𝗠𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 ♡ Through the Looking Glass.

                  ☽ 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟱𝘁𝗵 ☾

The woman lies on the hospital bed, surrounded by doctors, her body wracked with pain and exhaustion as she clutched the side rails. Tears streamed down her face, yet determination shone in her eyes. A faint antiseptic smell hung in the air while a beeping monitor kept track of each contraction that racked through her body.

“It'll be okay,” one of the doctors says as he placed his hand on hers for comfort. “You're doing great.”

She takes a deep breath and pushes with all her might through each contraction, as sweat beads on her forehead from the effort. The nurses encourage her with words of encouragement while counting down until it's time to push again.

After what felt like an eternity of pain, a baby's cries pierced through the silence that had taken over the room. There's a collective sigh of relief from everyone present, with some of them smiling and others wiping away tears as they gaze in awe at the new life brought into this world. One of them proclaims that it's a girl! The woman looks at her newborn daughter with a mixture of joy and sorrow as she holds her for the first time.

One of them looks at the woman with a smile and asks if she has a name for her newborn daughter. She takes in this moment with gratitude and joy despite all that she had to endure. With tears streaming down her face, she whispers softly, "Dalia” before cradling her daughter close to her chest in an emotional embrace. She then gazes lovingly at Dalia and whispers, "she's my Dalia”.

As the doctors left them alone, Dalia stopped crying, and all that remained was mother and daughter in a room filled with peace and silence once more.

☽ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟱𝘁𝗵. ❲𝟭𝟵 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿❳ ☾

With black hair and black eyes, the girl sat in the principal's office, her heart beating rapidly as she tried to remain composed. She took a deep breath and met his gaze with unwavering intensity, determined not to show any sign of weakness. The walls of books and awards seemed to be staring down at her in judgment, while the clock on the wall kept ticking as he began speaking sternly.

"Dalia," the principal said firmly, "I'm disappointed that you have been skipping school recently; such behavior is completely unacceptable."

He paused for a moment before continuing. The air felt heavy in the room, almost oppressive. Dalia could feel her palms becoming sweaty as she listened intently to his words which echoed through the room. He stared at her with disapproval before finally breaking into a slight smile and saying, "You must stay focused and do what is right. You're a smart young woman with so much potential; don't let anything stand in your way."

Dalia nodded slowly. Taking a deep breath, Dalia thanked him for his advice before rising from the chair and walking out of the office.

☽☽☽☽⊹☾☾☾☾

Dalia felt her cheeks flush as she walked into the classroom, aware of all the stares and whispers directed at her. She could feel the tension in the air as she made her way to an empty seat near the back of the room. The teacher cleared his throat and spoke up,

"Well, it looks like you finally decided to join us." He gave a pointed look towards Dalia who was met with some snickers from other students. Dalia kept her composure and replied calmly, “Yes sir”. She then took out a notebook and pen from her bag before settling down in her seat for the class. Despite feeling embarrassed by everyone's reactions, Dalia refused to be intimidated.

The teacher continued, "As I was saying, the scientists are making the final preparations for turning on the new particle accelerator. Today marks a historic day for our nation."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "This machine could potentially revolutionize our understanding of science and technology in ways we never thought possible. We should all feel privileged to witness such an event!"

☽☽☽☽⊹☾☾☾☾

The school bell rang, signaling lunchtime. Dalia's friends waved at her and asked if she wanted to join them for lunch. She smiled in response but told them that she needed to go to the restroom first and would meet with them in the cafeteria afterward.

As Dalia made her way down the hallway toward the restroom, she noticed a few of her classmates staring at her curiously. Ignoring their whispers, Dalia kept walking until she reached her destination.

Once inside, she took a deep breath as she leaned against one of the walls for support. Despite being surrounded by people all day long, it felt oddly comforting to be alone for a moment.

Dalia reached into her bag and pulled out a small, white bottle. She twisted off the cap and poured out a few pills onto her palm before popping them into her mouth one by one. The pills were small, round, and white - almost like tiny pearls that had been crafted from porcelain. They felt smooth against Dalia's tongue as she swallowed them down with some water from the tap nearby. With each pill she took, Dalia could feel herself calming down; it was almost like a wave of tranquility washing over her body as peace slowly returned to her mind.

Dalia was suddenly jolted out of her reverie by a loud explosion in the distance. Bright, blinding light flooded into the restroom from the windows and door, momentarily blinding Dalia as she stumbled back against one of the walls. The ground shook beneath her feet like an earthquake, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the floor.

After a few moments, the light dimmed and the shaking stopped. Dalia slowly regained her vision, blinking several times to clear away any remaining spots in front of her eyes. When she looked up again, she was astonished to find that there was now a portal in front of her - an oval-shaped doorway made from swirling blue and dark energy.

Dalia stared at the portal in disbelief, wondering if this was just another one of her psychotic episodes. She had been taking these antipsychotic pills for some time now, ever since her mother...

Just as she reached into her bag for a pill, a soft female voice spoke from within the portal - "Dalia". Startled by the sound of her name, Dalia froze and looked up toward the source of the voice. The voice spoke again, this time with a hint of familiarity in its tone. "My Dalia," it said softly.

At that moment, Dalia felt her heart swell with emotion; tears began to brim at the corners of her eyes. Without another thought, she rushed forward toward the portal without caring about anything else.

As soon as she stepped through it, the portal disappeared and all that remained was an empty restroom filled with silence once more.