2022-09-27
Azalea was once again sitting on a bench on the subway station, watching as the trains went and came. Despite the relatively calm atmosphere of the late day station, she just couldn't get her mind off of the recent events. Ever since she started the half regular half magic school it felt like no day was normal and, in her mind, it could get very tiring. She never saw herself as a very magic inclined student, barely being able to cast basic elements without having to lose control of her emotions.
Ironically on of the spells she had mastered was one of great difficulty; the summon spell with which she could summon objects from a pocket dimension. She had kept the knowledge of this ability a secret as she felt it would be better being discrete using such a high-level spell. She couldn't imagine what people might think when they see her ability. The thought of advanced classes brought upon by a single skill made her shudder as she could barely keep up with regular class, much less advanced ones. One secondary ability brough upon by the summon spell was one that Azalea took the liberty of using at any point shed needed, to a point of thinking if she could be abusing it. She was able to cast a copy of the world on top of the real one where only she could be, and no one else, functioning as a sort of thinking space.
On that day she once again made use of that capability to collect her thoughts.
Now in a quiet subway station she lied in the bench and contemplated her journey so far. It had been only a few months since the beginning of what she considered the wildest school year of her life.
There had been chaos as far as she could see, from alchemist madmen using potion craft to cause havoc, ranging from prankster looking to set their position as class clowns in stone, to sociopaths using their brewing experience to cause mayhem among the students and staff with various wild concoctions such as, exploding vials, vials of homemade stink gas that definitely sent at least one kid to the ER due to respiratory complication, just the potion class had been a wild ride, and there had been so many others in the same level that she just didn't bother remembering.
Besides the turmoil the school year had been, she was still very glad for the experience, as she was able to make many friends and confidants, from the shy and smart Mint to the quiet, stoic and very intimidating Isaac, she also found trust in her potion's teacher Mr. Thyme whom she had relied on for help in many other subjects, she felt that despite the havoc and overall struggle with the magic side of the syllabus, she was doing very well in the new environment.
As her mind calmed to a state of inner peace, she looked around at the empty benches, ticket cabins and rails of the summoned copy of the world. It was useful to get around crowds or to just get away from a stressful situation, but she wondered if she had been using it too frequently. She had almost been caught multiple times just popping into existence from the parallel dimension, as although she could take a peek at the real world at any time to assess if it weas safe to leave her own safe bubble it was still hard to not be seen just disappearing into nothingness.
As she was getting up from the seat to leave summoned space however, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, something was there; no, not just something someone. "But that's impossible" she thought to herself, she was sure her summoned space was only reachable by her and her alone. She hesitated, knowing what the magic world could bring, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she faced to see who was there, and, the moment her eyes met the stranger's, she froze; both in fear and disbelief, as she could not fathom what she saw.
End of chapter XYZ, part 1
It was herself, sitting there in the floor of the station, with a taunting expression the girl that sat in front of her looked almost the same. To say it was a mirror would have been accurate if it wasn't for some major and really striking differences. Instead of the purple jacket and sky-blue shirt with a star print on it, the doppelganger and a tight black leather jacket that screamed troublemaker or gangster, incredibly detailed full of pockets and buttons to a point of being distracting, with a red shirt under it, with knee long shorts and untied sneakers, her whole attire made her look like a goth. Her hair, contrast to Azalea's light brown almost hazelnut color, was a deep black that faded into red at the tips, and her eyes were unnaturally colored similar to the rest of her outfit with one red and the other one black. Besides all the differences it looked like an exact copy of her
Azalea was flooded with a plethora of emotions, from fear to outright confusion; how could have someone entered summoned space, let alone look exactly like her? "No" she thought, could it be her appearance the exact reason she could've been there. She wanted to approach her mysterious twin, but a sinking feeling prevented her from reaching any closer. She was just sitting there cross-legged, supporting her head on her fist with a devilish grin, her gaze teasing Azalea to come near and for as much ear as she was feeling, Azalea tried to take a step forward towards whomever the person ahead of her might be.
As soon as she took her first step however, she felt a looming presence around her, as if brought upon by a divine intervention, a shadow materialized at her feet and all around her, and from that shadow emerged deep dark tendrils; it was too late to retreat and as a last-ditch effort at getting answers she took a leap of faith towards the girl, only for the tendrils to come along and snatch her right from the air, dragging her hard into the grand and hindering her movement and obstructing her vision. Even though she knew she wouldn't be heard where she was, she let out a scream, or at least tried for the tendrils forced her mouth shut.
As she tried to struggle out of the black mess, she saw one last thing before the darkness covered her entire field of view; her doppelganger had gotten up and started approaching her, ominously above her, as if making fun of her struggle. Once she left her vision, everything went dark, and somehow even more silent than before, Azalea simply relaxed, hoping to see something beyond the blackness that had covered her. Then from one moment to the other she was back at the station; the other girl was no longer around, and she assessed she herself was still in summoned space as there was no one around.
Still getting use to the bright contrast between the subway and the tendrils' shade she collected her thoughts and decided it was prime time to go home to the real world. However, as she tried to cast a portal back into reality, nothing happened, she tried repeatedly to open the portal but to no avail. Azalea started to panic, as going to and from the parallel dimension had always been effortless from her part, and so she started to fear for the worse. She instinctively ran outside the station into the open city, just to be met with deserted streets and flickering streetlights. All of the buildings had their lights turned off; it was nighttime and yet there was no one around in the busy city.
After trying to return countless more times to realty, she gave up and fell on her knees, catching her head on her hands, and breaking out into tears over her situation, realizing what was going on and unable to face the facts.
She was completely alone and unable to go home.
End of chapter XYZ, part 2
The stars shone brilliant above Azalea as she ran through the empty streets at a breakneck pace. For as much as she thought she was stuck in summoned space she still wanted to go to a place where if she were to return, it would be safer to do so there. Many places came to her mind; from her own home, the solitary fountain hidden away in the park's shrubbery, but she decided for the closest option. She kept going until her destination was on sight, taking but a moment to regain her breath and clear her face from the tear she had previously shed in her moment of weakness. She felt frustrated for having fallen victim to her fear, and, for as much as it was in the past, emotional moments tended to leave a foul taste in her mouth, whether it be her own or someone else's.
For the better part of the last 4 months, she had been staying in the in-school dorms, where she mostly just slept as she would have breakfast in the nearby cafes and study in the school library. She knew that if she could go back to the real world, she would be safer coming back in her room where only she could enter. Summoned space, due to being a carbon copy of the real world could be interacted with via use of real-world items like keys, so Azalea wouldn't have to sweat the details of getting to her room.
Seeing the school campus empty, from the grassy fields to the hallways, to the classrooms and common rooms was unnerving and left Azalea with cold sweat running down her back and she felt her both heart getting heavier and her breathing getting louder. She suddenly stopped her dash as the sensations she was feeling her leaving her anxious. She tried to calm down, but her situation didn't make it any easier. She tried steading her breathing with a trick she had been taught a long time ago; she imagined a feather in front of her, as her breathing steadied the feather in midair in front of her, she breathed in, and out. Soon the feather was stable, and she her breathing was once again quiet.
Once Azalea got to her room, she made way to the bunkbed she shared with one of her classmates. She sat in the bottom bunk and, once again, tried assessing the situation as a whole in peace. She tried laying out the events that had happened that evening; she had gone to the subway station, had entered summoned space, relaxed a bit, and then ran into that girl. That girl: it was still troubling Azalea, as it was unsettling seeing yourself in such a raw way. Just sitting there in front of her; Who could be that girl, besides the fact that they looked the same?
Suddenly Azalea heard a noise coming from her closet and, as she turned around to see it, she noticed something strange: there was a chair locking the closet door from the outside. Could something, or someone be in there? Azalea approached slowly and carefully removed the chair, only for a split second later a girl erupted from the closet and face planted on the ground.
Many questions flooded Azalea's mind, but one thought in specific rocketed to her mind;" It's a person!" not just any person, she recognized the cream-colored hair girl, it was Lydia. Lydia was one of those people that acted really though, but with the things she had witnessed form her, Azalea knew Lydia was a real softie; She knew she had a kind heart and was, for the most part, pretty levelheaded and chill. She did however know that Lydia was prone to get into conflict one way or another at some point so her being stuck in her closet wasn't that strange, especially since she was the one she shared her room with
-Lydia! -Azalea Exclaimed- Are you ok?
-Oh, hey Azalea, Argh- Lydia seemed to have felt the fall from the closet- Umm Azalea are you ok? -
In the midst of the confusion, Azalea hadn't even noticed that some tears were running down her face
-Did I startled you by coming out of the closet, it is pretty weird. Like why would I have even been there to begin wi-? -Before Lydia could even finish her thought, Azalea rushed and hugged her out of the blue. From Lydia's own perspective it was pretty unwarranted that Azalea would just hug someone, so it too startled her a bit.
-I'm Fine. - reassured Azalea- Thanks Lydia.
Azalea then walked out of the room leaving Lydia to wonder what had happened right there in that room.
Coming out of her room, Azalea was met to dozens of students roaming around the halls, and as she checked the streets, they were once again breaming with life. In that moment she felt so many emotions flow through her, but the one she felt the most was relief. She let out a long sigh, and thought to herself, "I'm back, thank goodness". She, however, still felt uneasy and decided it was best to talk to someone about her experience. She knew she would have to leave out a lot of details if she wanted to keep her ability a secret. As she thought of someone she could talk to, she finally came to it, and so she rushed to it. As she reached her destination, she saw who she wanted to talk to. Right there at the school's café, in one of the balcony's tables, was one of her best friends, Mint.
Azalea collected herself once more and took a step forward into the café hoping Mint could help her make some sense of what had just happened.
End of chapter XYZ, part 3
As she set foot in the school café a mix of senses came rushing to her. The café had a lax atmosphere with a dark wooden interior, lit up by dim golden lights. As she was so lost in her own mind, Azalea began to notice many details on the interior deco; despite not being a very attentive person, her state of mind led to her zoning out and noticing the minute aspects of each of the café's set pieces: the bottle racks behind the counter showed dozens of old alcoholic beverages, most of which had weird foreign names that she could barely pronounce, while the counter top of said counter had a shiny finish, appearing made of some igneous rock that she, for the life of her could not remember from the geology class she took all those years ago. Even the little chips on the wooden boards on the walls and the stories they told stood out to her, but she tried to not let it distract her too much; she already had too much on her mind and letting the small minute details get to her would only make the headache she was having worse.
The café was mostly empty aside from one or two of the usual regulars, just having a drink or just generally lollygagging in the comfortable looking couches the café had for chairs. Despite almost never coming here herself and the place being relatively empty, Azalea understood why it was such a popular hangout spot during weekends and after hours. Some of her own friends regularly went there, she just never felt the appeal; her struggling with magic also didn't help her self-conscious; she just never felt like it. However, Azalea knew that Mint regularly went to the café to relax and catch up on her reading after class. But where could she be? She didn't see her anywhere, but she was for sure around. Could Mint be late? No, she was always on time, it was unlike her to be late for anything.
That's when Azalea remembered that besides the interior tables, the café also had some balcony tables for when summer hit. Despite it being Fall it wasn't too cold and she knew Mint had a fondness for the mountain view, which the café's balcony was facing. She reached for the glass door that led to the balcony, and right there on the far right of the terrace was Mint, sitting diligently, cross-legged, hyper focused on her read, breaking contact only to sip her favorite German tea, she was still wearing her school uniform, despite it not being required ever since the merge with the magic side, Mint still liked it; it was comfortable for her, a sign of familiarity and the old good times when life was a little simpler. Despite not being particularly fond of the magic side herself, Azalea knew Mint's feeling towards the whole thing was one of indifference; She just went with the flow and did her best whenever she could, and Azalea admired that side of her. It wouldn't however be wise to dismiss how much trouble Mint herself had with magic, as it seemed she was always in the receiving end of all messes going on in school, weather it would be some spell going rogue or a potion she just "volunteered to help test, Mint was just too good of a person for her own good.
And yet, with all that happened, she kept on going, fearing when she needed to and persisting most of the hardship, Mint was truly an admirable character, whom Azalea knew she could trust with almost everything. Standing there, in the other end of the balcony, readying herself for the conversation abound, with the late October wind blowing on her hair, she approached the table where Mint was sitting until the latter acknowledged her.
-Oh, hey Azalea- Mint spoke in a calm tone, her gentle emerald-green eyes brightly gleaming through the dim purple sunset. Azalea knew the following conversation would be tough, as she would have to omit all details remarking summoned space.
-Hey Mint- Began Azalea- How are you? - She trembled. The current events were still fresh on her mind and haunted her intensely, but she tried to keep composure, only for her unsteady posture to be noticed by Mint's attentive vision.
-Um, something troubling you, right? - Mint could read her like a book. Trying to hide her surprise, and to keep a straight face, Azalea cleared her throat and tried to resume talking in a stern tone, but just gave in to honesty
-Uh, yeah, there has been something bothering me. - Continued Azalea- A while ago I was collecting my thoughts at the subway station, but I saw something that, kind of scared me. -
-What was it? - As Mint asked, Azalea quivered as she pondered one last time if she should even tell her about her "clone", as despite magic being prominent these days, she still found the situation unusual, until…
-Azalea, you know you can trust me, I'm one of your best friends, you can confide all your hurt in me, and you know I'll try to help to the best of my abilities- As she said that, Mint held Azalea's hands and looked her in the eye with a reassuring gaze
Azalea took a deep breath and spoke- I saw myself- It was wired saying it out loud, but it was the best way she could put it-
-What? - Mint was rightfully confused but Azalea kept explaining. As she finished her explanation, Mint had a wandering look in her face, as if trying to process all the information she had received, something which Azalea understood as the situation was bizarre at minimum. But once she was finished thinking Mint simply said-
-Well, I can't say I understand your situation, but I'll do my best to find out. The library is bound to have something about doppelganger apparitions, we just need to look hard enough. Uh, Azalea, are you ok? - Azalea hadn't even noticed, but a tear of relief had flowed down her face. Mint's words lifted a weight of her chest she didn't even know she had, and although Mint didn't really know about what had really happened, just sharing the event left her lighter.
- Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, for listening- Mint then nodded
-Always.
End of Chapter XYZ, Part 4
End of Dissociation Event