A young woman stands in the bathroom, her eyes locked onto her reflection. Her hands grip the edge of the sink, knuckles white from the pressure. She exhales shakily, trying to calm her racing heart. The reflection stares back, eyes unblinking, as if mocking her fear.

When she looks again, her reflection hasn’t moved. It stands there, still staring, a twisted grin slowly spreading across its face. Her heart pounds in her chest as she blinks rapidly, trying to dispel the illusion. But the reflection blinks too late, a subtle delay that sends a chill down her spine.

Her breath quickens, panic rising like a tide. She steps back, desperate to escape the oppressive atmosphere. The reflection steps forward, mirroring her actions with a sinister intent. The silence is broken by the reflection’s voice, a whisper that seems to resonate from within the mirror itself. "You can close your eyes… but it won’t disappear."

The woman gasps, stumbling back as the mirror fractures. The sound of shattering glass echoes like a scream in the silence. In the pitch-black, her breathing is loud in her ears, the only sound in the oppressive quiet.

"Now, I’m real." The voice is right behind her, close enough to feel the breath on her neck. She spins around, heart hammering, but the darkness is impenetrable, hiding whatever may lurk within.

The lights flicker back to life, revealing an empty space where the woman once stood. The mirror lies in shards on the floor, each fragment catching the light in a sinister glimmer. The bathroom is silent, save for the soft sigh of the wind through a cracked window, a whisper of things unseen.