Tragedy

Where am I? I take a shaky breath as I am falling… or rather floating? I'm not sure, there is nothing around me to grab onto. I can’t tell where I came from or where I'm going. All of a sudden, a symphony of colors blinds my senses.

I blink and begint to see the silhouette of a man, he walks towards my weightless body, slowly gaining speed. I try to move but I stay put, moving my arms helplessly hoping I'll escape. Quickly I turn my head to see as he rushes into me, I close my eyes as fast as I can, hoping this is all a dream . I felt as though I was drowning. I opened my eyes once more to see he has disappeared and all that's left in his place is a strange black ball. I slowly raise my hand to touch it, But as soon as my fingertips reach its surface, it starts to melt. As the sphere liquifies, it grows, climbing my arms and dripping down my legs I am slowly being eaten alive. I feel it creep up my neck, and I begin to panic and scream for help but the black liquid covers my mouth, it creeps up my nose and I gradually lose the ability to breath. While I choke on this thick black goo, a tear falls down my cheek. My body has been completely overlaid with fear.

I am falling in and out of consciousness when I hear a dull sound, a sound I have always been familiar with; rain. The sound is faint but prominent. It washes the black from my skin in a leisurely manner, and I gradually regain my vision. As I look around I see the blurry outlines of what seems to be furniture, gray walls with white trim engulfed in paintings, plastic covering cherry hardwood flooring, blank canvases, and easels everywhere you look. It's a studio. I am overcome with the feeling of nostalgia, a sense of deja-vu, Where have I seen this before? I look around to better grasp my situation but can't find any clues as to where I am or how I got here.

No doors, no windows. The only source of light is the skylight built directly in the center of the room. I turn around and see myself in a full body mirror. I cant help but notice that I am wearing different clothes, clothes I have never worn before. Red velvet pants, a red silk blouse, red suede stilettos and a white leather jacket with golden/bronze detailing along the trim. I take a moment to admire my looks, i've never put any effort into my appearance before, I've never really cared enough to want to. I turn away from my reflection and begin to walk around. I hear my heels click as I walk around noting all of the small details of the studio, the smell of dried paint, the orange tint reflecting off the walls from the sunset, then I see it. A large painting of a girl, she had short brown curly hair and bright green eyes. Her skin was a glowing light brown, with lips only a few shades darker, she showed no emotion. The girl was standing in a field in front of a burning house that had flowers made of fire growing around its walls.

The longer I look at the girl in the painting, the more it looks like she's alive, I get closer and notice the paints still wet. I look to the other paintings only to realize they've all disappeared.

I quickly look back at the painting of the girl but it looks different. She was now drowning in flames. I could see the fire moving like water, slowly, heavily. My eyes began to burn until tears streamed down my face, my chest tightened and I can no longer breathe. I see scenes from my forgotten past in the back of my head playing like a movie scene. I watch as a younger me runs, panicked, and lost, the smell of smoke burning my nose. I hear screams of people crying for help. It's my house... I can vaguely remember what happened. I didn't mean for it to happen, it was an accident I swear! what did we do to deserve this? As the flashbacks suddenly stop I fall to my knees and sob. My mom, my dad, my brother, gone because of a single person, because of me. A single mistake brought death to my door, I hate this! MAKE IT STOP! I yell through my tear-soaked hands.

I feel the world pause, as I slowly looked up from the ground I see a room full of mirrors. I stare myself dead in the eye and watch as my reflection moves differently than me. I scream So loud that the entire building begins to shake, and the mirrors start shattering one by one. I’m thrown backwards, hitting my head on one of the broken mirrors, I slowly begin to lose consciousness. When I wake up I’m on the ground, covered in ash and blood, I sit up and look around. It's all too familiar; The house, the smell of smoke, the flames. I am the girl in the paintings.