Hometorius : Coming Home

chapter 6 : The Mirror and Ladybirds

Marylin POV

On our way back to the corridor, we walked by the strange mirror again. I gave it a look. There wasn't a single thing right about it anymore. Blood leaked out of it and everything in the reflection was on fire. 'What is going on?' I thought and took a picture using Kate's phone. I thought it might be useful, for whatever reason. However, we decided to ignore the horrible mirror and keep going. I had a feeling that someone was following us. Some spirit? No. Rather a murderer. 'Why did I come here at all? ', crossed my mind.

I'd always come to this house whenever I was sad about something. I've been coming here very often in the past month. I'd say it was even too often. I sat on a large, marble windowsill and looked out the window at the old but still well-maintained garden. I have always wondered who's been taking care of it. There was no one here, neither the owners nor the gardener, not even the neighbors.

I imagined the face of my deceased grandmother. Her wise eyes, blonde hair tied together in a bun that was always sleek. And those sweet dimples that brightened her face whenever she smiled. I felt my eyes started getting teary, so I stopped that train of thoughts.

Suddenly, the wooden floor behind me squeaked loudly and someone grabbed my hand. I didn't manage to turn around, but it was definitely not Kate. She kept on walking, as if she hadn't even noticed that I was standing paralyzed.

"Kate ... Kate!" I whispered to make her come back, but she was acting hypnotized. She kept on walking and slowly approached the stairs leading even higher.

I gathered all my courage to call her name louder, shit, I even started screaming. With no effect. Kate didn't react. 'Something's wrong ... Maybe I had to look more closely at this mirror?' I began to think and decided to get Kate's pink smartphone out of the bag when I felt a metallic chill on my neck. A knife.

Without thinking, I just broke free from the masculine grip and turned around hoping to see whoever wanted to kill me. But I didn't see anyone or anything except for the mirror hanging at the end of the dark corridor. I tried so hard to catch up with Kate, who didn't pay any attention to me. She turned around and marched towards the mirror.

'Oh no, not this!'

I tried to stop her, unsuccessfully. Kate was right in front of the mirror. Her face was as pale as the walls surrounding us, and her eyes were red like the leaking blood. She looked terrible, like a possessed person. And maybe I was going crazy, but with every step Kate took towards the mirror, it grew bigger. But it was too late for any help. Kate was sucked into the burning mirror in front of my eyes. Only there did she come back to her senses.

"Marilyn! Do something! Save me!" she shouted but I couldn't hear anything through the thin glass. Not a single word.

'I don't hear you', I tried to tell her in sign language, though I'm not sure she understood me, so I stopped. I heard a quiet noise behind my back again. Someone was standing there again.

'Watch your back!', I scolded myself and turned around cautiously. This time it was a little wizard who looked like he escaped from some computer game. He assured me that he meant no harm, and when I pretended to believe him, he talked shyly.

"There in the mirror... There is ... That is your friend, no?"

"Please, get her out of there! I don't know how, but somehow she got herself sucked to the other side," and almost over-exaggerating to be stunned, I told him the whole story, which, in fact, was very short.

"I used to be on the other side too ..." he said slowly.

"And how did you come back from there, sir?" I asked desperately, "Any spell? Some secret button?"