Private Shifting Perspectives

Amber was already in her room, staring at her face within the reflection of a mirror along the wall. The more she looked at it, at it the less it felt like her own. Every day that passed she could see a just a bit more of Pandora in the mirror and the fading hair dye reverting back to her natural lilac didn't help. Sure she had some notable differences such as horns and warm yellow eyes but... for how much longer will these features persist she wondered? Will there be a day where her horns fall off and eyes blood red jewels, becoming a carbon copy of mother just like Phaedra? A clone in just appearance but in personality as well with some unknown switch waiting to be triggered?

Lost in her thoughts, Amber was jerked back to reality with the sound of a door opening. Wondering whom it was, she creaked open her bedroom door and quietly wandered out to find whom she at first thought was her mom Chloe in the kitchen. That was until a second later she realized it was her aunt Violet and remembered that she was coming over today to watch over her. Normally she was on top of greeting Violet right away but she had been so... preoccupied with thoughts that she sort of spaced out.

"Oh Violet! Gosh I near forgot you were coming over today. Good to see you." welcomed Amber as she smiled warmly to Violet. Even with the hazy thoughts still fresh on her mind, Amber was glad to see Violet here.

"Normally you get here just before me. Ah well... what are making? Herbal tea? Smells like some sort of herbal tea." guessed Amber as she makes her way to Violet.

"Oh, yes! I could use a cup of that." answered Amber without really thinking. She waited for her tea, her head snapped to Violet.

"Huh? Who exactly wants to know? Might those inquiring minds be you perhaps? Well... whomever is asking, let it be known that there isn't really anything glamorous going on in my life. Its been pretty mundane if anything... which is fine with me with all the other craziness I had to deal with. I am just living my life, going to school, hanging out at the library after class and stuff." answered Amber, then then gave Violet a smirk as she turns the question back to her aunt.

"Well what about your week? Nothing making you anxious or anything right I hope?"

Amber accepted the tea passed over to her, putting in about a teaspoon of honey into the cup for added sweetness. She stirs her tea as listens to Violet claiming how she is just as much of worry-wort was her mom.

"Really? A natural worrier? I guess that is just another thing I got from you guys then." remarked Amber, smiling to Violet for a moment before she looks back to the swirling tea and honey mixing into one another. "Awww, thanks Violet. I mean... it helps being the daughter of Chloe Black. And now I have you to help me out too. Well I hope it works out with you being a TA in the next semester."

Then the conversation was followed up by some small talk regarding good books, family, boyfriend, ect. Violet would have gotten more or less the same answers as the last time.

"Well I finished reading The Book Thief just two ago. Family has been fine. Boyfriend has been fine. I'm..." there was pause in her voice before she answered "... fine."

After another pungent round of silence, Amber opens her mouth only to instead bite her lower lip. She seemed apprehensive about something.

Amber let out a forced laugh, averting her eyes while her fingers brush through her strands of hair lilac and black hair.

"Ha ha... I guess... it was obvious... huh..." she mummered, her hand slowly falling back down to her lap "So... anything huh? Well it... gonna sound silly but... someone told me that I looked like my mom and... I got really excited about it thinking they meant my mom Chloe but... then I realized they meant my other mom Pandora."

Amber then looks down to her tea, the was just right for her to catch a faint reflection of her face on the still surface of her drink.

"They told me how... much I looked just like her. The hair... the legs... the eyes. And... I can't get it out of my head... the uncanny resemblance. When I look at myself... I just see her. I see Pandora... looking back. I... hear her... my mom's voice in own. And... and I hate it. I hate it because-" Amber choked on her words. Her mouth quivered as she wondered: why was it that she hated it? Did she hate herself? No... did she hate her mother? No it wasn't that either... no in fact she hated her resemblance to her mother for the exact opposite reason.

Amber felt the tears welling along the corners of her eyes and tried to at first attempted hide them. Yet when Violet wrapped herself around the the spiderling with a comforting embrace, Amber fell into her arms as words flowed out from her mouth like an uncapped oil well of emotions.

"I even... ssstupidly wasted my birthday wish when blowing out the candles! Q-quietly believing that by some miracle she would suddenly come back even! E-even for just day. B-but she n-never did come back n-now did she. Not e-even on my birthday. I keep thinking that it will be just like one of my books where the happy ending comes if I just keep turning the pages but I k-keep turning and turning but... but it never comes! This isn't suppose to be how it suppose to go. Why did she leave us... why did she leave me?"

Amber devolved into mess of ugly tears and intermittent hiccups of gasping breaths. Disgusting tears that would stain Violet's clothes as Amber buried her face between Violet's arm and chest. She hated herself for shedding tears for someone whom obviously left her behind but still she wept sorry tears.

"Do you... do you think I will... become just like her? L-like Pandora?" murmured Amber as her crying now simmered, lifting her head to look up to Violet.