We wake up in a dark chamber. We were surrounded by monsters with dark capes. Lucy had her head lying down and her eyes closed. ‘Lucy, they’re going to kill us. We must react.’ I warned her, but she didn’t reply to me. Suddenly, a giant dark door with golden crests opened, and a figure covered in marine blue appeared.

‘Lucy, Lucy… were you looking for this?’ The marine blue raised her hand in which she had a wooden diary. Lucy didn’t say anything.

‘A rat took out your mouth?’ The woman laughed maniacally.

‘I’ll give it to you with one condition: if you join me.’ The woman revealed her face, and I opened my mouth and eyes: it was Lucy. A copy of her.

‘What the…?’ At that moment, I thought nothing else would surprise me, but I was wrong.

‘What do you think? We can conquer the world with the power of this diary. We can do whatever we want.’ The silence conquered the chamber. Everyone was expecting Lucy’s answer. Sweat was dripping from my head, and I could hear the breath of the guardians who were holding me.

Lucy stood up and approached slowly to her shadow version. She didn’t say a word, and no guardian tried to stop her. She stopped when she reached her opposite and faced her.

‘I’ll never join you.’ My friend said and attacked her shadow self, making her and her diary fly away. The guardians raced in pack to attack my friend, and I picked up with my teeth a dagger that I had in my boot. I started cutting the ropes that bound my hands while Lucy was facing the guardians with her magic, and her shadow version was watching everything.

Shadow Lucy picked up the diary and opened it. She was about to write something when my friend shouted to her. ‘You are a coward. You’ll never be like me.’ The Shadow Lucy closed the diary and fixed her eyes on my friend. I could see fire coming out from her eyes. Shadow Lucy placed her diary in one of her pockets.

‘I’ll grant you a duel. I’ll crush you like an ant. I’ll show you that you are weak and useless.’ She affirmed. When I was to free myself, two guardians knocked me out, and the lights went off.

We appeared on the London Bridge, but the landscape changed enormously. The east side of the Thames was stuck in the Middle Ages, in a fantasy movie, whereas the other side was advanced by at least 2000 years. However, the bridge didn’t change. It was as if the diary didn’t affect that landmark.

The guardians surrounded the two Lucys and I was in the middle of the circle that they made. My friend was on the East Side while the Shadow Lucy was on the West Side. Their faces showed determination and confidence.

Without notice, Shadow Lucy threw a magic missile that hit my friend and sent her away some meters. Lucy, with some difficulty, stood up, but her shadow self didn’t give her time to react.

Shadow Lucy cast innumerable spells and didn’t give my friend time to react. Lucy raised a pink barrier that protected her, but she won’t last long. She had to find a gap in which to counterattack Shadow Lucy.

‘You are weak. Your father chose your profession, and you accepted without hesitation. You didn’t pursue your dreams.’ The barrier finally broke, and multiple shots hit Lucy, throwing her. She remained on the pavement without moving.

‘You were bullied in high school and didn’t stand up. I would have crushed your bullies if I had been in the same situation.’ Shadow Lucy walked slowly towards my friend, who still hadn’t stood up.

‘You used your diary to escape from the shitty reality you were living. You were a coward and had to use an object to avoid your problems. It’s time that I take your place.’ Shadow Lucy lifted up her right hand in which she carried a black sword. When she was about to stab my friend, a white blast hit Shadow Lucy, sending her away.

Lucy stood up and prepared to attack again. Shadow Lucy laughed and, from her hands, emerged a dark blast that my friend counterattacked with a light blast. The blasts crashed, and I had to close my eyes not to become blind.

The dark blast was slowly outmatching the white blast. Blood started to drip from Lucy’s nose, and I could see her teeth tightened. Shadow Lucy wasn’t sweating as she wasn’t making any effort and had a grin on her face. She was so confident that she was going to defeat my friend, but Lucy resisted.

‘That part of me is gone. Now, I’m going to face my father, pursue my dreams, and upstand anyone who dares to stop me.’ With her heart and strength, Lucy increased the power of her blast, and now Shadow Lucy was in trouble.

‘No, it’s not possible. You are a co…’ were the last words of Shadow Lucy before the white blast pulverized her. My friend dropped to the ground, exhausted. The guardians escaped, and I ran, picked up the diary, and helped my friend.

‘It’s time you do your magic.’ I told her and handed her the diary. She sat down, grabbed it, and slowly burned it.

‘I’m going to miss it. It helped me so much. Buy me a new one for my next birthday.’

‘Yeah… with no magic.’ I added and we cried out laughing.


© Jero Gandini