2026-03-31 23:48:38
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128
Sofia couldn’t move.Her reflection stood perfectly still inside the mirror, but its eyes were changing constantly.One moment they looked like hers.The next, they belonged to the little girl.Then they became older.Then younger.Then unfamiliar.Eight different versions stared back at her.Sofia slowly stepped away.“What are you?”The reflection smiled.“I already told you.”“You said you were what remained.”“Of all eight.”Sofia’s hands began trembling.“You’re inside me.”“Partly.”“What does that mean?”“It means you are no longer alone.”Sofia shook her head.“I don’t want you inside me.”The reflection laughed softly.“You’ve never been alone, Sofia.”The bedroom door suddenly opened behind her.Sofia spun around.Ethan stood there.His face was pale.“Sofia.”She immediately stepped backward.“Don’t come closer.”He stopped.“I need to explain.”“You’ve explained enough.”“I know.”“You lied to me.”“Yes.”“You killed the first Sofia.”“Yes.”“You helped create the others.”
128
The moment Sofia opened the eighth door completely, everything stopped.The seven doors around her froze in place.The shadows behind them stopped moving.Even Ethan became completely still.Sofia looked at him.He was standing with one hand raised toward her, his mouth slightly open as though he had been saying something, but no sound came out.It was as if time itself had stopped.Only Sofia could move.And the little girl.She stepped beside Sofia and looked through the doorway.“Are you ready?”Sofia swallowed.“No.”The little girl smiled.“Good.”Sofia looked at her strangely.“Why is that good?”“Because people who think they’re ready usually aren’t.”Sofia took a deep breath.Then she stepped through.The world changed immediately.She found herself standing inside a small hospital room.A newborn baby was crying on a bed.Her mother stood beside the bed.But she looked younger.Much younger.Ethan was there too.Except he was different.His face looked softer.His eyes didn’t
127
The moment Sofia opened the eighth door completely, everything stopped.The seven doors around her froze in place.The shadows behind them stopped moving.Even Ethan became completely still.Sofia looked at him.He was standing with one hand raised toward her, his mouth slightly open as though he had been saying something, but no sound came out.It was as if time itself had stopped.Only Sofia could move.And the little girl.She stepped beside Sofia and looked through the doorway.“Are you ready?”Sofia swallowed.“No.”The little girl smiled.“Good.”Sofia looked at her strangely.“Why is that good?”“Because people who think they’re ready usually aren’t.”Sofia took a deep breath.Then she stepped through.The world changed immediately.She found herself standing inside a small hospital room.A newborn baby was crying on a bed.Her mother stood beside the bed.But she looked younger.Much younger.Ethan was there too.Except he was different.His face looked softer.His eyes didn’t
126
The hospital lights remained off.Sofia could hear Ethan breathing somewhere behind her.She could also hear the little girl breathing directly in front of her.Two familiar sounds.Two people she no longer knew whether to trust.“Sofia,” Ethan whispered.She didn’t answer.The little girl reached for her hand.“Come with me.”Sofia pulled her hand away.“Where?”“To the place where everything started.”“I thought we were already there.”The girl shook her head.“No. That was only a memory.”Sofia frowned.“Then where are we now?”The girl looked around the dark hospital room.“Inside another one.”Sofia’s stomach dropped.“This isn’t the hospital?”“It is.”“But it’s also not.”Sofia looked toward the door.The darkness seemed deeper than before.“What does that mean?”The girl smiled.“You are beginning to understand.”Ethan suddenly stepped closer.“Don’t listen to her.”Sofia turned toward him.“Then tell me what’s happening.”Ethan remained silent.“Ethan.”“I don’t know.”The gi
125
Sofia opened her eyes suddenly.She gasped for air and immediately sat upright.Her heart was beating so hard that it hurt.For several seconds, she could not understand where she was.There was no bedroom.No seven girls.No little girl with black eyes.No broken mirror.No endless darkness.Only a quiet room.A white ceiling.A narrow hospital bed.And someone holding her hand.“Sofia.”She turned her head.Ethan was sitting beside her.His eyes were red, and his hair was messy, as though he had been awake for hours.Sofia stared at him.“You’re here.”Ethan squeezed her hand.“I told you I wouldn’t disappear.”She looked around the room.“Where are we?”“The hospital.”Sofia frowned.“Why?”“You collapsed.”“Where?”“In the old house.”Her breathing immediately became faster.“The doorway?”Ethan nodded.Sofia pulled her hand away.“The girls.”“What girls?”“The seven girls.”Ethan went completely still.Sofia noticed.“You remember them.”He looked toward the window.“I remember.
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Sofia stood completely still in the darkness.She could hear seven different breaths around her.Seven versions of herself.Seven people who should not have existed.And somehow, every single one of them felt familiar.The lights suddenly returned.Sofia immediately looked around the bedroom.The seven girls were still there.The youngest stood closest to her.She looked about eight years old.Another girl looked around twelve.One appeared sixteen.Another looked almost exactly Sofia’s age.The remaining three looked older.They were not arranged randomly.They were standing in a perfect circle.And Sofia was standing in the middle.She slowly looked down at herself.Her hands were shaking.“What is this place?”The oldest girl answered.“Your first home.”Sofia frowned.“I have never seen this room.”“You have.”“When?”“Before you were born.”Sofia stared at her.“That doesn’t make sense.”The oldest girl smiled sadly.“Neither do we.”Sofia looked toward the bedroom door.It was s
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