I didn't move.
I couldn't.
The reflection's last words kept echoing inside my head—
"You did."
No.
That wasn't possible.
I would remember something like that.
Right?
"I want proof," I said, my voice low but firm.
The reflection tilted its head.
"Of course you do."
It raised a hand slowly…
…and pointed behind me.
"Then go look."
A cold feeling crept up my spine.
Slowly, I turned around.
My eyes scanned the shop.
The shelves.
The counter.
The door.
Everything looked the same.
Normal.
Until I saw it.
A door.
I froze.
My heart skipped.
"That wasn't there before…"
The door stood at the far end of the shop.
Old.
Wooden.
Almost blending into the wall…
like it had been hiding.
Waiting.
"I've never seen that," I whispered.
"Because you weren't ready," the reflection replied.
Something inside me screamed to stay away.
To ignore it.
To pretend it didn't exist.
But my feet started moving anyway.
One step.
Then another.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like I was walking toward something I already knew.
The closer I got…
the colder the air became.
The silence thickened.
I stopped in front of the door.
My hand hovered over the handle.
Shaking.
"Don't open it," a voice inside me whispered.
Too late.
I grabbed the handle.
And pushed.
The door opened with a low creak.
Darkness.
Not just absence of light.
Something deeper.
Heavier.
I stepped inside.
The moment I crossed the threshold—
The door slammed shut behind me.
I turned quickly.
"Wait—"
I grabbed the handle.
Pulled.
Nothing.
Locked.
My breath quickened.
"Okay… okay… this is fine…"
But it wasn't.
A faint light flickered above me.
Weak.
Unstable.
And then I saw it.
The room.
Rows.
Hundreds of them.
Maybe more.
Glass containers.
Each one holding—
Something.
I stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Inside the first one…
A glow.
Soft.
Floating.
And then—
A voice.
A laugh.
Light.
Happy.
Carefree.
I stumbled back.
"What… is this?"
"Memories."
The voice came from behind me.
I froze.
Slowly…
I turned.
The man.
The same one from before.
Standing in the shadows.
Watching.
"You…" I whispered.
He stepped forward.
Calm.
Controlled.
"Now you see it."
My heart raced.
"These… these are—"
"People," he finished.
I shook my head.
"No… no, they're memories…"
He looked at me.
Long.
Hard.
"They're the same thing."
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
I looked around again.
At the containers.
At the glowing fragments inside them.
At the lives… frozen.
"I didn't do this…"
"You did."
I clenched my fists.
"Stop saying that."
"Then explain it."
I couldn't.
Because deep inside—
Something was starting to feel…
familiar.
I stepped closer to one of the containers.
My reflection faintly visible in the glass.
A memory inside flickered.
A child's voice—
"Don't take it…"
My chest tightened.
"I remember this…"
The man watched me closely.
"Of course you do."
I turned to him.
Anger rising now.
Mixed with fear.
"Who are you?"
This time—
He answered.
"My name doesn't matter."
A pause.
Then—
"I'm what you left behind."
The words hit harder now.
Clearer.
Sharper.
"You keep saying that…"
"Because it's true."
He stepped closer.
And for the first time—
I felt something from him.
Pain.
Not small.
Not distant.
Endless.
"You took everything from me," he said quietly.
My breath shook.
"I don't even know you…"
"You did."
He raised his hand slowly…
…and pointed at one of the containers.
"That one."
I hesitated.
Then walked toward it.
Slowly.
The closer I got…
the louder the sound inside became.
A voice.
Breaking.
"…please… don't erase me…"
My vision blurred.
And then—
It hit me.
A flash.
Stronger than before.
That same white room.
The same light.
Him.
Sitting in front of me.
Broken.
Begging.
And me—
Standing over him.
Cold.
Unmoved.
"I'll keep it safe," I said.
My voice.
But not mine.
"I promise."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Please…"
And then—
I reached forward.
And took it.
Everything.
The memory shattered.
I collapsed to my knees.
Gasping.
Shaking.
"I… I did this…"
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
"Yes," he said.
Tears filled my eyes.
"I destroyed you…"
He shook his head slowly.
"No."
A pause.
"You didn't destroy me."
I looked up at him.
His expression darkened.
"You trapped me."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Colder.
Alive.
"All of them…" he continued, his voice low now.
"They're not gone."
My heart dropped.
"They're waiting."
A beat.
"For you to finish what you started."
My breath caught.
"What did I start…?"
He smiled.
Not kindly.
Not softly.
But like someone who had been waiting a long time.
"You'll remember."
The lights flickered.
And one by one—
The containers around us began to glow brighter.
Voices filled the room.
Whispers.
Cries.
Screams.
All at once.
And all of them—
Calling me.