Shatter

Chapter 25: Ten Seconds

Luna 

No. 

That could not be. 

I had stared at the man in the mirror for a few seconds, into his hollow eye sockets, and I felt him glare back at me even though he had no eyes. And then, he was gone. 

"And that is how you accept." Zephyr had said. 

Had I accepted the man in the mirror? No. I hadn't. 

Fear was a branch in the tree of my life. But was it a branch, a leaf, or a root? I was sure fear was rooted in me. Forever. I couldn't go on without fear, because it didn't seem right. But maybe I could let it go. Maybe there would be an autumn, where fear was only a leaf, and it fell to the ground. Maybe the autumn would last forever. An eternity without fear—how blissful would that be? 

Yet, I just couldn't connect everything. What about destroying The Other Side? I shook my head at the complexity of it all. No, I was too young. Why not get a wise oracle to do it, instead? They can see the past and the future. They can see everything. Then why wouldn't an oracle be able to succeed. 

It had been around four days since I had supposedly "accepted" the man in the mirror. Now, there was a strange tugging feeling for me to see him again. I longed to see him again, to supposedly accept him. Because I had felt a surprising surge of triumph when he had disappeared. Like I had killed him. 

Even though I knew that I hadn't. 

~

The day that marked a week since I had accepted the man in the mirror, I had a thought of how to destroy The Other Side. It had just come to me at dawn, when the first rays of sunlight shone through my window. Sunlight. Happiness. What if everyone had accepted their Fear, and replaced it with happiness? It sounded quite simple, indeed, but I knew it wasn't. 

What if... everyone was only the most important people in each world? 

I remembered something Zephyr had said earlier that day, though. 

You have to accept your Fear first before you can help others do the same. 

I had tried, though. Yet the man in the mirror didn't come to my sight. Was he really gone? Just a few seconds of eye contact, and I had killed him? 

And there was no effect on the world?

It wasn't right. So I assumed that was the answer. I hadn't completely accepted him yet. 

Zephyr told me to try to see the man in the mirror again. I stood in front of the mirror in Zephyr's room. Nothing happened. 

Zephyr knew me best. Better than Carmen, even. When nothing happened, he sighed. "Luna, this isn't working. But I think I know how to... fix it, somehow." 

"How?" I asked without looking at him. 

"I need to describe your Fear to you. Because you have to fear something, correct? Or else... how do you see the man in the mirror? He is your Fear."

I rolled my eyes. How lame. If everyone could trigger something I feared, then the man in the mirror would be everywhere. 

Except, I didn't know how well Zephyr knew me. 

Suddenly, he cried out, "Rosalie!" 

"What about her?" My heart suddenly started thudding, and I tried to calm it. Nothing was happening. What was I so anxious about?

"There's an earthquake," he said, his eyes glittered with worry. 

"How do you know?" I asked suspiciously. 

"I'm part of Aeluin. I have Aeluin blood in me. When there's someone close to me, then I can feel them." 

I knew it was true. The blood of Aeluins had some magic in it. You could use telepathy because of it, and similar things as well. 

At this point I was starting to believe his crazy words. "No, Zephyr. That's not possible, I would feel it. For goodness sake, I'm her sister!" 

I glanced at the mirror, reassured that nothing would be there. 

I was wrong. 

I wasn't ready to see and accept the man in the mirror, not yet. But he was there. His black lips curled into a tart smile, revealing white teeth so perfect it was unnatural. "Hello," he whispered in my ear as he glided towards me, out of the mirror. "It's good to see you again." 

I tried to scream "Go away from me," but no words came out of my mouth. 

Accept, screamed a voice in my head. C'mon, you've done it before. Do it again. Rip it off like a band-aid and stare at him in the eye. Accept. 

I couldn't pull myself to do it. 

It's only a few seconds. Do it, Luna. You are Lunaire Everdene. 

I jerked my head towards the man in the mirror. "I'm not afraid of you," I said, trying to not tremble under the glance of the man in the mirror. 

"You aren't, I can see that, Lunaire. You aren't anymore. But do you know what I can do? I can haunt your dreams until all that is left of you is a crumpled piece of trash, overcome by fear." He smiled. 

"Fear's the only thing that halts my life from going forward," I said. "I need to push you away sooner or later. And that time has come for you to leave me, Fear." 

I glared at the man in the mirror. I stared at him for a solid ten seconds. 

I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU, was all that echoed in my head after that. He was gone. I had done it yet again.  

And I'll accept you again, I thought. Over and over again, until you die.