Chapter 2 - The Impossible Reflection
The brass doorknob turned with a dry, metallic click that echoed loudly in the quiet hallway. Mark’s muscles tensed as he pulled the heavy door open an inch, bracing himself for whatever threat might lunge out from the dark interior. A stale, cold draft spilled out from the cramped space, smelling faintly of old dust and peppermint.
"Mark, stop this right now!" Elena shouted, her hands flying to her mouth as she stumbled backward against the floral wallpaper, tears pooling in her eyes.
Mark didn't listen. He shoved the door wide open and thrust the heavy-duty flashlight directly into the gloom. The powerful beam cut through the darkness, illuminating stacks of folded towels and spare bedsheets. But down at the very bottom, huddled beneath a thick blue blanket, was a small, trembling figure.
It was Lily.
Mark froze, the breath catching in his throat. He looked from the frightened child under the blanket down in the dark closet, and then slowly turned his head to look back at the hallway.
Kneeling right beside him on the carpet, frozen in pure terror, was another Lily.
The young girl in the white dress stared up at her father with identical braided hair and the exact same fearful, wide eyes. In her small hands, the child in the closet clutched a dusty, old framed family photo, holding it against her chest like a shield.
"Daddy," the girl in the closet whispered, her voice echoing strangely as if it were coming from deep inside an empty well.
Mark dropped the flashlight. It clattered against the hardwood floor, the beam rolling wildly across the ceiling before dying out completely, plunging the hallway into shadows.
"How is this possible?" Mark muttered, his voice dropping to a harsh, breathless rasp as he stared between the two identical children.
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Elena dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling as she reached out to pull the hallway Lily away from the closet threshold. "I tried to tell you," Elena sobbed, her fingernails digging deep into Mark’s arm. "I tried to tell you she never came back from the park."
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