The Mirror

     The mirror was beautiful, gilded in gold and antiqued with a matte black finish that gleamed with a lusterless glow. Intricate scrollwork wound its way around the glass in a maze of twists and turns running the whole length of the mirror. It was overlooking the room clearly the centerpiece, pining for attention, and I couldn't help but give it what it wanted as it was stunning in all of its grander. The mirror struck an imposing figure being at least six feet high stretching from floor to ceiling, and it was clearly aged as noticeable by the slight warping of the glass which seemed to only enhance its splendor. It watched my every movement as I glided about my new room taking in the mahogany canopied bed, heavy dark furniture, and lace trim curtains, but my eyes kept wandering back to the mirror.

      I couldn't believe that this room was now mine or the house for that matter. Both seemed too grand, too impressive for my not so extraordinary life. This whole house looked like something from a movie, like some imposing mansion that some snobby rich family would dwell in. It did not look like the house that someone like me would live in, but here I was standing in the most striking room I had ever stepped in, and it was mine. Whenever my best friend, Charlotte, had suggested we get a house together, I had expected a small, quaint little cottage just large enough for the both of us. I had never imagined this.

      That evening I sat unpacking my belongings storing them in their proper places whenever a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I startled and glanced over the room seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Charlotte?" I called before remembering that she had left to pick up some groceries a little while ago. I shrugged thinking I must have just imagined it and returned to my task of storing my possessions. Only a few minutes had passed before something darted across the surface of the mirror. I quickly got to my feet and turned to look around the room once again to still find nothing. Surely, I hadn't just imagined it twice. I was positive that I had seen something in the mirror. I strode over to the warped glass seeing only my wide-eyed expression staring back at me. I'm crazy. There is no one here but me. Only me. I decided I needed a break and went to take a nice long shower to clear my thoughts. It had been a tiresome day with the moving and getting settled in. Maybe I just needed to rest. After my shower, I crept back into my room with my hair still wet and settled on my bed. My eyes felt heavy and soon they began to flutter shut. Everything faded away as my vision went black.

      I awoke to a strange noise and tried to clear the sleep from my head. Everything seemed to be swaying as I sat up searching for the source of the rude-awakening. My eyes landed on the mirror, and for a moment, my eyes couldn't seem to register what I was seeing. It was as if a mist had settled over the surface like whenever one takes a really hot shower and steams up the mirror. I stumbled off my bed and crept over to the looking glass confused. I ran my hand over the cool, smooth surface trying to displace the fog, but it wouldn't come away. It wasn't even wet; it was almost as if the haze had formed on the other side of the glass.

      Right before my eyes, lines began to appear on the mirror as if the fog was being wiped away. It reminded me of how when I was younger I would breathe on the backseat car window and draw figures before the mist faded taking the image with it. The lines seemed to be forming letters, and I watched in horror as it spelled out the words 'ESUOH EVAEL' all in capital letters. I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but I honestly didn't want to find out. Quickly turning on my heel, I went to run out of the room, but something was wrong. The door to the room seemed to have disappeared even though it had been there only moments before.

     Panicking, I ran my hands over the spot where the door should be, hoping to feel the rough wood beneath my fingertips, but instead, I was greeted with only the smooth paint of the wall. Turning about the room, my eyes alighted on the window, and I strode to it, but before I could reach it, the wall had swallowed it up just like the door. I cried out in anguish pounding my fists against the barricade until they throbbed to no avail. "Let me out!" I screamed until my throat ached knowing that no one was here to help me. I paced the room for hours frustrated and weary. Eventually, I crumbled to the floor in defeat and drifted into an uneasy sleep propped against the foot of my bed.

      I jerked awake to the sound of glass shattering and shielded my face as shards and fragments of the mirror rained down on me. The lights in the room suddenly flickered and went out leaving me cloaked in total darkness. I heard glass crunching but couldn't see what was making the sound as I tried to scramble away from approaching footsteps.

      Suddenly, a dull light filled the room seeming to seep from the mirror, and I saw that where the glass used to be was a black emptiness swirling within the frame like a turbulent black cloud. That's when I noticed a shadow had detached itself from the mirror and was heading straight for me. It was dominating being at least six feet high, and it fixed empty solid white eyes on me with a blank stare. I cringed as its gaze swept over me and felt goosebumps rise along my flesh, turning my blood to ice. It reached towards me, and I scrambled back colliding with the wall. That's when the horror of being trapped settled in causing me to go into a panic.

      The shadow came closer, its arm outstretched, and I batted it away trying to avoid its touch. However, it was determined and lunged forward wrapping icy fingers around my wrist in a vice-like grip. I screamed and tried to wretch my arm free, but it held tight as it seemed to shift and change before my eyes. Its features became more solid and a familiar likeness started to take shape. One moment it was a shadow, and the next it was a girl with cascading brown waves of hair and scared hazel eyes staring back at me. Momentarily, I thought I was staring in a mirror as I took in the exact copy of me. The only difference between us was that the other me seemed to have a leering grin on her face as she dragged me to the mirror against my will. Even as I struggled to pull away, she kept a firm grip on me until she had me right in front of the broken mirror. I stared at her confused before she gave me a hard shove sending me tumbling back into the mirror. I expected to fall through to the other side, but instead, I found myself staring at an identical mirror except this one wasn't broken and the glass was intact.

      In the looking glass, I saw the other me staring back at me with a vindictive smirk on her face. She gave a slight wave then turned her back on me as I heard a familiar voice reach my ears, "Olivia I'm back. I got groceries."

     The other me called out in a falsely sweet voice, "Coming," and then left the room through the door that was somehow magically back. I tried to chase after her, but I slammed into the cool glass of the mirror feeling cold dread knot in my stomach.

"Charlotte! Charlotte I'm here!" I cried bagging my fists against the glass knowing she would never hear me. My breath on the mirror sent a light fog creeping over the glass revealing the words, 'LEAVE HOUSE' in all capital letters.