Episode 1

the red woman

It happened not long ago. At first, I thought it was just my imagination running wild, or perhaps I had issues with my vision. The first time I saw her was while brushing my teeth one night. I caught a glimpse of her in the mirror, but she vanished almost as soon as I shifted my attention to her blood-red silhouette. It was murky as if watching one’s features in the water.

The following nights, she kept appearing in my periphery, always as a reflection or a shadow, always keeping a six-foot distance. I measured it myself.

I tried ignoring it, I really did, but I couldn’t help but notice she began appearing closer as of late. Perhaps she moved each passing day by a centimeter. One day, I was watching TV, and as soon as the screen went off, she was right behind me. Whispering in my ear, begging. They were cries for help.

I was so startled that I couldn’t sleep that night, nor could I any following night. I was too afraid I would begin seeing her in my dreams. Sometimes I could hear her voice when I closed my eyes. It began as an indistinguishable murmur, but then it became loud and clear.

She was speaking of a ritual. By then, I was ready to do anything just so I could start living normally again.

And so, I gathered the materials. I laid four red candles upon a large mirror, lighting them up clockwise. I shut the door and pulled the curtains so no light could pass through. Finally, I sat down, staring down at the mirror, and began reciting the chant:

“Red one, old one

Come forth from lands unknown

From the river Styx and beyond

Come now, let us be one.”

Then I heard a rumble. It was deafening, as if a volcano erupted in the very room where I did the ritual. I covered my ears, tears falling down my cheeks as I desperately hoped for the commotion to end. It was one of the most hellish experiences I’ve ever been through, but it couldn’t compare to what happened next.

I mustered the courage to glance at the mirror. The image was blurry at first, but then it became crystal clear. There was an endless sea near a desolate coast where beings with an unfathomable appearance roamed freely. The sky was crimson red.

I could not describe the terror I went through upon feeling a strange force pushing me through the glass and into this nightmare of a landscape. I nearly drowned in the thick waters, gasping for air as I vigorously flapped my limbs to swim out of their grimy horror. When I finally reached the sand, I realized that it wasn’t water at all. I was soaked in blood. It poured down from the impaled bodies, surrounding the coast like a grim fence.

I looked up to see the mirror. The apparition hung like a window to the world I was no more welcome in. My own image was staring back at me, cackling, twisting the edges of her lips into an impossible shape as if it was possessed by a demonic force.

It was then that I realized I was trapped here. Never to see the light of day again.

The creatures swarmed me like fresh meat, biting and chewing at my flesh while I was still conscious. When they tossed me away, my body was regenerated. And so the cycle continued. In time, I got used to the pain.

I still see glimpses of my world when I look up at the crimson sky. I see people, and by their startled expressions, I know they can see me too.

Please, if you do notice a red woman staring back at you, don’t be afraid. I mean no harm. All I ask of you is to sit in a dark room with a mirror and four candles and repeat the words I tell you…