Depending on perspective

Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - introduction

Chapter Description: First introduction to the story.

Eve looked at the unevenly laid out stonework of the path leading to the old secluded farmhouse. Many in the village seemed to avoid the place like the plague. Telling stories of it being haunted or that those who came to near were never seen again. No one managed to explain why packages were being delivered and taken into the house if it meant that each delivery driver were to disappear from this plane of existence. In fact, the same delivery drivers have been working in their small town for many years. It never felt right to ask them this though, feeling that it was impolite but also fearing that they would think she’s crazy for even contemplating the stories to have a sense of truth. The ridiculousness of a haunted house at the end of a suburban street kept popping up in her mind though. And now that she was to leave the town for college, it felt like the last chance she had to finally close the book on this fairytale. Her car was packed and she had already said her goodbyes. This was the last thing she wanted to do before starting her new life. 

Walking towards the door, she again contemplated what she would say to the person living in the house. She hadn’t thought about it all too much she admitted to herself. Possibly the thought of a ghost or spirit killing her was subconsciously a more realistic outcome than she consciously told herself. It was too late to turn back though as she looked up to the giant 18th century two-door entrance. The green doors seemed to have been painted recently, yet the woodwork itself wasn’t replaced. Small chippings that betrayed the wood rotting along with the dust covered, opague windows along the sides of the door betrayed its true age. A layer of varnish to dupe those that didn’t pay close enough attention to the true geriatricity of the house. 

Perhaps it was best to leave the fairytale open ended. The house certainly felt more threatening from up close than it did from a safe distance behind the small gate. Her heart was furiously beating and giving her a sense of dread that filled her stomach. As her mind shouted insecurities, her persistence still won and she knocked on the door with her fists. The loud, recurring thumping of her fist on the door gave rise to the thought that this seemed a rather violent start of her introduction to whoever lived here. Anxiety rose and subsided as Eve realized that perhaps no one was home. Thus this tale ends, she proudly told herself. Even without an end, she proved to herself that she dared overcome her own ridiculous fantasies. Already turning, however, a shout protruded from the door. “Coming” a singsongy voice shouted placing great emphasis on prolonging the “-iiiiiiing”. 

Eve cursed to herself, her contentment of ending the story was preliminary. One of the doors opened quickly and abruptly and instinctively Eve centered herself in front of the only open door. A woman of around thirty opened the door. She had kind eyes, brown hair tied in a knot with a few locks of hair loose and falling over her chest. Somehow, an energetic, younger woman wasn’t one of the possibilities of outcomes to her imaginary fairy tale. The woman closely inspected her as well, Eve noticed as she tried to catch her eye. Focusing herself on Eve now, with a simple, interested smile she seemed to ask what she could do for her. 

Despite her lack of preparation, Eve explained her visit. How she lived here for her whole life. How she heard the stories. How she always managed to avoid the consequences of her curiosity and that now, on her last day, she wanted to introduce herself. The woman seemed disinterested at first, later hurt by the rumors surrounding her and her house, yet finally relieved as Eve told of her honest intentions. The woman sighed, gesturing to wipe away sweat from her forehead, “I’m glad you came by, even if only to satiate your own curiosity. Please, if you have time, come in for a drink and possibly I can explain the origins of the rumors”.

The door led to a large hallway that ended in the kitchen. The better part of the hallway was meant for the staircase that ended in unlit and dark looking overpass. It seemed unnaturally dark considering the bright lights that lit up the first floor of the house. To her right, just before the staircase, there was a dining room littered with toys on the floor. To her left she could see a large couch and coffee table in a living room. “If you want, you’ll get a tour later. First, a drink!” the woman exclaimed enthusiastically as she pulled her into the living room.

As Eve sat down on the couch and the woman was in the kitchen, she investigated the living room. It was decorated in an odd minimalist design. There were few pieces of furniture, but what was there, seemed oddly large. The couch was so big, it functioned as a small bed. The coffee table wasn’t a table as much as it was a large chest. It seemed centered for a television, but there was none, mainly it was open stage as if it were a theater. This all was accentuated by a ridiculous amount of mirrors placed in seemingly random spots with an emphasis on the floor. Perhaps she works in theater or dance, Eve concluded and felt a bit proud of herself for deducing it. Then again, she would be off to college to work on this level of critical thinking. 

When the woman returned, she first started with catching up on the basic pleasantries however. That her name was Eve, that she was nineteen and off to college to follow her passion of linguistics. The woman introduced herself as Lilith and that she had lived in this house for many years. That she was a writer and thus liked her solitude and laughingly explained the advancement of ordering groceries online probably didn’t help the rumors. Eve was enjoying herself she realized, feeling bad that she hadn’t dared to introduce herself years earlier. 

“Do you have children?” Eve then asked, justifying her personal question by referring to the toys she saw. “Yes!” Lilith beamed proudly “A baby girl! Do you want to meet her?” Eve awed, saying she loved to, but that if she were sleeping now, to just let her sleep. To friends Eve had been honest, telling them she despised children and the responsibilities involved. However, it wasn’t difficult to know when to keep her thoughts to herself. “Nonsense,” Lilith said, waving away all objections “she needs to have something in her tummy anyway”. ‘This is why I don’t want children’ Eve mumbled to herself ‘every story ends when they are introduced’. 

From upstairs Eve could hear the wailing cry of a child being woken up. The mumbled, hushing voice of Lilith could barely be heard. ‘See, another reason’ Eve chuckled. She could hear the child being picked up while she shouted and objected. Or, Lilith was shouting and object considering the clear pronunciation. Yet as that couldn’t be, it must be Lilith jokingly teasing her child. Content with the more common explanation, Eve sank back in the enormous couch for an instant until Lilith appeared in the doorway with a sobbing, grown woman thrown over her shoulder. 

The woman had long, blond hair tied up in ponytails. Large, pink ribbons held the locks of hair together and distinctly apart to the other sides of her head and falling down to cover the woman’s shoulders. Lilith was gently stroking the woman’s back while her other hand supported the woman’s bottom. Thoughts were absent as Eve stared at the woman’s humorously large diaper. Lilith kept rocking the woman and shushing to calm her down, softly telling her to be nice for the unexpected company they had. Each step she took emphasized not only her own high heels, but also the crinkling and squishing of the woman’s wet diaper, as she laid the woman down on the couch next to Eve. 

“Isn’t she adorable?” Lilith asked rhetorically as her eyes shimmered with pride as looked down. In no way was Eve prepared for this and she said the first cohesive thought she could that the woman doesn’t look like a baby. It left her mouth before she could ponder the strain this simple statement could have on Lilith. Her anxiety was confirmed when she saw Lilith being pulled out of her content trance. The woman seemed surprised as well as her wailing softened to a gibbering. “I know” Lilith said, clearly agitated to be confronted with a truth she didn’t like to acknowledge, “but she loves acting this way and I love her.”

With a simple statement, Eve’s surprise and shared embarrassment for the incapacitated woman gave way for a feeling of harassment, lingering on abuse. “This is an act? She isn’t special needs or anything?” she exclaimed angrily as she got up from the couch. A vile taste coming up in her mouth. If this woman couldn’t help herself, for whatever reason, Eve could understand the necessary introduction. However, if this was an act of sexual deviation between two adults, she was not keen on being introduced involuntarily. “Calm down” Lilith responded “it isn’t what you think it is. First of all, this bundle of joy has very special needs, “a soft chuckle before she continued “and second of all, she is part of the reason people think this house is haunted”. 

Despite Eve’s objections as the explanation hadn’t answered her main concern, she stayed. Her curiosity being stronger than her common sense. Lilith explained that her house isn’t haunted, but that there was something supra-natural about it. Her house functions as a gateway to parallel dimensions. Each mirror held alternate stories to the lives of the one who was looking. Content with her own lives, she keeps to herself and only opens her secrets up to those who, out of their goodheartedness, would pay her a visit. Even if the intentions are obscured by horror stories, she would open up a world of possibilities to those whose intentions are true. “And so I have chosen to share this secret with you as I have with my little angel here before you” Lilith concluded.

Eve was fully focused on the story, but immediately wanted to question the premise she put forth. She had her questions prepared, adding them up and waiting for Lilith to finish to challenge her explanation. How come I only see myself in the mirror then? Why would you never leave the house and let the stories continue? Why would a grown woman act like a baby? How can you tell my intentions are true? Thinking them over however, she realized it would only confirm Lilith’s mad tale. The woman was clearly a crazy deviant; however, Eve didn’t know yet whether the other woman was a victim or not. 

“What is the deal with her then?” she bit towards Lilith while floppily motioning to the woman dressed in nothing but a diaper sucking on a giant pacifier. She hid her face behind her hands and started to wiggle around as if she was trying to get away but couldn’t. Lilith shot a nasty look towards Eve for the insulting way she talked to her angel. Nevertheless, she continued, admitting that it may be a bit much to take in at first. She pointed Eve’s gaze towards a large standing mirror in the corner of the room. Eve followed but quickly looked away again, not believing the story, but also not wanting to take any risk of trickery. “Calm down,” Lilith said as she positioned herself in front of the mirror “it won’t do anything you do not want”. 

As soon as she stepped in front of the mirror, the reflection started to change. Instead of the woman’s reflection, the room morphed into a completely different one. The mirror showed a large penthouse living room with giant windows with only the tops of other sky scrapers visible. The light, wooden floor was sparsely furnished here as well, yet it was clear this was designed by an interior architect. Eve was perplexed by this magic and instead of not daring to look, she now no longer dared to look away from the hallucination. 

Once the room in the mirror had taken its definite shape, Lilith called out to Amy, echoed by the child woman still on the couch. Within seconds the same woman as was lying on the couch appeared in the mirror. Except this time she was dressed appropriately for someone her age. She was wearing tight dark-grey sweatpants, a large hoody with the name of a college on it. Her blond hair was tied in a ponytail as well, except hers was a singly ponytail and it was tightly combed back and knotted firmly. Eve looked from the woman in the mirror to the same woman on the couch. The contrast couldn’t be bigger. Even the girl on the couch seemed to admire the veracity and beauty of herself in the mirror. 

“What is it, Lilith?” Amy asked in an annoyed tone that betrayed she was in a hurry. “Watch your tone young lady” Lilith scorned back but Amy didn’t seem to be bothered and Lilith knew she couldn’t be. “I’ve got a new visitor and I want you to tell her how our house works”. Amy rolled her eyes, apparently it wasn’t the first time she had to do this, “fine” she conceded “but it must be quick; I have an appointment with the president later. But you’re in luck” she said while stepping in the mirror and exiting in Lilith’s house “I’ll skip my workout for today”.

Eve looked as a deer in headlights, the fluid movement out of the mirror was out of her reach for comprehension. To Amy it seemed to be second nature, however and as soon as she stepped out, she went towards the diapered woman on the couch. “You know I don’t like seeing her” she sullenly told Lilith, but the sole response was a furious babbling from diapered woman. “What-…” was all Eve managed to say as she stared at the identical grown woman sitting down next to her diapered self while trying to pay as little attention as possible to the sounds coming from her left. The diapered woman tried to roll around, but wasn’t able to. Angry sounds of shaking then gave way to a quiet, soft crying behind the pacifier she didn’t seem able to spit out. 

“I know, I know,” the adult version of Amy said “it’s a bit of a strong contrast, but don’t worry. I was as stunned as you when I first came here. Ridiculous as it sounds, it’s true though. At least, some parts of it. Each mirror holds a different version of how your life could play out. We’re in one reality, but within this house, you can enjoy the limitless potential of many other dimensions. I’ve chosen this one where I am extremely wealthy to the point, I don’t have to worry about money anymore. Coming from a poor family, it was all I could ever have wished for. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s here. If you go for your dream, you can’t leave this world empty. So, when first entering your dream world, you leave yourself here. Imagine that you are cloned, you continue in your dream world and your other self stays here.”

“But then why are you acting like a baby?” she asked the adult Amy as the infantile version was still crying in her hands. “Fucked if I know” she replied sternly “she was able to leave and live the life I was born with. Why she chose to be this kind of sad version is her choice”. There seemed to be no pity in the adult version of Amy for the version she had left behind. “I don’t know either” Lilith joined in “first I told her she was welcome to stay a bit longer if she liked. I was happy to have some company that didn’t immediately leave. But the longer she stayed, the lazier she got and eventually this was the final version. “I try to make her as happy as possible though” Lilith smiled solemnly. 

“So,” Eve tried to summarize “I get to look in a mirror and live the life I always wanted whereas another version of me stays here to go to college. So, I can skip that whole part?” Exactly, Amy and Lilith confirmed in accidental choir. “You can even be the famed scientist you always dreamed to be, but now you already are one. Your dream life is only a mirror away” Lilith added enthusiastically for a sale that was already made in Eve’s mind. “And you swear that the child version of Amy is her own choice and that she is happy as well?” Amy gave a sad look to the other version of her on the couch, and said yes. Lilith only added that she should change her diaper soon. “Besides, you can always switch lives again”.

This was all the affirmation that Eve needed. Excitedly she got up and asked how she could start. “I’m so glad you want to use my gift” Lilith beamed with pride again “all you have to do is pick the world you want to wake up in. Afterwards, you can come by whenever you want or when I have a dire question for you”. “Such as here with Amy” Eve asked and Lilith nodded confidently. “I can do that” she said and started looking in different mirrors until she found the one she loved the most. The life of an honored scientist who finished her degree with highest distinction. She had a similar penthouse and from what she could tell, it could only get better. 

Standing in front of the mirror Eve told Lilith her dream of waking up in the mirror world. She agreed that her ‘clone’ version would stay here to live the rest of her life. Should anything go wrong, she can always switch places again and continue her old life from that point. Standing in front of the mirror, Lilith explained that she would wake up in her new bed and start her new life by now looking into the mirror and stating this is what she wants. So, she did. She felt her eyes become heavy and then herself falling over. In her dream she could see her new life flash before her. All that she had accomplished, the stories that went along with it and all the knowledge she needed to continue to be successful and live a happy life. She was content and for the first time in a long time she felt happy. This is the best thing that ever happened, she shouted in a feeling of ecstasy engulfing her body. Then it all suddenly ended and she awoke to the sound of crying.