The coat was red. Not a deep crimson, nor a bloodless scarlet, but a vivid, screaming vermillion that seemed to pulse against the grey wool of the cell. It hung from a hook by the barred window. It had hung there for three days.

Elias stood before it. His hands were bound. The leather bit into his wrists, a familiar, tight hug. He did not look at the bars. He looked at the fabric.

"You are wasting your breath, Elias."

The voice came from the shadows. It was smooth. It was cold. It was the voice of the man who had sentenced him to this box. Captain Halloway.

Elias did not turn. "The coat is too bright."

"It is your wife’s coat."

"No." Elias’s voice was a rasp. "It is mine."

Halloway stepped into the light. The industrial hum of the factory floor outside the glass wall vibrated through the concrete. Gears turned. Steam hissed. The world outside was loud, mechanical, indifferent. Inside, there was only the tick of a clock and the smell of old dust.

"Your wife is a liar, Elias," Halloway said. He leaned against the doorframe. He crossed his arms. "She said you stole it. She said you sold it for drugs. She said you left her for the money in the lining."

Elias closed his eyes. "She is dead."

"Then she is not here to correct me."

"She is here."

Halloway laughed. It was a dry sound. Like paper tearing. "Where?"

Elias pointed to the mirror on the far wall. It was cracked down the middle. A spider web clung to the glass. In the reflection, Elias saw himself. He saw the red coat. He saw the bars. He saw the man in the shadows.

"She is in the glass," Elias said.

Halloway frowned. He looked at the mirror. He saw only his own face. Pale. Thin. Hungry.

"You are mad," Halloway said. "We have four days. Four days until the trial. Four days until the electric chair. You have no allies. You have no evidence. You have a wife who betrayed you and a coat that proves it."

Elias looked back at the coat. The red was brighter now. It seemed to bleed into the grey air. He remembered the night she put it on. The way the fabric had whispered against her skin. The way she had looked at him. Not with fear. With pity.

"I did not steal it," Elias said.

"You did."

"I did not."

"Prove it."

Elias looked at his bound hands. He looked at the hook. The coat was heavy. It was warm. It was alive.

"Ask her," Elias said.

Halloway stepped closer. The light caught the scar on his chin. "Ask whom?"

"The woman in the glass."

Halloway signaled to the guards. They came. They were large. They were silent. They grabbed Elias. They dragged him to the center of the cell. The floor was cold. The air was stale.

Halloway stood over him. "You think this is a game, Elias? You think you can hide in a mirror? You think you can hide in a lie?"

Elias smiled. It was a small, sad smile. "I am not hiding. I am waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For the truth."

Halloway kicked Elias in the ribs. Elias gasped. The pain was sharp. It was clean. It was real.

"The truth is you are a thief," Halloway said. "The truth is you are a coward. The truth is you broke her heart. And now, you will break her body."

Elias breathed. The pain faded. The red coat pulsed.

"Take me to her," Elias said.

Halloway blinked. "She is dead, Elias."

"Take me to her."

Halloway stared at him. For a moment, the captain’s face was blank. Then, he nodded. He turned. He walked to the door. He opened it.

"Follow me," he said.

The guards released Elias. He stood up. His knees shook. He looked at the coat. It was still there. It was still red.

They walked. The hallway was long. It was dark. The lights flickered. They passed cells. Behind the bars, men slept. Men screamed. Men wept. Elias did not look at them. He looked at the floor. He counted his steps. One. Two. Three.

They reached a door at the end of the hall. It was steel. It was locked.

Halloway entered a code. The lock clicked. The door opened.

The room beyond was white. It was empty. There was a chair. There was a table. There was a mirror.

A woman sat in the chair. She wore the red coat.

Elias stopped. His heart stopped.

The woman turned. Her face was pale. Her eyes were dark. She looked at Elias. She smiled.

"Hello, my love," she said.

It was not her voice. It was his voice.

Elias felt a cold spike in his chest. He looked at the mirror. In the glass, he saw the woman. She was wearing the coat. She was smiling.

"Who are you?" Elias asked.

"I am you," she said.

"No."

"Yes."

She stood up. She walked toward him. Her steps were silent. The coat swayed. The red was blinding.

"I am the part of you that remembers," she said. "I am the part of you that loved her."

Elias backed away. He hit the wall. His back ached.

"You killed her," she said.

"I did not."

"You did."

"I saved her."

"You let her die."

The room shook. The lights died. The dark was total. The dark was heavy.

Elias felt a hand on his shoulder. It was warm. It was soft.

"Look at me," the voice said.

Elias looked. In the dark, he saw two eyes. They were bright. They were red.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

"I am the truth," the voice said.

The lights came back on. The room was empty. The chair was empty. The table was empty.

Elias was alone.

He looked at the mirror. He saw himself. He was shaking. He was crying.

He looked at the door. Halloway stood there. He looked confused. He looked afraid.

"What happened?" Halloway asked.

Elias did not answer. He walked to the mirror. He touched the glass. It was cold.

He saw the coat. It was hanging on the wall behind him.

He turned. The coat was gone.

He turned back. The mirror was cracked. The crack went deeper.

He saw his face. It was old. It was tired. It was guilty.

He saw the red. It was in his eyes. It was in his blood.

He saw the truth.

He had not stolen the coat. He had burned it. He had burned it while she slept. He had burned it because he hated it. He had burned it because it reminded him of her. He had burned it because he wanted her to be cold. He had burned it because he wanted her to be gone.

The memory hit him. It was a hammer. It was a fire.

He fell to his knees. The pain was everywhere. It was in his bones. It was in his soul.

Halloway rushed in. He grabbed Elias’s arm. "Elias! What is wrong?"

Elias looked at him. He looked through him.

"She is not in the glass," Elias said. "She is in the fire."

Halloway stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I am the thief," Elias said. "I am the killer. I am the monster."

Halloway released him. He stepped back. He looked at the empty room. He looked at the mirror. He looked at Elias.

"You are insane," Halloway said. "You have always been insane."

Elias stood up. He walked to the door. He pushed it open.

The hallway was bright. The lights were steady. The air was fresh.

He walked out. He walked down the hall. He passed the cells. He passed the guards. They did not stop him. They did not speak. They looked at him. They looked away.

He reached the main gate. It was open.

He stepped out.

The world was grey. The sky was grey. The ground was grey.

He walked. He walked for hours. He walked for days. He did not stop. He did not sleep.

He reached a forest. The trees were tall. The leaves were red.

He stopped. He looked up. The red was everywhere.

He closed his eyes.

He felt the heat.

He felt the smoke.

He felt the scream.

He opened his eyes.

He was in the cell.

Halloway was there. He was sitting on the chair. He was watching him.

"Welcome back," Halloway said.

Elias looked at his hands. They were bound.

He looked at the hook. The red coat was there.

It was waiting.

It was always waiting.

Elias looked at the mirror. He saw his face. He saw the red in his eyes.

He smiled.

"I know," he said.

Halloway stood up. He walked to the door. He opened it.

"Come," he said. "It is time."

Elias stood up. He walked to the door.

He did not look back at the coat.

He did not need to.

He was the coat.

He was the red.

He was the fire.

He walked out.

The door closed behind him.

The lock clicked.

The silence returned.

The coat hung in the dark.

It pulsed.

It waited.

It was alone.

It was free.