The Story Behind The Black Mirror

Chapter 1: The Black Mirror

So I'm writing this first chapter as just an explanation for all the stories to come after this because trust me, I do not want to be the person that you all think made up these stories, though you probably still will anyway. I mean, who would be insane enough to believe these stories are all being shown to me by a weird "black mirror", as I've taken to calling it, that I found in my basement. Well, here's the backstory in full just so you understand where these stories are coming from and how they're being written, regardless of if you believe it or not.

My name is Johnathan Holland and I'm a self-made writer. Feel free to use that as evidence as to why this backstory is fake if you'd like, but regardless, being a writer, I spend a lot of time at home and recently, I've been struggling with writer's block and because of that, I decided to take a break. I am a very active person though, so I was trying to think of something to do while on this break, other than doing the same thing everyone else does and relax like a normal human being with my cat, Princess. I decided, in the end, to clean out my basement, something I've meaning to do for the last year now, due to the fact that, the thought of centuries worth of decaying relics in the home was bugging me immensely, but I never really had the time to do anything about it until now. So the next morning, I got dressed and prepared for hours of non-stop work as I started on my journey through piles of broken and worthless Christmas decorations, old photos, rotting furniture, rusted, broken tools my dad used to have, faded and torn clothing and Halloween costumes, and other prehistoric trinkets long forgotten by anyone of the living. One thing that stood out from the rest, which instantly caught my attention, was unlike anything I've ever seen. After collecting another moist, gooey box that was ruined due to a minor leak in my basement that was unknown to me, I caught a glimpse of a shiny and black object. I placed the box to the side and wiped the disgustingly damp cardboard slug from my hands as I walked back to investigate the object of my interest. Once I was finally able to make my way to it, I found it was a large full body fame that like a mirror but the one thing that stood out about it was that the mirror was black. Now, the reason I call it a mirror at all is because famed inside it is a black gem-like material that was despite its age, after I wiped off all the dust and it was clean, I saw that it was polished so finely that showed my reflection. I was shown in almost no detail and I was only a dark shadow even when I came close but I found this oddly poetic. A black mirror that shows you the darker side of yourself, the side you want to keep hidden away and want no one to see. This, set off a spark inside me and ideas started to flow in. I immediately grabbed the mirror and brought it to my office where I hung it up and began writing.

As I wrote, I occasionally looked up to the mirror for motivation and every time I laughed as saw the shadow reflection look at me for his motivation. I also noticed as I turned to my desk, the particles of dust that fell from my hair and body that once laid dormant in my basement. After finishing the draft of my first chapter and the list of ideas I had for the story, I decided it was probably best if I finished cleaning the basement. So after some hours of cleaning, I finally finished throwing out all of the broken trash, replacing the broken or damaged boxes with new ones, and I arranged everything I wanted to keep or sell before going to clean myself up. Once I got out of the shower, I walked over to the black mirror and placed my hand on its beautiful crystal glass and just admired it. It was a gorgeous piece of clearly handcrafted artwork that was so incredibly unique that I've never seen anything like it before. My shadow counterpart did as you may have imagined at first but as I finished staring at the framework of the mirror, I looked up and noticed the reflection's head was tilted slightly. His cheekbones rose as I'm pretty sure he smiled and the reflection faded into a solid black surface before the unthinkable occurred. As I looked into the currently unreflective mirror, a dark shadowy figure appeared but it was not me, it was a female and she was standing quite aways from the mirror so her whole body could be seen. The image became clearer and faded into color, letting me now know it was a woman with short cut blonde hair who was wearing a blue sundress. One thing that stood out to me was that the only reflection that was true was the room itself. She was standing in my office but none of the furniture was the same. My desk was replaced by a bed and my bookcase was replaced by a dresser that was moved to the right. I stared in confusion as the woman looked around the room and smiled as a man walked in. He was a well-built gentleman who looked like the working type with coal black hair, tan skin, and a shadowy beard. She said something that I could not hear as he walked over to her and the two began kissing which made me feel awkward but as I watched them, I noticed something that both confused me and made me curious. As crazy as this may sound, those were younger versions of my parents. When my parents were still alive, they used to own this house and their room was my office but they died a while ago after our house was robbed. I also remembered finding a dress in the basement that is almost identical to one she's wearing now but the dress was faded. I watched as my dad carried my mom to their bed but I turned away as I fully realized what they were preparing to do and I don't think I have to explain it and I don't care to.