[ WP ] One day , you wake up . As you do your normal routine , you sense something is way off , but you ca n't put a finger on it . As you begin to brush your teeth , you look up and see your worst enemy in the mirror .

He hit the snooze button on the alarm twice to silence its sadistic horn. As he laid back down, his hand grazed over the orange bottle, unmoved from where he left it a week and a half ago. He let out a deep sigh with his eyes closed. The alarm and it's rush of consciousness washed out whatever directions his subconscious wrote him, like high tide to a message in the sand. If he stared long enough into the abyss of his eyelids he could make out a few letters here and there, but the light of the waking world would wash away all of it soon enough. It was nice just to have the ability to dream again, even if the dreams were n't the best. It was nice to have a relationship with his subconscious again. Order is organized but chaos is beautiful. 
 
 Still, the sleep world called him. He could hear some faint sound of warning echoing up from the depths of his grey matter. It's tone matched the overcast sky, like that of a mother weeping over her lost child. The air of the waking world was thick and ominous. The silence a deep trough awaiting a crest of contrast. The ocean of awareness was sucking in an undertow, compounding itself into a wave that could crush him into sand or carry him to the shore. Sanity is calm but mania is alive. 
 
 He resisted the urge for more sleep and stood up at the foot of his bed. Another aimless day with no plans to be made. The 12 hours of waking time that lay ahead seemed to make finite an infinite amount of dull nothingness. Today was a different one than yesterday. He knew that much, but that was more than he had known for a long time. 2 weeks ago every day felt the same. The clouds that blocked the sky once made up a fog that he lived in, day in and day out. Over the past week they had lifted from him to the sky. Soon, the sun would melt them away and rid them from his existence. He hoped. The light is warm but darkness is soothing. 
 
 He walked into the kitchen and surveyed his options. No coffee. Watch the amount of sugar. Even gluten was encroaching into the category of possible disturbances. He played by their rules with an apathetic conformity. They liked to act like they knew what was going on, but no one really did. He was developing a good picture, he just had to make sure not to lose himself in the darkroom. This week and a half was the first break from the script he could muster, and he erased words and rewrote lines in light pencil, not daring to use a pen yet. He left the kitchen with the same empty hands and empty soul as he had entered with. 
 
 He approached the bathroom with a sense of apprehension. The air was thicker here. The silence a deafening pitch of white noise. The weeping voice called out from where he'd left it in his bed with each step closer he took, the only noise to pierce the screaming silence. Two steps from his bathroom door, he looked back at his bed and could almost make out the veiled mistress that pleaded for him. His animal curiosity sparked embers of interest in his otherwise lifeless eyes as his brain automatically attempted to make sense of the world by assigning causes and effects, but the dullness of his waking life turned blunt any blade attempting to arouse his mind. He knew himself well enough to identify the source of the silence and the shrieks without any effort. It had been long since he last lost himself, but he could stand apart from it now. That was the difference this time. 
 
 He stood and soaked in the shrieks like rays of sunshine, breathing in their hidden music like a grove of lavender. She screamed louder at that. Their was a desperation to her pitch - a desperation of potential failure. Whatever her aim, his taking pleasure in her presence made her increase intensity, but his awareness at this slowly weakened her cries. A smile crawled up his cheeks, turning down the volume with each wrinkle of skin until she washed into the white noise. A full grin spread across his face now. It feels good to be alive again, does n't it? 
 
 He approached the bathroom door with a newfound sense of control. The crest awaited him. As he looked into the mirror, a maniacal slant took over his grin. 
 
 Welcome back 
 
 Back? I never left. I knew you would reawaken me eventually. We're soulmates. You ca n't walk away from your soulmate 
 
 Soulmate? Interesting. I do n't think I've ever thought of it like that. 
 
 Oh but it's just the best way to see it! Do n't you think? We just go so well together. 
 
 You're right, I do think we make a great pair. 
 
 See? Oh I knew you would come around eventually! I told you not to trust those damn doctors and experts - oh they think they're so smart 
 
 Yeah, yeah.. Those pills did n't help too much. They did stop you from hurting me though 
 
 Hurting you? Oh no - I would never! That was punishment, by your own hand - do n't you remember? You need to listen to me, I know best. 
 
 You know best? 
 
 Oh but of course! Do n't you think? You just said that before - we're soulmates, remember? I know best so you know best, that's how this works! You just need to make sure you listen to me.. To save you from yourself... You're sick, remember? 
 
 I'm sick? I do n't have a cough, or a fever... 
 
 Oh hahaha no, no no - sick in the head, remember? You're damaged and hurt, that's why I'm here! I know best. Let me help you. 
 
 The clouds from the overcast started to sink with the weight of rain. The rumblings of thunder came from their depths with a ravenous hunger. 
 
 His head started to hurt as the shrieks came back from the room. 
 
 Yes. I know best. Let me help and make this all go away. This is why I'm here.. 
 
 No. No no no. NO! NO, you are a crutch! You're not here to help, you're here to hurt the world for me! You're here for revenge, revenge for an unfair world! 
 
 Ooh I like this passion in your voice! Give me your fire! Show me the rage that burns in our soul! The maniacal grin returned and a shadow reached down from his brow to cover his eyes. 
 
 The thunder consumed the clouds and winds rocked the bathroom. A tornado tried to rip him from the earth. The shrieks increased in intensity and threatened the sliver of peace he clung to. 
 
 No.. No... 
 
 He remembered the control he had before entering the bathroom. He remembered the music hidden in her voice, the beauty of the chaos in his mind. He remembered how his smile deafened her cries and made her cry out more, made her cry out in desperation. There was a reason this day felt different. He brought something back with him from his subconscious, a piece of himself that had won their last confrontation, a piece of himself that he had buried in the fog of medication. If he wanted sunlight, he would need to emit it himself. 
 
 I am done with you. My world is a product of my own creation, and you no longer have a place in this. 
 
 And he closed his eyes and silently hummed to himself a frequency that arose from within. And as he hummed a smile crawled across his face. And as he hummed the shrieks of the woman took on a musical melody. And as he hummed the screams from the maniacal mirror faded into white noise. 
 
 When he opened his eyes, sunlight broke through the clouds.
