3 Orchid Wan

It is rumoured that when you stare at a mirror at exactly 11:11:11 on the 11th of November, something will happen to you. It depends whether you have broken any mirror in your life. If you have not, congratulations, you will have good luck for the rest of your life. If you have, you will face 7 years of bad luck for each mirror you have broken. 

   Have you ever heard of this urban legend? Well, neither has she. She laughed in her annoyingly high-pitched voice when her classmate told everyone this story. He sighed in exasperation. Why wouldn't she believe him?

   Then, everyone fell silent as she stood on the table, dangling a piece of mirror between her fingers. A loud crash pierced through the silent air. He screamed in terror. 

   "Why would you do that?! Are you challenging The Mirror Deity? He will find you. He will definitely find you!" He escaped from the class, pushing aside two flabbergasted teachers who came to investigate the commotion. 

   As she was being punished to clean up the broken pieces of mirror, she paused to pick up the largest piece and hold it in her palm. A glint caught her attention. She turned around. There was nothing behind her. She looked at the mirror again. A hairy figure was standing right at her back. She checked her surrounding once more. Nothing. The mirror turned black. She blinked her eyes and then dropped the mirror in horrifying surprise. 

   The mirror turned black because it reflected the dark hair. Yet, a bloodshot eye appeared in the mirror, as if looking for its prey. When it locked on its target, the eye gave a wan smile. That was when she lost her grip on the mirror.

   Drip. Drip. Drip. 

   She sought for the sound and realized her palm was bleeding. The blood dripped onto the newly broken pieces of mirror. She couldn't feel the sting at all but blood was flowing out as if the platelets were unable to stop the bleeding. Her face turned pale when she noticed all the fragments of the mirror turned black. 

   She flashed back to the other 9 times she accidentally broke some mirrors. 11. Those were not coincidences, were they? She checked her watch. It was exactly 11:11:11.

   "Time's up!" The voice came from within the mirror. She felt the room was growing bigger and bigger. Then, she was staring at the ceiling, unable to move. After a long time, someone came and picked her up to hang on the wall. A sudden realisation hit her. She was confined in a mirror. She had replaced the previous Mirror 'Deity'. 

   She suddenly realised she might be alone for the rest of her life.

- The End - 

Alice in Dragonland

 She knew something was amiss as she entered the house. It was eerily quiet and her footsteps echoed as she walked across the room. She closed her eyes and breathed. One... Two... Bingo.

    'Zayn, you know you can't hide forever,' she said in a sing-song voice as she confidently walked towards his hiding place. 'Gotcha.' Eyes filled with tears, he pleaded at her silently as she grinned, showing off her pearly white teeth.

    'Hi, A...A...Alice,' he stuttered, and tears escaped from his eyes, as she placed her freezing hands over his cheeks.

    'Enough with the crying!' she raised her voice. He flinched. She hugged him tighter and tighter until he couldn't breathe, until he stopped struggling in her arms, until life left him. 

    A loud roar was expelled with enough force to propel her right into the wall behind her. She slid off the wall, leaving a trail of blood. Her vision was lost temporarily as she coughed and tried to draw air into her lungs. Something wrapped around her neck and slowly, it tightened its grip. She clawed at it blindly. It felt like a claw. She smiled despite choking for air. Gotcha.

    She felt the claw starting to morph into a human hand. Once the hand could no longer hold her by the neck, she was dropped onto the floor with a loud thud. 'I'm sorry, Alice.' He caressed her face, then attempted to wipe the blood off her.

    A man entered the room, face void of expression as he signaled two men in white to carry her out. Zayn knelt by his feet. He could not understand his feeling. It was a mixture of guilt, frustration, devastation and joy.

    Finally, he had successfully transformed into a dragon, but at what price? He thought he could have controlled his anger but apparently not. His lover died brutally at his hands.

    Damien patted his shoulder lovingly and brought him out of the room. A lot of masked people in black cloaks gathered at the yard. He then announced, 'All hail the new Dragon King, Zayn!'. Everyone roared and changed into dragons. To the newly nominated king's horror, a little girl brought out a freshly decapitated head - his Alice - to be offered as tribute. 

    He hissed in protest as the little girl presented him the head. Everyone watched earnestly, as his next action either determine his downfall or secure his position as a king. There was one more thing he should do in order to pass the trial. He stared at his lover - or what was left of her - and swallowed the desire to run in opposite direction. 

    He put out his trembling hands and held her head. Taking a deep breath, he unhinged his jaw and let out a roar. Silence followed. He closed his eyes and opened them once more. His eyes shifted into reptile-like pupils and he stared into her glassy eyes. She blinked. 

    Damien gave a sinister smile. She just couldn't stay dead, could she?

    She opened her mouth and something projected from her mouth. It was so blinding he couldn't see at all. When the glaring bright light toned down to darkness, his eyes adjusted and he found himself in the room once more. The door opened and Alice walked in. 'Zayn, you know you can't hide forever.'

 

- The End -

Dear Jane

She saw the curtains moving in the moonlight. She quickly sat up in her bed and could not believe her eyes, seeing a tall figure moving outside the window. Was that her ex boyfriend?

    The figure rubbed his hands together and she finally heard his voice as he laughed out loud. His demented laughter echoed in her mind although he had already stopped laughing. Goosebumps sprouted across her arms.

    "Hello, Jane. Miss me?"

    Her heart skipped a beat. It was the guy she ran her car over with last week. "How are you still alive?" she queried, her voice trembled in fear.

    "I died, but I came back so I could haunt you forever," he whispered at her ear. Before darkness engulfed her, she wished she ran him over few more times so he couldn't crawl around on her bedroom floor, smearing his blood everywhere.

***

They heard the soft squeal of a car's tyre behind them and walked faster. They held each other's hands tightly and the car suddenly stopped. Then, they heard a man's voice projected from the car.

    "Well, well, well. Where are you rushing to, Jane?"

    A look of horror dawned across her face as it was drained of colours. Surprise overtook other feelings when her boyfriend released his hold on her hand. Before she could decipher his action, another hand - bigger and rougher - grabbed hold of her and pulled. She was dragged into the car.

 

    Tears slipped down her cheeks as the door shut. The last thing she saw was her boyfriend - ex? - running away, screaming like a little girl. She hated him so much then.

   

    The car reached its destination. She peeked from the window and realized they were at a forest. The driver, that same man who abducted her, made her walk towards a small make-shift tent. She tripped.

    Suddenly, she heard the roar of a tiger. She ran at full speed in the opposite direction into the forest and climbed up a tall tree. She looked around and saw the tiger and the man were in a tight embrace, as if he was trying to fight it barehanded. She was impressed. Then, her jaw dropped.

    The big cat actually let the man pet its head. It even purred! The man raised his head and looked up at her. He gave her a smirk and mouthed, "surprise, surprise!" The tiger looked upwards too, then it roared. She almost lost her grip on the tree.

    To her horror, the tiger stood on its hind legs and leaned against the tree, as if it was attempting to climb up. Her legs started shaking uncontrollably. A loud honk distracted the feline's attention and it picked an easier prey, leaving her alone.

    Once she decided she was safe enough, she got down from the tree. Nobody was around, not even that man. She breathed a sigh of relief and noticed a car, splattered with blood (?) perhaps. Not far from it, there was a pool of unidentified mush. She paused. The driver honked at her once more.

    Jane quickly got into the car without thinking any further. She was shocked to hear the news. She thought that luckily someone had come to pick her up and opened her mouth to thank the driver. Suddenly, someone from behind covered her mouth with his large hands and said, "Oh, hi, Jane. Fancy seeing you again."

    She bit down at his palm as hard as she could until it drew blood. The man quickly released his grip on her. She spat the blood at his face. "Well, thank you for coming after me, jerk!" Her ex boyfriend cradled his bloodied palm. Before they could utter another word, the door was forcibly opened from the driver's side. A hand dragged the driver - her ex's brother - out of the car. They screamed.

    The brother aimed at the man's chest and gave a kick. The man stumbled in pain. She quickly climbed over to the driver's seat and stomped on the accelerator. She ran the man over.

- The End -