"Good morning, everyone! Today is going to be another sunny day, but you have to prepare: it will be raining chickens today! Tell us more about this, Sandra."

With an exhausted grunt, I switched off my radio alarm clock and sat in an upright position. I started stretching a little, and my neck produced a nasty cracking sound.

With a frown, I massaged my tense neck a bit and took the bite block out of my mouth. I begrudgingly stared at the thing and shook my head. "Better than going to the dentist because of broken teeth, I guess." I mumbled while throwing it on the nightstand.

While I was still stretching my tensed-up body, I started my morning ritual. Ten minutes breakfast. Five minutes of activating my body with slight exercises. Twenty-five minutes of showering. I should always be clean.

I came out of the shower, looking into the fogged mirror. With a swipe of my hand, I cleaned the mirror and saw someone standing at the door. It was my mother.

"Are you sure you are clean?" she asked me in her strict but loving voice. "One can never be clean enough."

I nodded absentmindedly and went into the shower again for another fifteen minutes. This was within my timetable, as it happened quite frequently.

I came out of the shower again. But this time, I didn’t clean the mirror. Now I could continue my morning ritual. The next step was to spend five minutes getting myself ready. Getting dressed, styling my hair, and choosing what watch I’d wear this day.

Satisfied with a stylish combination, I risked a glance in the mirror in the bathroom again. My mother looked at me with a skeptical expression but slightly nodded her head in approval.

With a happy smile, I went out of my top-floor apartment and down into the garage. I got into my car and started driving to work.

The drive was rather uneventful until I was almost at my office. And the old lady started crossing the street and nodded at me with a gentle smile. I smiled back and held up my hand in greeting. After she passed, I started driving again and took a look in the side mirror to see if she got over the street safely.

"You are a dirty bastard." Said the old lady to me, having her head turned back at an impossible angle. My heart skipped a beat. I looked back for a second, only to see that she was already over the street, greeting another old lady with her usual gentle smile.

I tried to swallow the lump that seemed to be stuck in my throat, but the feeling didn’t go away. I tried to concentrate on what I had to do today. My mind drifted away, concentrating on the pitch I’d present at the weekly meeting today.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. I let out a relieved sigh before I put on a smile and parked my car in the parking lot.

I stepped outside the car and cheerfully greeted my colleagues.

"Hi Harrold. Looking really fresh today!" I greeted my oldest co-worker, who just winked at me with a smile, dusting off his seemingly new suit.

I greeted some more co-workers, and everyone greeted me back with a smile. When I got to the reception, my smile got a little bit bigger. There was Jasmine, my girlfriend.

"Good morning, Timothy." She said with a gentle voice, leaning slightly over the reception desk to give me a kiss. I quickly kissed her on the lips, not wanting to drag out this show of public affection any longer than necessary.

"Good morning, my dear." I said this to her and lightly caressed her shoulder. I saw from the side how the other receptionist, Susan, gave us the stink eye. I pressed my jaw together in reflex and backed away a little.

"So, quite an important day for you, huh?" Jasmine asked me in a teasing tone. "Don’t worry, they love you, and they will love it. Who can say no to you?"

"I can." Susan mumbled something from the side, acting like she didn’t say anything at all.

Jasmine ignored her as usual and gave me another kiss. "As a good luck charm. Go get them." She told me, and I smiled at her thankfully and went off.

Seeing how many people were streaming inside, I hurried to the elevator to get one for myself. And luckily I managed it. With a calming thud, the automatic doors closed, and the elevator sprang into motion. My smile melted away, and I looked anxiously in the mirror behind me. My mother just lifted her brow a little but said nothing else.

I nodded in understanding, turned around, and put on a smile again. Before the elevator got to my floor, I hurriedly cleaned off the sweat from my hands. Just in case someone wanted to shake my hand.

With a ding, the elevator doors slid open. And I stepped outside at a confident pace.

"Morning everyone!" I shouted in the big, open office. Many answers came back, and many people even stood up to smile and wave at me.

After some more walking, I finally entered my office. My little paradise. Where nobody could disturb me without knocking first.

With a content sigh, I closed the door made of frosted glass and went over to my designer desk. I sat in the uncomfortable chair and let my gaze wander over my office for a moment. The only furniture was a big shelf on one side, filled with many books about marketing, and a mirror on the other side. I hastily looked away and started concentrating. There was a lot to do today.

The hours went by as I went over my mountain of emails. All the while, I tried to give the promotion plan for our newest customer and their product the last finishing touches. I nervously looked at my wrist watch again and again, seeing the time for my presentation coming closer.

Exactly fifteen minutes before the presentation, I stood in front of the tall mirror on the left side of my office.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. As always, I couldn’t see my own face. Only a black hole was visible, framed by my well-groomed dark curls.

"Are you prepared?" asked my mother, standing behind me with her hands on my shoulders.

"I did the best I could." I answered, feeling like something was stuck in my throat.

"Not good enough." She said in a soft voice while digging her sharp nails into my shoulders. "There is nothing else but perfection. Say it."

"There is nothing else but perfection." I repeated in an emotionless voice while feeling cold and empty inside.

A knock snapped me out of the moment, and I hastily fixed my facial expression. "Yes, come in!"

My secretary, Joana, peeked her red-haired head inside. Her glasses sat a little crooked on her nose, as always. How could she walk around like this? It was repulsive.

"Are you on the phone?" she asked in her high-pitched voice, making me want to send her out again.

"I'm just rehearsing my presentation." I answered her in a soft voice and gestured for her to enter.

"Yeah, about that." She said, while pushing the glass door open and taking a step inside. "They are already finished with their last meeting and want to start with yours as fast as possible. Are you ready?"

"Of course." I told her while my body tensed up like it wanted to run away at any moment. "Where are they?"

"Meeting Room Three." She answered with a nervous expression. She knew I didn’t like this meeting room. I had once reprimanded her for booking this room for me without consulting with me first.

I just nodded and gestured for her to go out of the office again while I snatched up my laptop.

"Here I go." I mumbled to myself while taking one last look in the mirror. My mother watched me with cold eyes. "There is nothing else but perfection." I mumbled quietly and left for the presentation.

Every step brought me closer to the room I didn’t want to be in. But there was no way around it. As always, I stepped out confidently and greeted everyone with a cheerful smile or a little compliment.

Before I even entered the room, a few of the men and women sitting there held their hands up in greeting. I could see them because the room's walls were made out of glass. I could see my own reflection in the door before I opened it to enter the room.

I made the round and greeted everyone present personally, shaking their hands. The last one was one of my superiors, Carl. A slightly corpulent man who was always smiling mischievously. He somehow always managed to get under my skin.

When I shook his hand, he exclaimed in feigned pain. "What a handshake! You almost broke my bones!" The others around the table laughed, and I also forced something similar out of me. "Not so tense! I know you, for whatever reason, don’t like this room. But you are our ace. No need to be afraid."

"Maybe he’s afraid his well-shaped bottom gets stared at too much." One of the other guys shouted. This earned him a slap on the shoulder from the woman sitting next to him, but she also had to smile a little.

I shook my head and smiled a little. "Jokes aside now." I told them in a confident voice. "I will wipe you off your feet."

The people in the room leaned back in their chairs and started watching me in expectation.

My pitch went great. They were interested and engaged, and I just knew that they were getting more and more convinced by my idea by the second. Until a slight error occurred.

"The numbers in the second colon aren’t right." Pointed out Carl, while wriggling his eyebrows. "It seems like even you can make a mistake sometimes."

The group chuckled slightly, but I broke out in a cold sweat. I couldn’t control myself anymore, and I took a quick glance at the slightly reflecting glass walls. All the reflections had their hate-filled visages turned to me and screamed at me in utter chaos and madness.

"You are a failure!"

"You are scum!"

"This is not perfection! What do you think you are doing?"

"Is your head filled with nothing but shit?"

"Is everything okay?"

It took a moment for me to realize that the last sentence was spoken out loud, and I nodded slightly.

"But you look awfully pale." Carl told me while standing up from his chair. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Weakness! You are weak! You are scum!"

"I don’t think I need..." I wanted to say something but was interrupted by the reflections again.

"WEAKNESS! YOU ARE SCUM!"

My legs got wobbly, and I started to feel sick. "Excuse me for a moment." I managed to press out while stumbling out of the room. I heard some gasps and chairs scraping on the floor, but I went away as fast as possible.

On my way to the bathroom, I bumped into someone who wanted to hold me back. But I freed myself and ran away.

I somehow finally arrived at my location. The bathroom was out of order and actually shouldn’t be entered. The dilapidated and dirty room is the best place for me now. Because no one, apart from me, came here.

Breathing heavily, I leaned over the stained sink.

"You failed." I heard a cold voice right next to my ear, and I looked up in terror, only to see my mother's face right next to my own. Her nails were digging into my shoulders again. Only this time, it hurt like hell.

"I’m sorry, mother. I will make it up somehow." I mumbled a breathless excuse, knowing full well that this wouldn’t be the end of it.

"Oh, of course you will." She told me. "But you know what needs to be done with naughty boys, right? Say it."

I swallowed my panicked sob and answered her. "Naughty boys need to be punished."

"Naughty boys, what?" asked a surprised voice from the door. "What is going on, Timothy? Are you alright?"

In complete horror, I looked at the door, only to see Carl standing there. He was sweating a little, and his double chin was wobbling a little from his heavy breathing. He comes closer to me while trying to calm me. "Everything’s fine. Tell me, what is going on?"

I look into the mirror, only to see my mother release her grip on my shoulders and slowly turn to Carl.

"No, stay away!" I screamed while stumbling to the ground. My vision started flickering, and I felt like I could pass out at any moment. I also saw Carl's reflection in the mirror. It was screaming at me with wide, bloodshot eyes while spit flew out of its mouth. And my mother, stepping closer and closer.

"Everything’s fine." Carl repeated, looking very worried now. "I will call an ambulance now, okay? Then everything…"

"Good morning, everyone! What a wonderful day it is again! Well, at least if you don’t have to work."

I groggily grabbed my radio alarm and turned it off. I really didn’t sleep well this night.

"Wait a moment." Dr. Williams interrupted me, looking confused. "I think we might have skipped a crucial moment here. Can you remember what happened after the incident in the bathroom?"

I looked at him for a few moments, not quite sure if this was real or not. Haven’t I been in bed just now?

"I don’t.." I mumble and try to focus my eyes on him. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just worked and then. You know. Everything was normal. Perfect."

Dr. Williams looked at me with squinted eyes and seemed to want to say something more. But with a sigh, he put away his notebook on the blue coffee table on the right side next to his chair.

"I think this is enough for today." He told me in a soft voice, while polishing his glasses with a cloth. "I think we first have to start your medication. Maybe this will help calm your mind. What do you think about that?"

Calming my mind sounded amazing. I had no idea where I was or what was going on right now. Everything was just so… chaotic.

The next moment, I was pushed through a hallway with light blue walls. "The medication might make you tired. You just need to sleep it off." I heard a gentle female voice from behind, and I groggily nodded my head.

"We will now switch off the lights. Good night, Timothy." Told me the same female voice again. I confusedly looked around me, only to notice that I was lying in a comfortable bed.

The door closed, and a few metallic clicks were heard. They locked me up in here. I looked around the room, but there was nothing. Just my bed and light blue walls. I was safe here.

With a satisfied smile, I laid down and immediately fell into a deep sleep.