Mei lay in bed and watched as the passing clouds cast shadows on her ceiling, lit only by the few rays of sunlight that peeked through the blinds. Two o’clock. The whisper of an urge to move from her position was drowned out by the occasional passing car. Who drives down this road at two in the afternoon? she wondered, but as the thought slipped away she made no motion to retain it. It was as inconsequential as the seconds that had passed since she had first awoken. Her mother, it seemed, had not bothered to check whether or not she had gone to school. The creak of her door pierced the sustained silence. Mei’s body jerked upright; Rose was back.
“Mommy said I could have some coffee but then she wouldn’t let me drink any,” said the young girl standing in the doorway. Her unblinking eyes were focused on something ahead of her, but Mei did not know what it was. There was nothing remarkable about the wall at which Rose pointed her gaze; off-white and completely bare, it was the type of thing one would expect to see, or rather ignore, in one of those office buildings full of cubicles and disgruntled employees.
“She said I could have all the candy too. The candy makes me smile.” Her face twisted into a sort of a grimace. “Is this a smile? Teacher said we smile when we’re happy but I don’t know what she means. Is my smile good, Mei?” Mei tried not to look away.
“Yes, that’s very good.”
“Does this mean I’m good at school?”
“I guess so.”
“Can I have my coffee now?”
“I don’t have any coffee, Rose.” Rose’s face flushed.
“But you have to. You have to.” As her voice rose, Mei began to panic.
“Look, I’ll find some coffee, okay? I’ll get you some coffee.” Rose giggled.
“Mommy said I could have whipped cream too.” Mei sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.” Rose watched her as she lowered herself onto the floor.
“Hurry up, Mei.” Her eyes followed Mei from her bed to the doorway, her gaze remaining steady even as Mei awkwardly stepped around her and into the hallway. Mei wasn’t entirely comfortable turning her back on Rose, but she reminded herself that Rose had had many chances and nothing bad had ever happened. Besides, she told herself, she’s just a little girl.
As they progressed along the corridor Mei worried that Rose might slip away, but she always stayed exactly seven paces behind her.
“Mommy said I could have gummy bears with my coffee.” Mei sighed.
“Rose I don’t know if we have gummy bears.”
“But Mommy said...”
“I know what Mommy said, but maybe she forgot to buy gummy bears. We’ll see.” They reached the kitchen, a room similar in size and color to Mei’s bedroom yet seemingly smaller. Mei shuddered. The walls seemed to be closing in on her. Nothing new, but unpleasant nonetheless. Rose stood in the doorway and stared quietly as Mei searched the various cabinets and shelves for the candy in question.
“They’re under the tile,” she said quietly. Mei whirled around.
“What?”
“They’re under that tile. There. The one you’re standing on.” She pointed to Mei’s feet. Mei, perplexed, lifted the tile and found that it came up easily and that there were, in fact, gummy bears in a small shoebox beneath the floor.
“Rose, these are filthy!” she exclaimed. “How long have they been here?”
“I don’t know,” Rose quietly answered, “I don’t think I put them there. Can I have some coffee now?”
They sipped in silence. Rose’s face bobbed up and down behind the mug that was almost as large as her head. Mei found herself staring at a spider next to the sink. She watched, almost as if in a trance, as it crawled across the counter and up the metal faucet. Hello, Spider.
Hello Mei. Her chair, pushed back suddenly with inexplicable force, clattered to the floor. Her feet carried her to the sink. The fingers of her left hand grasped the knob outlined in red, those on her right the blue. She barely heard Rose’s scream over the rush of the water.
Mei stood alone in the dark room. The girl was gone. The spider was gone. Everything was gone but the fading wallpaper. Down the hall, a door slammed. The sound echoed in the empty space and was followed by soft footsteps on the hard tile floor. Mei walked to the doorway and saw a figure standing at the opposite end of the hall. Click. Click. Click. The footsteps became louder and harsher as the figure approached. Mei felt herself being pulled forward, as if every point on her body was attached to an invisible thread. Click. Click. Click. She reached out to the figure, again as if she was not in control of her arm. Click. Click. Click.
Her hand met cold glass. Her eyes widened. In front of her was a mirror, with an ornate, gilded frame. The figure, now recognizable as herself, twitched and turned its head to something behind it. It turned back, and Mei saw that its eyes had turned to black voids. Again, she felt the tugging, urging her to turn her head, but she knew that whatever happened to the mirror girl would happen to her too.
It doesn’t hurt.
You won’t feel a thing.
Believe me. The whispers surrounded her head.
But why, she thought, should I trust you?
Because I’m you. The mirror girl blinked and smiled, eyes still pitch black, and raised her arms. The mirror shattered into millions of smiling pieces and Mei could see the end of the hall. Rose was standing there.
“Hi, Mei!” She twisted her mouth again. “Look, I’ve been working on my smile some more!” A shiver ran through Mei’s spine. “Thank you for the coffee!” Mei looked down. The shattered glass by her feet had disappeared. “I got some paint. Will you paint with me?” Mei sighed.
“Okay, but only for a little. I had homework.”
“Is that like my smiling?” Rose asked.
“Kind of... I’ll show you if you want.” Rose smiled again.
“Can I help you with it?”
“I guess...”
Mei found herself in the room at the end of the hall. She looked around.
“Rose!”
“What?” The voice echoed as if it came from far away.
“Rose! How did I get here?”
“Why are you yelling?” The child stepped out from behind her. “I’m right here.”
