Oneshots and Crazy Little Stories

Reflection

Cassie carried a tray of mugs down the corridor of the unfamiliar building, the steam rising from the coffee and tea making her eyes water a little. Of course, being the newbie to the job, she was sent on errands to fetch stuff. It helped her find her way around, she supposed, but it was still annoying that she was not doing what she had applied for; writing about unusual events in Britain, specifically in Wales where she lived.
     She was looking for room 2J. She'd been given instructions to follow the corridor to the second corner, go through the green double doors, take the stairs down a level, turn right and she’d find the room on the left opposite a mirror. So far she hadn't got lost, even though there had been two sets of green double doors, and she was now making her way carefully down the stairs. She looked to her right when she reached the foot of the tiled steps and sure enough there was a door across from a six foot mirror, the letters bold on its silvery glass window.
     Cassie walked over and, balancing the tray on her knee, reached for the door handle. Her hand banged against an invisible wall, making her finger joints ache from the solidity of it. With a frown she placed the tray on the floor and tried again, her reflection in the door’s window showing her concerned grey eyes. It was as if there was a distortion around the door, making her unable to define where the handle was.
     Ahem.
     She spun around and found a thirty something dark skinned man in a suit looking at her, an amused smile on his thin lips.
     ‘I think you'll find that's a mirror,’ he said.
     Cassie stepped back and looked at it harder. Now that he had pointed it out she could see the frame and the way the real door reflected perfectly in it. ‘Oh,’ she said.
     ‘Don't worry, I did the same on my first day here,’ the man said. He held out his slim hand. ‘I'm Farian Codar. You are?’
     She shook his hand with her own cold one. ‘Cassie d'Kay. It's my third day here.’ She looked back at the mirror and saw her cheeks had turned red. How had she thought that was the door?
     Farian picked up the tray. ‘These for 2J? I'm heading in there now so I can take them if you like.’
     ‘Ohh, only if that's alright with you. I do have some stuff I need to get done before I head home.’
     He smiled and turned to the door. ‘Well, nice to meet you, Cassie. Hope to see you around.’
     ‘You too,’ she said. She watched him slip through the doorway and sighed when the door shut. A mirror! How had she been fooled by that! And to be found trying to open a reflection…
     She headed back up the stairs. She hadn't got much to do, only a couple of worktops to clean, she had just wanted to get away before her embarrassment had become apparent.
     It was a good trick, though, she thought.