"2x+3y=4x+2y. Hmmmm," she mumbled, staring
with glazed eyes at the thick algebra book. The numbers started
to blur and move and with a sigh she slammed it shut and tossed
it across the room. She shut her eyes and leaned back in her
chair, not bothering to watch the abused book thud against the
wall and clatter to the floor in a sprawl of pages.
Boring, boring, boring! And a complete waste of time! "Why does
a theater major need algebra anyway?" She asked out loud. No
answer from the book, or the four walls. Not like she expected
one anyway.
didn't your counselor tell you that a Bachelor's you to be
well-rounded in all subjects?
Gasping, Sarah flew to her feet, the chair tumbling backwards to
the floor, its wheels spinning idly.
"Who said that!"
it's only me
Ruffled, but more relaxed,
Sarah righted the chair and sat back down. What am I doing
anyway? I feel like my life is so...so...
empty?
"Stay out of this!" she snapped. She fidgeted with her pen,
debating over homework or relaxing. "I need to get out of here,"
The walls of her dorm room were closing in on her like a trap.
it's all a trap, you know that
"Stop it." She turned and glared at the owner of the voice. "Why
won't you leave me alone?"
Her reflection stared back at her, but it was not her
reflection. She sat like her, twisted in the chair, hand
gripping the back. Her clothes were the same, jeans, and socks.
A T-shirt from a now defunct band. It was the eyes that were
different. No annoyance glared from their depths, no life, no
emotion. Only flat pools of color.
you should have known that the labyrinth would not leave you
unscathed
"That was seven years ago! Don't you get bored?" The image
followed her movements, stood on reflected feet, shook reflected
hands in frustration, but the eyes never changed.
why should time matter? you have never left the labyrinth
behind
"Yes, I have! I'm an adult now, I need to focus on real life!"
you are no longer a child, so you have left behind your
childish ways The voice mocked now, gently. Sarah slumped
down on her bed and flung an arm over her eyes, blocking out the
mirror.
"Please go away." The only answer was silence. Relieved, she
rolled over. Maybe a nap before she finished her homework.
what makes you so sure the labyrinth is not real life? A
soft chuckle hung in the air. Sarah covered her head with a
pillow and pretended not to hear.
Seven years. Seven years she had been haunted by that blasted
reflection. It had started not long after her return. After an
exhausting victory party with her friends, she had collapsed all
but into bed.
you're tired
Gasping, exhaustion forgotten, she sat up and scanned the room.
"Who's there?" Her toys gave no answer, only stared at her
through glassy eyes. The window was dark. Silence.
"Is someone there?" He voice sounded timid to her ears and she
cleared her throat. "Hello?" More silence. She lay back down,
faintly embarrassed by her jumpiness. Mentally castigating
herself she closed her eyes again.
it's only meSarah jerked upward again, looking
frantically around the room.
"Who's there/?" She got up warily and started looking around the
room. "All my friends left, so I know you're not a friend." Soft
laughter shimmered through the room.
of course I'm not your friend. I'm not your enemy. I'm you
Sarah turned, banging her shin on the desk in the darkness, but
she hardly noticed the starburst of pain that flowed up. There
was no mistaking the source of the voice, she stared at herself
in the vanity mirror, and her twin stared back with flat eyes.
"Who...why..." Sarah stammered out. The laughter came again.
no one escapes the labyrinth unscathed, you were there, you
touched it, breathed in it.
"Yeah, and now I'm going to change into a nut." She muttered.
She'd seen too much lately for a talking mirror to upset her.
She slid between the cool sheets and tried to sleep.
of course you won't become a nut She groaned and rolled
over. Obviously the mirror-maid didn't get tired. She started to
talk, to tell it off really, but it spoke before she had a
chance.
go to sleep, you're exhausted, we'll talk again soon
And they had. Snippets of conversation, little arguments. The
mirror-her was made from sheer logic and it grated on Sarah's
nerves. And yet, it wasn't always there, she disappeared for
weeks, sometimes months at a time. In these absences, Sarah
seemed to forget that the mirror-her existed. The memory seemed
to sink into a for in her brain and only returned when the
mirror-her did.
Enough. She was never going to sleep. She rolled to her feet
with a sigh and grabbed her jacket. "Maybe a party is what I
need," she muttered darkly as she slammed the door behind her.
The key scraped against the lock, once, twice, before it finally
sliding home. Giggling, they stumbled into the room, both lost
in an alcohol-fogged world.
"So this is your room? S'nice." Derrick peered around intently
from his position on the floor. This struck Sarah as hilarious
and she rolled on the floor herself, trying to stifle her
shrieks of amusement for the sake of her neighbors . Derrick
clambered over to her, his long dark hair fell forward and
tickled her face. Handsome, sweet, he was another theater major
and a good friend besides. Finding him at the bar had been a
god-sent. He struggled to his knees and clasped his hands to his
chest.
"Ah, milady, you wound me fair deep." He pressed the back of his
hand against his forehead in mock despair. "I dost believe that
we are both passing drunk. Or passing out drunk, whatever." He
fell forward again leaning over her on his elbows. Sarah reached
up, somber now in spite of her intoxication, and lightly touched
his face. He closed his eyes and leaned against her hand.
"My lady Sarah, you are most beautiful." He bent down and
pressed his lips to hers, gently, if a tad clumsily. He tasted
of beer and salt and a unique flavor all his own. His hair was
soft and cool where it fluttered against her cheek. Derrick, a
sweet laughing charmer. It would be so easy to love him, to make
love to him. Instead she pushed him away to look in his confused
brown eyes. His taste, a good taste, but he wasn't, he didn't
taste like...
peaches
Sarah jerked at the word, eyes darting around the room, then
back to Derrick, who was watching her with concern.
"Sarah, are you all right?"
"Derrick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on or..."He
pressed a surprisingly steady finger against her lips and she
fell silent. He gently kissed her cheek before struggling to his
feet.
"Milady, I always respect the right to say no." He flashed her a
lopsided grin and a quick bow before he sauntered out of the
room, carefully closing the door behind him.When the door
clicked shut, Sarah collapsed back to the floor. "What's wrong
with me!"
it wasn't him She glared up at her mirror self.
"I don't want him! I want a normal life!" The mirror-Sarah
stared back, impassively.
you can't lie to me/yourself the word echoed within
itself, making it one word. I am you. Be honest Sarah
struggled to her feet and slammed her hands on the vanity top,
ignoring the make-up and jewelry that scattered in protest of
the abuse.
"I'm not lying! Why would I want him? He stole my brother!"
you gave him your brother
"Forced me to go through his labyrinth"
he was following the rules
"Nearly killed me..."
he would never have hurt you
"He was a sadistic bastard!"
he was what you made him!
The two Sarah's glared at each other, reflecting back
antagonism. Then, to Sarah's astonishment, her mirror-self
smiled then, slowly. Sarah stepped back in shock, but her
reflection did not imitate the action. She leaned forward
instead, resting her head on her hands.
sarah, sarah. All grown up, sarah. When will you stop blaming
him? When will you take responsibility for your action? Gone
was the cold, emotionless image, this twin shimmered with life.
you want to leave behind your childish ways? then stop acting
like a child! you know the truth, sarah, accept it! grow up,
like you so desire The mirror Sarah backed away from the
dresser and reassumed the real Sarah's posture. Hands hanging
limply at her sides, lips parted, gasping for air.
don't you realize that you never really left the labyrinth?
She stood for a long moment, staring, then stepped backward. Her
knees bumped the edge of the bed and she sat down hard upon it,
but never looked away from her mirror image. Finally, exhaustion
and alcohol pulling on her, she drifted down into fitful
slumber, where she wandered the labyrinth searching for
something she could not name.
The blare of the alarm clock dragged her from sleep and she
reflexively picked it up and threw it across the room. It
crashed against the wall before it fell to the floor in a tangle
of broken plastic and wires.
Sarah stared for a moment at what she'd done. "Alarm clock
number six, rest in pieces."
what is the truth?
Remembrance flooded back. Sarah clambered to her feet and looked
warily at her mirror self. But the slight changes that indicated
that she was there were missing.
She dressed somberly, rubbing her aching temples, and went in
search of acetametaphen. When she stepped into the warmth of the
sun, however, her headache seemed to fade. Maybe I'll just take
a walk around campus. She walked slowly, following the red tiled
paths, shuffling through the leaves like a child.
what were you looking for
"I don't know." Walking on, one foot in front of the other, the
scenery and students seemed to fade away.
he was what you made him
What I made him? How could I make him anything? I was only a
child.
You asked me to take the child and I took him. You cowered
before me, I was frightening.
I couldn't have done that, could I?
I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all
for you!
I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations of me.
You have no power over me. He had no power over me, but I had
power over him.
I'm exhausted
Your expectations
he was what you made him
there are rules
"I made him that way." She murmured aloud. The sound of her
voice pulled her back to reality and she stopped in the middle
of the sidewalk, not noticing the student who nearly ran her
over or the dirty look he gave her as he veered around.
But why? Why would he let me do that? Why?
because you believed. and there are rules She stood there
for it seemed forever as realization came over her in a hot
flood of knowledge.
I believed it. I made it happen, I made him that way because I
needed him that way. And he did it because there are rules, and
he had to do it the way I wanted. I needed an adventure, and I
needed a villain. I needed his...his what? His love? No,
impossible. And yet, and yet...
She opened her eyes and saw the mirror before her. She had no
memory of returning to her room, but she wasn't surprised. She
stared at herself, but it was the mirror, not her, who smiled.
he became what you wanted him to be because he loved you. and
you believed.
"He came because I believed."
he loved you because you believed Sarah nodded. Yes, it
made sense now. Her mirror image cocked its head slightly to the
side.
sarah, you are no child, but a virgin still, why?
Because.
because why?
They didn't
they couldn't
They weren't
him
"Jareth."
She loved him. She could see that now, could see that she had
always loved him. A child's love and belief had developed into a
woman's, without her even noticing. Her mirror self watched,
smiling.
"Who are you?"
a strange question to ask yourself
Sarah reached out and touched the smooth glass and felt the
warmth of fingers as mirror-Sarah copied her actions.
i am the piece you left behind They touched for a
moment, then clasped fingers. And they both smiled, as Sarah
finally became whole once more.
"So who am I?" she muttered. Who do I want to be? I believe the
labyrinth is real. It's more real than this; she gestured
absently at the piles of paper and books. Regaining a part of
herself that she had lost made her realize that she had not been
living all these years, only existing.
you never really leave the labyrinth. It's all a labyrinth,
always a decision, left or right.
Yes, left or right. Which way to go.
why did you leave the underworld?
I had to save my brother.
yes, but what is stopping you now?
I'm afraid, I wish...
yes? you are afraid. grow up, sarah sweet
I wish...
be a woman, not a child
I wish...
left or right
"I wish the King of Goblins would come and take me away. Right
now."