The Silver Mirror

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~One week later

Disrespect us, no they won't. Boy, don't even try to touch me. Boy, this beat is crazy! This is how they made me. Houston, Texas baby. This goes out to all my girls that's in the club rocking the latest. Who would buy it for themselves and get more money later. I think I need a barber(barber). None of these bitches can fade me (fade me). I'm so good with this. I remind you I'm so hood with this.

The small family finally dusted, swept, mopped, and moved in. All they needed to do was get rid of the junk from the attic so they can put the dog up there. It was a small enough space for him to live so why not? 

Ellie, putting Beyoncé on pause, climbed up the stairs and opened the door to the attic. The door creaked open and she was instantly hit with the smell of dust and musk. Whoever had this room last must not have come here often. 

Cooper ran past her and trotted merrily around the room, sniffing it out. Dumb dog, she thought. Ellie moved more in and looked around. It was just a few pieces of furniture draped with white sheets here and there. It didn't look like too much work. Ellie moved more in and a silver glint caught her eye. She looked to where the glint was and saw a white cloth hung on top of something silver. She guessed it was silver because there was a silver corner of something sticking out underneath it. 

Ellie walked closer to it, slowly, and found a note sticking on it. It had runny black ink on it that read, "Abandon all hope all ye who look into this mirror." She scoffed and crumpled up the paper. What a tacky halloween trick. She removed the dusty sheet and it revealed a beautiful antique silver mirror. Why would anyone want to leave this behind? She looked into it, not even thinking twice about the warning note. At the top of the mirror was a tree which roots circled the polished glass and leaves that fell from it which made it look even more beautiful. She couldn't help but admire it's beauty.

Ellie took it carefully in her hands, and walked down the stairs with it, Cooper following close behind her. She was careful in her steps to not break the mirror. 

"Ellie!" it was her mom's voice and Cooper shoved past her to run out. Ellie lost her footing and fell backwards, dropping the silver mirror. 

It wasn't just the glass that broke, but it was the whole mirror that shattered. Hundreds of tiny shards sprinkled the ground around Ellie like the sand at a beach. She got up, groaning, and looked at the mess she created.

On a closer inspection, she noticed a thick black fog coming out of the shards. Ellie backed up and watched the fog in fear. It welled up like a tornado and she saw two pairs of grey eyes looking at her through the fog. Her heart started to pound in her throat, her mouth went dry, and her hands grew sweaty. She had never felt this much fear before. What is this? She thought. 

"Ellie?" it was her dad's voice this time. The pairs of eyes darted in that direction, looked back at Ellie, then disappeared along with the fog just as her dad turned the corner. "Jesus, Ellie. Couldn't you hear your mom and I calling you? Come on! Dinner's ready." Ellie swallowed, hard, breathing heavily. "What's up, Honeybee? You look like you saw a ghost?"

"Nothing," she breathed. "Nothing at all. I just..." She looked down at the shards on the ground and looked back at her dad. "I saw this mirror and thought mom would like it... but Cooper pushed me and I dropped it. I'm sorry, I'll clean it up." She made to start picking up some of the pieces but her dad stopped her.

"No its ok!" he said quickly. "Just go and wash your hands for dinner. I'll clean this up. Don't worry about it."

Ellie grabbed the sleeve to her jacket nervously and nodded, making her way into the bathroom. She didn't dare look into that mirror and just focused on her hands, quickly cleaning them and heading back out. Her dad had gotten the vacuum and started cleaning the shattered mirror. Ellie felt her cheeks grow hot and ran downstairs into the kitchen.

The sweet smell of fried chicken wafted towards her. Her stomach rumbled and mouth watered immediately. She found her mom just finishing setting the table when she looked up at her daughter.

"Where you been?" her mom asked.

"I...uh...accidentally broke a mirror."

"Seven years bad luck, Bee."

"Buzz..." 

Ellie sat down at the table and looked at her hands. Was that just my imagination?

~~~~~

After dinner, cleaning up, and showering, Ellie lied on her bed in just boxers and a sports bra. Cooper lied next to her, sleeping. She unconsciously stroked his head, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Tomorrow's my first day of school, boy-o," she whispered. "I'm afraid. What if the stories about high school is real? I'll get milk thrown at me, slapped with books, maybe even die in a physics fire. Whatever a physics fire is." She looked over at him and realized she was talking to herself again. "Stop talking to yourself, Ellie." She mimicked her father's voice and smiled. "It's crazy." She closed her eyes and drifted off to a deep sleep.