Into the Dark

Rachel suddenly comes face to face with someone she least expected to ever meet. Who will win this battle of wills? Rachel? Or will she lose her life?

'It was just another day.' Rachel thought as she slumped down onto her bed after a busy day at work, a content smile on her face. She sprawled out on her back on top of the covers and closed her eyes, instantly sinking into the comfort of her mattress.  'Not like any of my days are ever ordinary' She thought with a wry smile. That was what she loved about her job. Not only were no two days alike, but she got to do something she loved- helping people. The pay wasn't the best but she didn't care. She always told people she would rather do a job she loved but didn't pay well, rather than have a high paycheck but be stuck in a job she hated. Besides, her job was fulfilling and she was good at it. Best of all, she was following God's direction for her life. How could it get any better than that?

A sudden chill ran down her spine and the hair on her arms were standing on end. Rachel felt like she was being watched, the penetrating eyes weren't friendly either. She tentatively sat up and scanned the room with cautious eyes for the intruder. Her eyes landed on a shadowed figure standing in the corner of her room. Rachel's muscles tensed in fear and she sent up a quick prayer to God for safety. Peace settled over her and she calmly started to look over the intruder. She knew God was with her, she had nothing to fear. Rachel did a double take and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline in surprise. She couldn't stop the gasp of shock that escaped her lips. The sound making the intruder's eyes narrow.

'That...that person looks like...me?' Rachel thought, completely stunned. Rachel's eyes roved over the person again. They were wearing the exact same jeans and white t-shirt with her job's logo on it. They had the same body, same height, same blond hair colour, same face. Everything was the same...except the eyes. While Rachel's eyes were a bright hazel colour, the intruder's eyes were black. The intruder may have the same appearance as Rachel, but she could tell they were nothing alike. For one, the intruder was glaring at her. For two, there was something very...cold about this person. The only thing they had in common was their appearance.

Rachel felt... strange staring into a face she sees every day in the mirror. So much the same and yet so very different. It was at that moment, she realized that she was dealing with something supernatural here. She only just recognized that she was feeling the way that she usually does when facing the supernatural. That realization quickly snapped her out of her shocked daze and she spoke to the intruder.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my room? Moreover, what are you?" Rachel questioned bravely. Gathering strength from God's presence with her.

The intruder sneered at her. "Why....I am you. The real you. Not the prissy little thing you pretend to be, you little faker. As to why I'm here... Well...I'm tired of being stuck in the back seat. So I've come to take my rightful place. It's my turn to be in control of our body."

"I'm not pretending to be anything!" Rachel interjected indignantly.

"Oh sure, keep telling yourself that." Her double replied sarcastically. "But I know you. I know all the pain, the anger, the sorrow, the bitterness, the regret, the fear, the doubt, the jealousy. I know everything that you carry deep within your heart, hidden away from prying eyes." Her lips pulled up into a dark smile "After all, I am those things. I was created from the darkness in your heart. I am the darkness and that darkness is the real you. Now enough chit-chat, it's time for us to see whose stronger - to see who has the right to be in control. And we both know who will win...and it' not you. So give up now before you embarrass yourself." She finished with complete boredom in her voice while staring at her nails.

"I don't believe what you're saying!" Rachel cried in denial.

"Why can't you admit that I'm the real you? 'People always betray me and I'm always left after my uses run out.' You remember all those people don't you? All the pain from your family, feeling trapped. Always alone. The fear about things you don't understand. I know it all. All those dark thoughts, all those feelings. They are the real you." Rachel's darker half purred persuasively. 

Rachel didn't know what to do or say, so she did what she always does when she doesn't know what to do...she prayed. 'God please help me. I don't know what to do or say. I need you to help me with this. I can't do this alone.' She felt God beside her and suddenly, she knew what she had to do. 'The only thing that can reach through my darkness...is love.' Rachel thought before she allowed her unwavering, determined eyes to meet the cynical eyes of the woman standing across from her.

"I won't let you win." Rachel said with finality. She could see her double's eyes flare in anger and her face pull down into a deep scowl of rage. But Rachel continued onwards.

"I would be a liar if I said I didn't feel or think those things." Rachel could see her double smile smugly at her before falling as she realized Rachel wasn't done yet. "But I'm not the only one, everybody has darkness in their heart. Some people's darkness are greater than others. It's all in degrees."

"I will admit, I used to be lost in the darkness but I've come a long way from who I used to be- with God's help. I still feel those negative emotions and now I realize that though I've come a long way, I still have a long way to go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for stuffing all of those emotions into a box. I'm sorry for ignoring you. I'm sorry that because of my own inability to face the past, you were created in order for me to survive. But I also want to thank-you. Without you, I wouldn't have become the person I am today. Thank-you for all you've done" Rachel's eyes never once strayed away from the eyes of her counterpart. Rachel looked at her with compassion and love. Rachel stood up, so that she was eye to eye with her look-a-like.

"I don't want anything from you! Especially any of your worthless pity! It doesn't change anything! I refuse to disappear!" Her mirror image spat before she ran at Rachel. Full intent to hurt her, she ran full into Rachel. Rachel's arms wrapped around the other's body and she held her tightly in a hug.

"It must have been so hard to bear all of that alone. It's alright now, I hear you. I won't run away anymore." Her sentences were broken up as she choked out the words, while crying into her counterparts' shoulder. "I accept you because you are a part of me just as I am a part of you. We don't have to be split into two sides anymore. When I feel happy, we both will feel it. When I feel sad, we both will feel it. There won't be anymore 'you' or 'me', it will be us as one person. You won't disappear because you are me just as I am you. I won't run away from the totality of my emotions anymore. It's okay to feel those things, it just depends on what we decide to do with it. I love you and accept you because you are me. Sure I may have some ugly pieces, but I know God will take that away. He will heal our pain. We aren't alone. He will fill in all the pieces we're missing. The darkness of our past doesn't have to bind us....so I ask you to please work together with me. I refuse to let other people's actions and words destroy my future. I choose to believe in people, to trust them and love them. I choose to forgive and accept. So let us move forward together, into a bright and happy future. No matter what comes our way, I know we will be okay. Will you walk with me?" Rachel finished her speech filled with hope, her arms tightening around her darker half silently praying that her words would be able to reach through the darkness.

Rachel's arms were suddenly filled with a white light - in the exact shape of her doppelganger, before it slowly vanished. She could have sworn she heard a faint "Thank-you" before her other self disappeared, but she wasn't so sure if she had imagined it or not. Rachel found herself all alone in her room again, there was no trace anywhere in her bedroom to show what had just taken place. Tears continued streaming down her face and she couldn't stop smiling. Her heart overflowing with emotion, because she finally found peace from what she was running from. She finally accepted herself - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Something she couldn't do before. 

Rachel's eyes fluttered open. Only to see the ceiling of her room. Her hand came up and delicately touched her face. She could feel how damp her cheeks were, she had been crying in her sleep. 'It was all a dream, huh? 

 It felt so real...' She thought before rolling onto her side. Her eyes landed on her alarm clock and she was surprised to see the time displayed. Amusement danced across her face and she felt like laughing at herself as she slowly sat up. 'Seems I fell asleep when I sprawled on my bed and I didn't even notice that I did.' Rachel shook her head at herself and grinned from ear to ear 'It doesn't matter whether that was a dream or not, the accomplishment I achieved in it was very real. Thank-you God for showing me that and guiding me through it. You never leave me and are always there when I need you, even if no one else is. Thank-you.' Rachel got up and skipped to her bedroom door. She had some unfinished business to deal with....

Author's Note

Yeah, sorry this isn't my best work. I only had a vague idea for it and kinda ran with it. All I knew was I needed to write it down. Didn't know how to start it, and didn't really know how it was gonna go down. Kinda outta my comfort zone here. OH!! And sorry about the punctuation.....I know it's probably really off....I really suck at it.

I might add onto this and make it longer at a later time...but I'm all out of ideas right now.

Reviews

[InsanityWriter]

This is great! It's very interesting, and has a great message. :) Now I'm curious about Rachel's past...

[Wonderful Letdown]

Thank-you so much!!! Haha is that a subtle hint that you want me to write a companion piece explaining her past?

[InsanityWriter]

Indeed it is. ;)

[Wonderful Letdown]

Haha I'll keep that in mind. That shall be my next writing project ;)