Shatter

Chapter 6: Regret

"Thank you," I said, and smiled. 

We were leaving, as Melissa had advised us to do. 

Leaving. 

It was a heavy choice. I could die. I could get killed and never return. 

Melissa smiled. 

Carmen and I left. 

That was the worst decision I've ever made. Except, I didn't know it. 

~

"We're both hallucinating," Carmen murmured. "I keep on seeing him. He's right in front of me. But then he's gone. I wonder if he's actually real... or if we're both just going crazy." She sighed. "I still don't believe it..."

"Accept the truth, Carmen." I said, "The man in the mirror is real." 

She laughed like it was a joke, then looked up at the sky. "Yeah, I guess he is. Is that our name for him, now? The man in the mirror." 

I grinned. "Yeah."

"So, are we just two orphans now? Roaming around in the big wide world... I don't even know if I'm myself anymore. I just... nevermind. I'm not myself." Carmen said. She sighed, and closed her eyes. She stopped walking. Suddenly, when she opened her eyes, they were different. They glowed. Red or orange, I couldn't tell: the sun was too bright. 

"Who are you?" She asked. 

I burst out in laughter. Her voice was so real, it sounded like she actually didn't know me. I laughed until I went into hysterics. It had been a while since I've really laughed. Usually, they were just fake smiles and laughs, just to make people happy. 

I guess that was a burst of emotion. 

But wait.

Was she pretending?

"Get away from me," Carmen said. Her voice was alarmed. "You stranger!" 

My vision glitched. 

Not abstractly. 

It was like a glitch of an old television. 

But then, Carmen was back. She was back. 

There were two Carmen's. 

My head spun around like a top. 

Why were there two Carmen's? 

Why did she not recognize me?

Was my life turning upside down?

I closed my eyes, hoping for the best. 

"I'm here," said one of the Carmen's. "It's me. That's something else." She cocked her head weirdly, like a robot. 

"No, that's not me," whispered the other one. "This is me! Please, Luna!"

"Liar," said the other one, and glared. "Luna, don't listen to her." 

"Don't listen to that idiot," the other flashed back. 

"Luna, this is me. No one else."

"Luna, I went with you to meet Evangeline!"

"That was me, Luna!" 

"Describe what Melissa looked like," I finally said. That was the only way to settle it. 

"She's an old woman that you met in your past," they said together, perfectly syncronized. 

I shook my head. "Don't, please, Carmen, just come back." My voice turned into a whimper. "Don't do this. DEMONS!" It turned into a scream. I tilted my head back like a maniac, and screamed until my throat ached. "Come back, Carmen, I tell you!" I shrieked. 

I fell onto the path, the cold stone path. 

The two Carmen's were still there. 

I glared at both of them, my gaze a fire of hatred at life. 

"Come back," I commanded, "CARMEN, COME BACK."