The Pledge

“The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own…”. I’ll start there. ALL I ever wanted was to become a “Night Bird” a member of the most elite and glamorous women’s social club in the city. It took my entire family and every favor from every person they’d ever met just to get me the interview. The night I went in for the first evaluation to see if I’d even be considered for the pledging process there were nothing but other women leaving in tears obviously immediately rejected with their dreams dashed. Some were the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I had been told/warned not to get MY hopes up either. As my name was called from what seemed like a pitch black room compared to the glaringly bright one I was waiting in I was instructed to first stand then turn around slowly in front of the full length mirror before entering.

My knees shook as I rose from the plush seat in the waiting area and walked towards the mirror and slowly turned. Then I went into the dark, candlelit room practically blind as my eyes adjusted to the difference in the light. The first thing I briefly noticed after turning startled by the door closing automatically behind me was it had been a two way mirror I had stood and turned around in front of before. An almost ethereal voice said to: “Come no closer” and I stopped walking toward what were obviously a group of women in veils seated at a table. “It follows directions well and immediately… That’s a good sign and start!” the voice said… I had been warned the pledging process was extremely harsh and being referred to as an “it” part of a dehumanizing process meant to be followed by a reconstructive process was hurtful but expected.

“We already know absolutely EVERYTHING about YOUUUUUUUU…” the voice practically sang and the table of women burst into uproarious laughter. I immediately felt more embarrassed than I ever had in my entire life. “Are you sure this is what you want? IT will become everything your life revolves around.” the voice asked. “You’ve already been pre-selected.”… I had no idea and then the way my family wept as I left for the big city made sense. I had an aunt who had “passed away” whom I’d only seen once ride past and wave at midnight from a limousine as a very small child only to then be told she’d “passed away” in a car accident that same night. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and I remember crying myself to sleep. She had been a “Night Bird”.

I wholeheartedly told them that “it” was everything I ever wanted. They all collectively motioned for me to enter into an elevator that opened and I walked in. As the doors closed I felt the elevator start to immediately drop extremely fast. It increased in speed falling ever more rapidly and I began to scream! At one point I lost consciousness and even now I only remember what are still just a bunch of horrible memories and I don’t know if they were imagined or real drifting in and out of consciousness. One very memorable one involves something drinking my blood and being giving something that faintly tasted like blood that revived me and made me feel better than ever before.

As I regained consciousness the first thing I noticed is I was wearing nothing. There was another voice but it was deep and menacing that said to approach yet another mirror at the end of a dark but beautiful torch lit hallway outside the elevator. It was an elaborate mirror. I occasionally leaned against Corinthian columns for support exhausted from the experience as I approached the mirror as instructed.

I was never more terrified than by what I saw! The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own. Actually… I now suddenly had absolutely NO REFLECTION AT ALL!