~•(Not so) Short Stories •~

The Mirror

It was a cold Thursday night, and the gusts of wind pushed me left and right. I had a small bag with only my camera and water. My clothes were fully black, considering I was sneaking into private property, but I really needed to get a story written, or else I wouldn't have any income at all. While walking in the darkness, I came across the property, with a dim street light glowing pitifully. I walked as quickly as possible, not wanting to get caught. I could vaguely see a worn-out stone pathway that lead to the manor, so I walked in that direction, however, a horde of crows ambushed me. I stumbled back a little, feeling startled.

"How odd..." I spoke to myself, quietly. Crows meant something bad would happen.

I, unsuccessfully, tried to shake off the apprehension that was crawling into my head and continued the path with a false sense of will, blind to the possibilities of danger. I held my bag strap tightly and walked up to the door of the run-down manor. Hurriedly, I opened the door and walked in. The interior was as worse as its exterior, with the wallpaper peeling off and mold on every corner possible, which explained the putrid stench. Getting myself to ignore all the unappealing features, I started my quest of finding something worth writing about.

Time flew by like a flash before my eyes, and I could see the sun peeking out of the blanket of snow-covered fields. I rushed around the spacious house, feeling anxious about not finding anything. Right as I walked by a broken window, I saw people walking towards the house. The fear entered my body and mind with a sudden shock, and I struggled to find a place to hide but remembered the attic. Wasting no time, I sprinted toward the stairs to the attic. I ran up and closed the door, blocking it with a wooden cabinet for the extra guard. In that process, I came across something hanging on the wall, covered by a dusty ivory cloth. Curiosity took over me, and I walked over to it, a similar feeling of distress, like the crows, washing over me like a cold bucket of water. I pulled the cover off, only to see a lustrous yet grimy mirror, small in size. I looked closer and recognized some of the written scripts on the rim. I used my jacket sleeve to clean the dust off to read it.

"Open the realm of shards, enter the unspoken world...?" I read the Latin out loud, unaware of the consequences. Just as I did, the mirror let out a luminous and blinding light that conquered the darkness of the attic. Closing my eyes, I stood with my arms over them, as a shield. It took a while for the glow to disappear before I opened my eyes.

Uncovering myself, I was engulfed in an all-white room, it seemed like. I observed my surroundings, but there was no evidence of an entrance. The anxiety grew even bigger, and my palms were sweating. I frantically ran around, but there was no end to the plain abyss. Just as I sat down in defeat, a broad outline of a mirror popped up above me, similar to the one in the attic. Confusion eroded my thoughts, not knowing how this was happening, but it left as soon as it came when the same people I saw out the window of the manor entered the outline. I felt relieved that someone was here, assuming they were here to help, so I shouted as loud as my lungs could allow. I screamed for so long, but it appeared that none of them could hear me.

I watched as they came closer to the mirror, shining a flashlight into its reflective surface.

"I swear to you! I saw someone in the house last week!" a man spoke. Last week?

"I'm not sure there are traces of anything alive here sir, and it has been a week since you saw this, so I'm sure the person already left" a female officer, it looked like, responded. It hasn't been a week, has it?

"Wait! I'm right here! Please help me!" I screamed with avidity, but there was no use as I saw them leave with no care. Hot tears of frustration and helplessness poured out of my tired eyes, all my hope was sucked dry out of me. I fell down in exhaustion, my back laying flat on the colorless interior, with the mirror outline still present, when it hit me. I had arrived here right as I read out the words inscribed. All the color drained when I realized...

I was...In the mirror...With no escape.