Ch 1 Mirrored Forest
The setting sun reflecting off of the mirrors gave the girl an eerie feeling as the cold autumn wind swept past her, making chills go down her spine. The forest used to be bright and cheerful ten years ago when everything was taken cared of; the weeds were cut, flowers, plants, and trees were watered since there was constant droughts. The girl remembered her grandfather, how they would play a game together were he would tack mirrors to the trees. She had to find a certain mirror in a certain amount of time given; so, if she found the right mirror she would win. She never did find the mirror, because her grandfather would tack up more of them.
Her red hair kept blowing in her face, making her come back to reality. She took out a pink bandana and tied up her hair from blowing in her face too much. She started walking back, her gray flip flops kicked up rocks; in addition to stepping on her pink pants with hearts on them. She walked through the forest of mirrors hoping to find the right one this time. She could almost feel her grandfather standing there watching. He had passed away the ten years ago in his sleep from a stroke and was then buried with his wife after a funeral service.
Some of the mirrors were rusted, cracked, or even broken. She looked around until coming up to a mirror that was brand new and well kept. She wondered why it hadn’t rusted yet like the others. “Maybe this is the mirror. He might have had someone come out and take care of it,” she breathed looking into it. She jumped back as she saw not her reflection, but something not human.
She had dropped her pink inflatable dolphin she was carrying with her and scrambled to pick it up. The forest seemed to darken to almost pitch black as she looked again into the mirror. Her heart raced and sweat came off her hands. The thing that looked back didn’t have green eyes and glasses or a white T-shirt with hearts, but a cream colored mist in the form of her and pure black eyes staring. “Hey Fira, hurry up and come on. We have to go!” Abigale called to her at the edge of the woods. Fira looked up and the forest lit up with the sun still setting.
“I’m coming, just one second,” Fira called back. Abigale nodded turning and walked back to where they parked. Fira turned to see the mirror had turned rusted and broken. She looked to see if anything else phenomenal would happen, but didn’t.
“Come on Fira, your Aunt Doris’s nurses called saying you need to take care of her for the rest of the night,” Abigail’s mother, Hanana yelled at her. She made it to the SUV Expedition and climbed in side closing the door behind her. Afterwards when she got home, she tucked her Aunt Doris in and whispered goodnight to her before shutting the door. Fira crept down the stairs and into her bedroom located near the study room, then crawled into her bed and fell asleep. Fira dreamt of her Grandfather and how they would spend time playing the mirror game.
“Hey, hey Grandfather? Will I ever find the mirror?” Fira asked in her dream.
“You will, some day. I promise okay,” her grandfather looked at her. She looked up, but never remembered his face exactly.
“Fira…, Fira!” Fira woke to the sound of her aunt yelling. She jumped up and stumbled out of her room. She flew up the stairs and into her aunt’s room to be surprised by an unexpected visitor. A boy, about what looked seventeen or the same age as Fira, was sprawled on the floor, sweating, and breathing heavily. He had semi long silver hair, wore what seemed to be a navy blue military pea coat with a gold pattern around the end of the long sleeves, black slacks, also a pendent around his wrist. “Help him up Fira, just don’t stand there,” her aunt looked at him then back at her. She nodded and walked over grabbing both his arms, then lifting him up.
He seemed to be much taller than her now that he was off the ground. She took him over to the green sofa in the room, carefully laying him down then moved the fake palm tree out of the way of his head. “Quick go get some water and,” her aunt paused to take a breath, “a rag, then place it on his forehead.” Fira nodded once more then scurried back out of the room and down the stairs. She turned right heading towards the kitchen, then searched for a pan, after she found a small white pan, Fira filled it up with cold water, and next she carefully took it up stairs, but spilled some water along the way.
Fira set the pan down so she could go back down stairs, but when she did, she slipped and fell on the last few steps. Fira got up groaning in pain, but still walked over to a closet next to the wide stair case, opening it up, and then grabbed a small yellow towel, and took back up. She put the towel in the water, soaking it, brought back up ringing it out, and then placed it on his forehead. After repeating the process she felt his head for any signs of the fever. It had gone down some, but was still there. Fira put her back up against the opposite side of the sofa slipping into sleep as the sun started to rise.
After an hour had passed by, the boy sat up and the towel on his head fell to floor. He looked down in a daze then looked up at Fira still sleeping. He felt his head relieved the fever had gone away; Fira seemed to shake in the cold room and he took off his coat then placed it on her making her stop shivering. He got up walking sluggishly to the door opening it and slipped out unnoticed. Fira grabbed the coat waking up to see the couch empty and her aunt fast asleep.
“Mistress Fira? Are you in there?” an English accent voice called through the door. Fira got up and quickly hid the pan and towel under the couch. Before she could hide the coat the door opened up revealing one of the house maids. “Mistress, are you alright? I couldn’t find you in your room. I know you worry about your aunt, but you could at least worry about yourself sometime,” the maid whispered as to not wake Fira’s aunt.
“Yes, I know,” Fira spoke with a dry cracked voice. The maid took notice of the coat and reached out to grab it, but Fira picked it up before she could. “Miss Lilac, can you send some tea and coffee to my room please. I will be getting ready for my classes,” Fira quickly left the room and back down the stairs to her room. She tossed the coat onto her bed and went over to the closet to find something to wear. She picked out a black dress with white lace along with two black bow hair clips.
She fixed her hair into curls and slipped on white socks with a pair of black sandals. She looked at herself in a long mirror, but the non human figure had reappeared. Fira’s heart raced as the figure seemed to try to move out of the mirror. “Mistress, I brought your tea and coffee as instructed,” Lilac called through the door. Fira still couldn’t move until Lilac cracked the door open, “Mistress?”
“Uh, yes let me take that,” Fira walked over and took the tray with shaky setting it down on the dresser her heart still pounding. She pasted on a fake smile while turning to thank Lilac and closed the door. Fira looked back into the mirror to find her reflection and not the mist creature. She picked up the tea; sipping on it she had a feeling that she was being watched. Fira looked around her room and spotted silver hair sticking out from underneath her bed.
