Mirror Mirror

Chapter 7

Stephen didn’t fare very well that night either.  The feeling of dread grew, tightening his chest and knotting his insides.  By the time the sun came up, he was grateful that he’d had an hour of sleep.  The night was finally over.

Sarah called him at eight.  He was on his way out so he let the machine answer.

“Hey Stephen, it’s me.   You’ve left already, but I just wanted to say thank you.  It was very sweet of you to hang up my mirror for me.  So glad you’re over it now.  Sorry I missed you.  I’ll see you later.  Bye.”

It took him a few seconds to register what she had just said.  By the time he grabbed the phone she had already hung up.  “I didn’t hang up the mirror!”  He screamed into the phone.  “I didn’t...” He stopped, realizing there was nobody there.

He rushed out of the house, and jumped into the car, hoping that Sarah would still be home.

He’d been on his way to work, but all that could wait till he knew what was going on.   Mr. Jacobs wouldn’t mind him being a little late.

He shifted the little car into gear, and took of as fast as he could.

He pulled over and hopped out, barely shutting the door behind him.  He slammed himself against the door, pressing the doorbell insistently.  Nobody answered.

 Dammit!

Still, not convinced that she’d left already, he shouted her name staring up at her bedroom window.  Nothing… 

She probably was out.

He rattled at the doorknob and turned it.  The door was unlocked, and it swished open silently.

Slowly, he stepped inside.  He shouldn’t be there, he knew that, but he had to see for himself.

He went up the stairs slowly, one step at a time, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.  He felt a little silly doing it, knowing that the house was empty but nevertheless, his breathing grew ragged as he got closer to her room.  He could feel the tightening in his chest again.

He entered hesitantly.  Everything seemed normal, everything, except for the mirror mounted on the wall.  It hung there proudly, the sunlight playing on the lighter side of the wood.

“How?”  He gasped inwardly.  He definitely didn’t do that.

Someone was behind him.  He felt it before he saw it, and he turned around quickly...

Sarah! He took a deep breath as relief flooded through him.

She looked surprised.  “What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to...?”

“Be at work?” He finished for her.  “Yes.  I was on my way.  Thought I’d drop by, see how you were doing.”

She looked at him strangely.  “Are you okay? You look as though you’ve just seen a ghost.” 

“I’m fine.”  He lied.

“I called you a little while ago, but seeing as you’re here now...Thank you.” She said, gesturing at the mirror.

He tore his gaze away from her and glared at it.

“It wasn’t me.”

She frowned, stepping up beside him and following his eyes.

“I didn’t put it there.”  He swallowed the tightness clogging his throat.

She shook her head and started to chuckle.  “You’re trying to scare me aren't you? Well it’s not working.  I’m not scared. There is no curse, Stephen.  Now go to work before you get fired.  I’ll see you this evening.”

Stephen stared deeply into her eyes trying to hide his puzzlement.  Then without another word, he walked away.  He would have to try again later, to convince her that he was telling the truth. As he reached his car, he felt a strong gust of wind smash into him, shoving him into the side of his car, forcing him away... and then it was gone.

He went to work with his mind on everything else but selling antiques.

“Could he have been serious?” Sarah wondered after Stephen left.  If that was an act, it sure was good, because that last look he threw her was convincing.  She pushed the thought from her mind.

An odd feeling that passed through her later that morning.  She shivered, but it wasn’t from cold…It was from power.  Some kind of power ran through her…

Weird. 

She knew something had happened last night, but she couldn’t quite place it.  She was changing somehow, but strangely enough, she liked how it made her feel. 

She opened the fridge and scratched around for something to eat, making a mental note to start stocking up on some healthy foods.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten in.  All she had left inside was a liter of low fat milk, and some mouldy cheese.  No eggs no juice and no bread.  She threw the cheese in the dustbin and grabbed the milk.  Opening the box slightly, she wrinkled her nose and sniffed at the contents.  It was fine.  She opened the cupboards looking for leftover cereal or biscuits and found a little something stashed away behind the two cans of spaghetti.

She pulled up a chair and sat down. Throwing the corn flakes into a bowl with her right hand, she reached out for the milk with her left.  She missed, and the box tipped over.  Jumping up quickly, and muttering curses out loud, she picked it up.  Drip...drip.  The sound made her stop and her eyes turned towards the floor.

Blood was pooling at the leg of the table.  “Oh my god!”  She exclaimed, as she bent over to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Dreaming!  That was what she had been dreaming about!  Vivid flashbacks of the night she had, hit her off balance, sending her tumbling over the spilt milk.  She was lost in the depths of the hallucination.

All she could see was blood spurting out in front of her, spilling out from her.

Her wrists!  She was bleeding, dying, but all she could think of was how beautiful she looked.

“Come to me and I’ll show you.”  The tone of the spoken words slowly brought her back.

“Come...I’ll show you...come.”

She followed the voice upstairs, as if hypnotized. Her clothes were drenched, but she didn’t care.

“Come to me Sarah…”

She went-she wasn’t afraid-not at all...