Passing Reflection

• Aeysha Galea, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2022

I had found the mirror at a rummage sale some months ago but, had never bothered to move it into my room. Now that I had though, I had to say, seeing it next to my bed just felt right, like it was always meant to be there. It was an old-fashioned mirror, with an intricate gold swirling design around the frame, that sat atop a beautiful mahogany desk.
I thought it had been mere seconds of me staring into the mirror, but when I finally looked away I realised it had been hours. After that first incident, I should have gotten rid of the darned thing, but I was too naive. If only I could go back and change time, but I can't.
For the next week, I kept catching myself losing time staring into the mirror. What I didn't realise, was that these incidents happened during the day, and how lucky I was for that fact.
But I learnt. One Thursday night, when I was getting ready for bed, I once again became transfixed by the mirror. That's when it happened. The image of my face started to morph. My skin became blood red and I began to grow horns. My mouth stretched in such a violent way it should have hurt, my teeth turned into razor points and my eyes turned into miniature versions of my disturbing mouth, but somehow I could still see. My nose flattened into nothing at all.
I screamed but no sound came out. That's when I heard it, "Meus es tu nunc..." in the mirror, I saw my mouth open as if I were the one saying these strange words, but the voice sounded nothing like mine. It was deep, scratchy and just wrong. Then my legs started moving, I couldn't stop them. I was pushing the mirror out of my room, but I wasn't that strong. I had never been that strong. It had taken three of my friends just to get it in here.
Before I knew it, I had dropped the mirror off at a thrift shop, to start this whole sick cycle again. Damming another poor soul to live their life trapped in their own head, watching as their body stays slave to the mirror, just like me.