Can You Hear Me?

by janaemitchell

I sat down at my dressing table, like I did every night at this time, letting my long hair down. Every pin I removed was a welcomed release, the tension of the day being set free.

As I picked up my brush, I heard a voice; distant... yet close. Unable to understand what was said, I quieted, listening. Three knocks startled me, causing me to drop my brush.

"Who's there?" I asked.

As I looked around my room, I noticed it was empty, my door still tightly closed. Despite my lonely state, the voice grew louder, more distinguishable. It was a man.

"Hello?"

His voice was faint, like he was speaking from the other end of a long hallway. Nonetheless, it was just as frightening as if it had been spoken aloud right beside me, maybe even more so.

"I'm here," I whispered.

As soon as the words left my lips, my room turned cold and dark, causing me to stand up from my chair and back against the wall behind me. What I was trying to get away from, I didn't know.

As I stood in the corner of my room, I screamed, but no one came. I was completely alone... yet not. The voice continued, getting more and more clear.

"We heard you! Give us a sign you're here."

As he spoke, my room began to fall away, the pristine grandeur turning dark, my things gone. I was left standing inside a shell of what once was. What was happening to me?

"Get out!" I screamed, but they didn't listen. "Help me..."

I begged, with no relief, and slid down the wall, landing softly on the floor. The confusion that filled me made it hard to think; hard to breathe, even, as if it wrapped around me like a vine.

"I heard a female voice! It said 'help me'."

Fear pulled me up off the floor as he spoke, knowing I'd been heard. Spirits were of the devil and we weren't supposed to summon or communicate with them. So I ran for the door, ready to flee.

"I bet it's Lady Emily."

As soon as I heard my name, I stopped and spun around, knowing I'd forever be cursed, since these spirits spoke my name, but as soon as I saw my reflection in the mirror, I knew I already was.

"She died almost a hundred and fifty years ago, though."

As I looked across the room and into my mirror, his words sinking in, I knew he was telling the truth. I was dead. They weren't the spirits... I was.

My ear-splitting scream caused the men to run.

Once they were gone, I walked toward my reflection, unable to believe the reality that laid before me. I couldn't be dead; I was Lady Emily. As I reached out toward the mirror, I faded away.

"How strange," I said aloud, stepping away from my mirror.

Sitting down at my dressing table, like I did every night at this time, I let my long hair down. Every pin I removed was a welcomed release, the tension of the day being set free.