Lira stumbled forward, the wall closing behind her like a sigh. The air was thick—sweet and electric, like the moment before a thunderstorm. Virelia had changed.
The buildings floated above the ground, tethered by chains of light. The sky bled crimson, and the streets pulsed with whispers. Time didn’t pass here—it looped, folding in on itself like an origami bird.
She turned to The Magician, who now stood beside her, his coat billowing despite the stillness.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Inside the memory of the city,” he replied. “Virelia forgot itself. You’re here to remember.”
They walked in silence until they reached a plaza where five mirrors stood in a circle. Each one shimmered with a different hue—blue, gold, violet, green, and black.
“These are the trials,” The Magician said. “Each mirror holds a piece of your truth. You must face them all.”
Lira stepped toward the blue mirror. Her reflection blinked—and then spoke.
“You left him,” it said. “You said you’d stay, but you ran.”
The mirror rippled, revealing a scene: a boy with paint on his hands, standing in the rain, waiting. Lira gasped. She hadn’t thought of him in years.
“I was scared,” she whispered.
The Magician nodded. “Fear is the first illusion.”
She touched the mirror. It shattered—not into glass, but into light, which flowed into her chest like a memory returning home.
One down.
They moved to the gold mirror. This time, her reflection was dressed in white, standing on a stage.
“You were meant to speak,” it said. “But you stayed silent.”
The scene shifted: a gallery opening, her art on the walls, her voice caught in her throat. She had let others speak for her. Let others define her.
“I didn’t think I mattered,” she said.
“Silence is the second illusion,” The Magician replied.
Another touch. Another burst of light.
By the time she reached the black mirror, her hands trembled. This one showed nothing. Just darkness.
“What’s in this one?” she asked.
The Magician’s voice was quiet. “The part of you you buried.”
She stepped forward. The mirror didn’t reflect her—it absorbed her. And suddenly, she was falling.
Falling through memories she didn’t recognize. A childhood she had rewritten. A promise she had broken. A name she had forgotten.
And then—silence.
She landed in a room with no walls. Just a single card on the floor: the ace of clubs.
She picked it up.
The Magician appeared beside her. “You’re ready.”
“For what?”
“To play the game.”
The artwork “The Mirrors” is available for purchase in my gallery as:
Wall Art, Home Accents, Puzzles, Beach Essentials, Stylish Totes, Greeting Cards, Phone Cases, Coffee Mugs & Apparel
You can customize the image to suit your style—use the full artwork or zoom in on a favorite detail.
Risk-free purchase—30-day money-back guarantee.
✨ Click on the artwork to discover the many ways this featured piece can become part of your world!
