Mirrored

Aunt Candace's

Aunt Candace's house would be a very beautiful place if she'd only get it fixed, I jut don't know if she can afford to spend so much money.

The house's walls and roof were clearly rotting, and it was very obvious she had tried to cover up some holes on the ceiling.

Vines coming from the ground climb their way up the dirty white walls, either wrapping around the pillars in the front of the house, or loosely grasping onto the walls, trying to climb higher.

The lawn is a complete mess on its own, reaching almost up to my knees. Weeds growing all over, even making its way through the broken floorboards on the porch.

Surrounding the house is only deep, dark forests. Any animal that lives in the woods has no understanding of the term "peaceful", because frogs loudly Croak at the birds singing an awful tune back, making me want to chuck my head down the lonely road leading to nowhere.

"Here it is ladies! Your home for the next few months!" My dad smiles, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door.

As soon as my dad steps out, my Aunt opens the screen door, smiling and running out to hug him for the first time in awhile.

My mom gets out on the other side, walking around the car and hugging my Aunt excitedly after the long hug given to my dad.

"Hey Candace! It's been so long!" My mom says happily.

"Oh, I've missed you two, so where's the baby girl? I haven't seen her in ages" my aunts says, smiling widely.

I groan and get out, putting on a smile and waving generously. "Hi aunt Candace, I missed you." I say as gingerly as I can.

Aunt Candace has black wavy hair like mine, but her hair grows grey at the roots. Only the ends of her hair are still it's natural color. Her eyes are a bluish grey color, just like my dads, except they look like they're filled with curiosity, excitement, and utter craziness.

Wrinkles spread across her soft pale skin, making her seem fragile. She doesn't look like a grandmother would because her beauty keeps her young, but she still look old enough to be called an "elder".

"Fiona! Your so grown!" She gasps, running up to me and giving me a hug. "And what's this? I don't remember you having purple hair!" She says, touching the streak of purple hair on my bangs.

"That's because I dyed it purple. do you like it?" I ask her. She frowns at me slightly, and steps back, examining it closely then looking at me up and down.

"Hmm, it does suit you, I'm just surprised you did it" she shakes her head, then she notices Katelyn and she gasps again, running past me and hugging her.

"And you must be Katelyn! Your so pretty! It's nice to meet you!" She exclaims, pulling away and holding her at arms length.

"It's nice to meet you too ma'am! Your house is lovely!" She smiles kindly, impressing my aunt in seconds with her beauty, charm, and politeness.

"Oh, darling, you're to kind!" She smiles wider, her eyes wrinkling at the edges. "Oh! I see, you two are matching! How lovely!" She claps, pointing to both of our dyed streaks.

"I think we're all going to get along just fine! Why don't you girls go pick your rooms while I talk to my brother and his wife."

"Alright!" Katelyn smiles, taking our bags and running inside, which appears much worse then the outside.

On the inside of the house, cracks are spread throughout the walls, the pale green paint on the walls crisping up. The floor boards look as if they haven't been cleaned in years. They're weak frame creaking softly with each step.

In the other room, the wallpaper is curling at the edges, showing a white wall behind it. Bowls and pots sit all over the floor, water dripping down from the ceiling and landing inside of them with a small tap, which echoes through the house for just a second before the next drop comes and disrupts the last.

There is a beautiful chandler dangling on the ceiling, but it's edges are rusting and gathering mold, spiderwebs hanging all over the lights. As if we were walking through The Haunted Mansion from Disney World.

"Come on, Fi! Let's check out the upstairs!" Katelyn says excitedly, pulling me up the unstable stairs. The upstairs is the same story, plus a couple of pictures on the walls to cover the chipped and cracked paint.

Katelyn runs down the hall, stopping at each door and looking inside, most doors leading to bedrooms.

There are five rooms all together. One is Aunt Candace's room, one is my uncles old study, ones the upstairs bathroom, and the other two are guest bed rooms.

My Uncles study- which I remember from when I was 7, is the last door on the right. When I go to open it, the door is locked. Katie frowns and tries looking through the hole of the lock, still unable to see anything.

"Man, that stinks" I mumble. Katelyn shrugs and turns towards the stairs again running to the first door next to the stairs.

"I call this room!" She announces, running in. "awh, no fair! Can't we do Rock Paper Scissors?" I ask.

"Nope, I called it!" She smiles, opening the door and walking in. In her room, she has a blue bedspread. Her walls are light blue, with plain white birds as the wallpaper. The beds head rubs against the left wall, damaging it slightly.

Next to the bed, on the right side is a desk with two small drawers. a little vase with no flowers in it and a dusty lamp sits on top.

On the other side is a shelf with a few books, across from that, there's a large desk with more drawers, but a random hole above that where it looks like a mirror was supposed to be.

Aside from the furniture, there's a small closet beside the larger desk, and a large window across from the door, almost completely covered in vines so it's impossible to look through.

"I love it!" Katelyn squeals, putting her stuff down, "Come on, let's go check out yours!"

She takes my hand and runs down the hall again- to the door across from my uncles, and opens it.

My room is almost exactly like Katelyn's, but the room is purple, and instead of birds, my print it white roses.

"Great, I love it" I mumble sarcastically.

"I know right! Your aunt has style!"

"It was sarcasm, Katelyn" I answer.

Katelyn smiles at me and walks out, "I know, I'm just gonna pretend like your a nicer person then you are." I frown at her and walk out, looking at the bathroom.

The bathroom is small, and has two sinks, a toilet, and a shower, Like bathrooms should. Except where the the mirror should be, there's just an empty frame.

"Are there any mirrors in this house?!" I yell, stomping my foot and turning to see Aunt Candace standing at the door. "Sorry about that dear, the mirrors began to crack and grow with moss, so I had to throw them out. Now come on, your mother and father are leaving, go say your goodbyes."

I sigh and nod, walking downstairs and hugging my parents at the door when I see them.

"Bye sweetheart." my dad says, kissing my forehead.

"I love you, dear. we'll call you as much as possible." my mom says, hugging be tightly.

"Bye mom, bye dad, I love you." I smile half heartedly. They hug me one last time then hug my aunt and Katelyn, walking out and driving away.

I shut the door and look down. The further they drive, the more upset I feel.

Aunt Candace sends us upstairs afterwards. We unpack, chat with her a little, eat dinner, then head upstairs. After hours of staring at a cracked ceiling, I manage to fall asleep. wishing I could be home again.