MIRROR
SHORT STORY
The mirror had been in
the antique shop for some time I remembered. In fact it had been there so long
that I remembered seeing it when I was little. Why it stayed there for so long
I have no idea. I wondered why the owner had not gotten rid of it.
But I will never forget the day. I
was walking by the shop and my eyes instantly caught it. The mirror that had been
there since I was little was not in its spot. I stopped short in front of the
old dusty window. I looked around and the only thing I could see was the
outline of the mirror that it left against the wall.
For whatever reason it was, my feet
took me to the front door and I went in. The little bell above rung in my ears.
The air was stale and dust tickled my nose. I stood there alone looking around
at all the old things that looked like they were all forgotten about as they
laid resting under a blanket of dust.
The floor creaked under my feet as
I made my way over to the empty spot where the mirror was. I stared at the
outline it left behind and just as I was about to let my hand touch the wall a
gentle voice stopped me.
“Can I help you?”
I whirled around with a thumping
chest. A tall young man in a black suit stood quietly observing me. I wondered
how I had not heard him come into the room. My mouth opened but no words
formed. Finally I managed to sputter out about the mirror.
He raised an eyebrow. His dark blue
eyes glanced over to the corner and mine followed. There was the mirror leaning
against the wall.
“Would you like to see it?”
I only nodded.
I swear he made no noise on the
creaky floor as he took me over to it. Staring down at it, it felt odd. This
mirror that had hung here for so long felt ominous and almost surreal. I had
never seen it up close. There was an intriguing pattern carved into the frame.
It felt like it possessed something but what I don’t know.
“Would you like for to bring it out
into the open so you can get a better look?”
“Sure,” I said.
With swift silent movement, he
picked up the mirror that looked heavy but to him was nothing but feather
weight. I was amazed.
He hung it on the wall right in
front of me. I saw my reflection and his as he stepped back. A slight chill ran
up my arm. The silver was a bit tarnished now and overall grey looking but I
could still see us in reflection. We looked like a black and white photo.
“It feels like the mirror could
take me anywhere.” I don’t know I said that.
He cleared his throat but did not
respond to my odd statement. I felt a bit stupid but I couldn’t run out the
door and look really stupid. So, I walked up to the mirror and let my fingers
slide around the edging exploring this interesting looking carving.
As I was doing this I told him,
“This mirror has been here since I was little. I wondered why it stayed so
long.”
I looked into the mirror at him and
his dark eyes were intense. I quickly looked away to avoid eye contact. When my
fingers found the bottom of the mirror, there was words engraved into one of
the carved swirls. It said Portals into
dreams. My finger rested on the words.
When I looked up into the mirror,
he was not there. I turned to see where he went. It appeared I was alone again.
The thought of me leaving entered into my mind. I could slip out and no one but
him would be the wiser.
But something kept me from leaving.
It was only a moment and he came
out of the back with a small wooden box in his hand. It looked a bit beat up.
He looked at me and this time he offered me a small smile. “If you would like
the mirror, I can give you a deal. This little box goes with it.
“What is in it?”
He did not answer. He simply set it
on the counter. “Would you like the mirror?”
I stood staring at it for a moment.
I took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay.” It felt like this mirror had waited a
long time for me to finally come in and take it home. Maybe I was meant to have
it.
He smiled when I nodded.
Before I hung it up on the wall, I
dusted it and polished up the mirror for what it was. I could see myself in the
mirror a little better but I would have to look into getting it silvered again.
I had forgot about the box until I turned around and saw it on the night stand
where I had set it. I picked it up and sat at the edge of the bed and opened
it. There was something wrapped up in old handkerchief. When I unwrapped it an
old but heavy key fell into my lap. I picked it up and held it up and that is
when I noticed something strange in the mirror.
I stood up and walked over to the
mirror. There was a door and it was not the reflection of the door in my room.
It was obvious what I was supposed to do but did not expect it to happen. I
took the key and aimed it at the key hole of this special door.
The whole mirror shimmered as my
hand went right through this liquid surface. The key fit perfectly. I quickly
pulled my hand back and took a step back but as soon as I did, I realised I was
not in my room anymore. I whirled around and I didn’t know where I was. That
same smell from the antique shop tickled my nose. There was movement in the
room so I knew I was sharing the same room with someone. When I looked in the
direction that the movement took place, I saw him. It was the same young man
that was at the shop.
“Who are you and how did I get
here?”
His eyebrow went up. “You used the
key.”
“Yes, but key opened a door that
only showed itself in the mirror. How is that possible? What is that mirror?”
“First, my name is Julian and I
come from a world not like yours. That mirror was a portal and the key you used
got you here.”
“Why me?”
“That mirror waited a long time for
you to show up. You were missing.”
I looked for the door but it was not there. I
was trapped. “I was not missing but now that I am here…I’m missing now.”
He shook his head. “As difficult as
this is, you are now home.”
“No, I’m not. You have to let me back.”
“Don’t panic, you can go back to
your world anytime but give me a few moments of you time.”
So I stood still as he came closer
to me. My chest was alive with fear.
“Please do not be afraid. I will
not hurt you, I promise. I have waited for this day for a very long time. To
finally find you and bring you home. It feels like what you say-surreal.”
I looked into his dark blue eyes.
There was something a bit different with his eyes. “What are you,” I asked him.
“I’m an ethereal creature, just
like you.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m
human like everybody else.”
He grinned. “I suppose that is to
be expected since you were raised in that world. But trust me, you are not
human.” He came closer and took my hand. This coolness raced up my arm at his
touch. I couldn’t snatch my hand back. My hand was getting cold.
Finally, he let go and covered my
cold hand with my warm one. I was not what he was.
“Stay with me for a while Anna and
I will show you what you really are. Okay?”
Before I could answer I found
myself standing outside the old antique shop looking in. Why was I out here? I
looked around and a sense of relief washed over me. I was back but I knew what
had happened. I thought about going inside the shop but instead I looked though
the mirror. There he was at the counter. Our eyes met and he smiled at me.
I turned and started to walk home.
I shoved my hand into my pockets and I felt something hard. I pulled it out and
it was the key. I stared at it for a bit and then quickly put it back into my
pocket and started back home.
I never went near the little box
that I put the key back in and I never went down the street where the little
antique shop was. The mirror got moved to a back room. It was hanging on the
wall but when I did this, the silver on the mirror got even darker. Dark ugly ink
like stains started to appear. I shut the door to that room.
It was in the middle of the night
when I heard what sounded like something crashing to the floor. I was hoping it
wasn’t the new TV I had bought and got hung on the wall. Very quickly I got out
of bed and headed for the living room. But from the hallway, I could see the
moon’s light reflecting on the screen. It had not fallen. The moon’s light
through the window drew me closer. Everything outside was this white blue. I
often liked nights like this and was tempted to unlock the garden doors and
slip out but then I remembered the crash reminding me that something had
fallen.
Walking down the hallway, I caught
a light glowing from under the closed door where the mirror was. My hands
prickled. Very cautiously I made my way to the door not knowing what to expect.
I turned the knob ever so slowly and when I heard the click, I almost jumped.
Taking a peek inside, I could see
the glow was coming from the mirror. My eyes widened as in the mirror I could
see the door and it was swinging in a very breezy night. Even when I stepped
into the room, I could feel the breeze whip at my hair. How was that possible?
Even the curtains were moving in the room. I walked up to the mirror and didn’t
know what to do with this thing. The inky dark stains were still there.
I made a mistake.
My hand went up to touch the mirror
and it went right through as expected but something grabbed my hand and pulled
me. I fought but I had nothing to grab onto and then I was on the ground. My
heart leaped as now I could see black men’s shoes. I slowly looked up into
Julian’s face.
He sighed. “Let me help you up.” He
offered me his hand. I took it as I felt there was no choice. Now I was facing
him and his dark eyes almost glowed like a cat in the night. “Don’t be afraid.
I didn’t like it that you took the mirror and hid it in a back room. I had to
do something to bring you here.”
“Why? I don’t’ belong here.”
“Yes, I know what you believe but I
am here to convince you that you are wrong.”
I was stunned and bewildered at the
same time. How was I going to get back and away from Julian?
“Come with me and I will show you
what is your real home and maybe something will tickle your memory of this
world.”
He held out his hand and when I
took too long he took my hand and pulled me along down a dark path. I pulled
back. “I’m not going down some dark path with you.”
“I said you were safe.” His voice
sounded a bit flustered but I didn’t care, I wasn’t going to go anywhere with
him. I whirled around and ran for the opening that went through the mirror but
when I got to it, it was like hitting a wall. I fell back.
I looked back a Julian who was
waiting with impatience for me to come back. He held out his hand again. I went
back to him but I did not take his hand. We walked side by side as we entered
down this dark path. The moon did at least light it up a bit through the trees
that closed us in.
“What is this place?” I could hear
my voice almost echo under the canopy of trees.
“This is an ethereal world that
lives between human dreams and this that no one understands.”
I looked over at him with a rather
confused look and he only grinned. “You will understand when memory comes
back.”
“What happened to me then? How did
I end up in the human world?”
“You wondered off and curiosity
took you through a portal into the human world. You weren’t very old.”
“Who looked after me then and
raised me?” I whipped my head over to him. He grinned. “You have no idea do you?
Do you remember parents at all?” He shook his head. “Of course you don’t. There
was no human parents to look out for you. Only our kind. The problem was
getting you back here. Your curiosity always got a head of us.”
I was starting to shake. This can’t
be true as I tried to remember someone with me when I was little. Who was I
with when I went past the shop? My mind was reeling trying to find answers. But
none would come.
I stopped and so did he. “If you
have magic, then give me my memories back.”
He sighed. “You don’t think I tried
that? You wouldn’t’ let me.”
“Well, try now.”
Julian stood in front of me and it
so dark here now. The moons light was now blocked by the thick branches and
leaves of the trees that towered over us.
But his eyes slightly shone. He
took my hold of both of my hands and he started to chant. I did not know what
he was saying and I could feel no change. Just as I was about to tell him so,
he dropped my hands. He looked right at me locking me with those eyes of his.
Suddenly I felt this wave come over
me and I could this little girl running down this moonlit path. I came up to a
door in the forest and I pushed it open and on the other side was a street. I
was standing on the street in front of this antique shop. I tried to run back but
the door was not there anymore. I was frightened and suddenly this wash of fear
took over me and my whole body shook. I clasped my hands to my ears. “Stop it,
please.”
Julian placed his hands over my
hands and said a few words and everything went away.
“It’s alright, you are safe now and
there is no need to fell afraid like that ever again.”
His voice was calming and I felt
safe for the first time in a long time. I fell into his arms almost of sheer
exhaustion. He held me tightly and I felt his lips against my temple. It felt
strange. I looked up at him and his eyes wre hapf closed as he whispered.
“Welcome back my love. I have waited for a very long time to be with you. Now
we can be together forever.” His lips were no on tip of mine and the world went
into a crazy spin.
It was some time after that I soon
realized that I was not in my own world but I was not yet ready to go back to
it. I was too use to this one but Julian was patient. I helped him at the shop.
I got rid of the dust and tidied up things. He didn’t’ know why as he said that
we would be going home soon and I knew this world was most uncomfortable for
him.
But the day came and Julian said he
wanted to celebrate my return with our wedding. He had not asked me and I told
him that. He just laughed and pulled me close kissing me.
It came to me the day I left the
human world. Those memories I had of me as a little girl running down this path
were true but the reason I was running came to me. I looked at Julian and he
knew what had just come to me but it was too late.
I was running from him.
TIP JAR:
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