A reflection of a little girl sat in the mirror. There she was, sitting at a small desk, and staring at an even smaller mirror. The child's face held big brown eyes and lengthy black hair, stretching halfway down her back. She looked down at her small hands resting on her lap.
"Ella!" A voice yelled from downstairs. "Come on, or you'll be late to school!"
The girl jumped from hearing her name. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for her backpack. She took in all of her surroundings. The brown wooden walls were contrasted against her pink bed sheets. The small twin mattress sat in a corner, and Ella noticed a portrait affixed to the wall. It was of an anime girl with bright pink hair and a magic staff in her hand.
"Ella!"
The little girl flinched again. "Coming!"
She spotted her pink backpack near the door and ran to grab it. When she entered the hallway, she was reminded of how small everything was. Even with her small body, there wasn't much room. Yet, it was still a bit cozy. The smell of the shampooed carpet reached her nose, and a picture on the wall made her pause.
The old framed picture hung there, and she saw an even younger version of herself. And as her eyes roamed up, she saw a slender hand on framed Ella's shoulder.
Ella swallowed, a lump forming in her chest. She refused to scan higher, not truly wanting to see what laid there. The white dress was almost enough to conjure the image of Mom in the little girl's mind. She imagined the faint glimmer of a smile and turned away.
She reached the edge of the stairs. They went down straight before turning at a 90 degree angle to the right. A bit of wall cut off her vision to the bottom, but she saw faint glimpses of the tiled floor near her house's doorway. The sight of her mother's shoes made her heart beat even louder in her chest.
What's more, she saw the feet moving towards the stairs. No!
The little girl never fled so fast in her life. She ran into her room and flung herself on the bed, covering her body with a blanket. She hid beneath the pink covers. Each second was so long while she waited for the inevitable. Perhaps if I close my eyes tight enough, I will wake up?
Ella shut her eyes and started counting, but the sound of her mother ascending the stairs never stopped. One foot after the other, the thumping continued, and then the door to her room crept open.
"Ella," Penelope said. Mom's footsteps stopped at the edge of the bed, and Ella felt the depression from her mother sitting there.
Tears formed in the little girl's eyes, and she clenched her blanket harder in her fingers. She didn't dare face her mother or pull down the sheets. She wished to wake up. If she woke up, this entire world would all be gone.
Mom placed a gentle hand on Ella's covered shoulder. "You don't have to go to school today if you don't want to. I know this must be hard for you."
The soft voice was like a dagger piercing through Elanore's chest. Never should a girl her age feel such pain, but she did. The waterworks now flowed more freely from her eyes, dripping onto the sheet beneath her. The small whimper coming from her mouth was enough for the loving mother to spring to action.
She pulled down Ella's blanket and placed a warm hand on the girl's cheek. "I can call off work and stay with you."
Ella had no escape routes. She was caught between a wall and her loving mother. Despite the gentle caress, she didn't want to turn and look at Penelope. Yet, she turned anyway.
A warm smile met her like the picture from the hallway. Mom's face was not yet aged as much as Ella remembered. Only a few wrinkles under her eyes showed life's challenges. Their faces were similar. An older version of Ella was reflected in Mom's face, but the eyes were different.
Penelope stared down at her daughter with her soft blue eyes, gazing at the little girl tenderly. There was a hint of worry as she grabbed Ella's cheeks. She started wiping away Ella's tears with her thumbs, clearing up the girl's vision slightly. "I had hoped you would like it here, but it seems that it's still too soon."
Ella wanted to say her mother was wrong. She wanted to say that she loved this place, but she knew that wasn't true. The move had been hard on the girl, and she'd always ended up saying things to Mom that she didn't mean. Three words in particular came to Ella's mind. I hate you.
But that too was a lie. The lie that a little girl would say to stab her mom where it hurt. Elanore swallowed her tears. How long do I plan on pretending to be a little girl?
Elanore sat up and gave her mother a hug. It had been a long time since she'd felt this kind of warmth from her mother's embrace. Penelope appeared stunned, but she wrapped her arms around her daughter anyway, holding the little girl tightly against her chest.
"I am sorry, Mom."
Penelope sighed, but her smile never wavered. She rubbed her fingers through Elanore's hair. "My little girl. I should be the one apologizing."
Elanore shook her head and looked properly at her mother's face. Could she really call herself an overpowered character if she couldn't even do this much? The little girl swallowed again. Despite her tough act, finding words to say while looking at her mother in the face was hard. Even if it was all a dream, it felt like lifting a boulder to speak a few measly words. Nonetheless, she found the courage.
"Mom, you have nothing to apologize for. I know how much you've done for me. I could just never find the words to express how grateful I am for it all."
Penelope's eyes went wide. "What are you..."
"Ever since that day we left, I was heartbroken. I wanted it all to come back to me. I wanted my friends back. I wanted that small town back. I hated living in a city, and I blamed you for everything. It was always your fault I skipped school. It was always your fault that I failed my classes. If you'd have just listened better, I would have told you everything."
"But that's not true. I retreated into my shell. How could you even begin to understand someone that stopped speaking altogether? I know that you tried your best to listen to me, even when I tried my best to escape from you. I grew up, and then I kept getting further and further away from you. Even now, I am..."
Elanore's tears started flowing again, and her voice wavered. By the time, she spoke those words, her body had undergone a change. She'd went from a little girl to a full grown woman. Her small dress changed into her witch robes, and her brown hair turned into pink strands. Her purple eyes took in all of her mom's imperfections.
Penelope's smile never left, and she continued running her finger's through Elanore's now pink hair. "You always did like this kind of character. I remember you collected her in frames on the wall. Though, no matter where you go, you will always be that same child."
Elanore was stunned. How much did Mom know? Wait, this is all a dream. Naturally, she'd have my memories, since none of this is real.
"I'd already forgiven you a long time ago for running away," Penelope said. "It hurt me a lot, but I always found it hard to stay mad at you. I know that you never hated me. You've been through a lot, so it's not your fault if you want to cry sometimes. It's not your fault if you want to escape from everything and go to another world."
"Another world?" Elanore asked. Did she know that I left...
Penelope sighed once more and lightly pinched Elanore's cheek. The witch finally noticed that her mother's face contained the age she once remembered. There were more wrinkles now, and her once black hair now had grey highlights running through it. The voice that responded reflected her age.
"Remember, this is all your dream, isn't it? My silly daughter, I am only reflecting what your heart knew to be true all along. No matter where you go, I will always love you."
Even though they were words spoken from the person she wanted to hear them from in this moment, they were like a shot into Elanore's heart. She was reminded of her painful energy drink induced death, and her heart pounded relentlessly.
Penelope's fingers warmed up in a beautiful white light, and she cast a spell on the vampire witch's head. "[Calm]."
The elderly woman watched her daughter take deep breaths and heal slowly. Color returned to Elanore's pale cheeks, and the world around them started to fall away.
Brown wooden walls fell into a pink abyss. Soon, the entire room disappeared, until the only thing left was a bed. Even her mother started to fade away from the bottom up. Her legs were disappearing, and the vanishing was crawling up her body towards her waist.
Elanore wrapped her arms tightly around her mom's head, and she spoke gently into Penelope's ear. "I love you, Mom."
"I know. I have always known."