.

 “Nothing, baby. Let’s have pizza for dinner.”

[amxxrawrites-blog]