Mirror Mirror

 Everyone was crowded around the birthday girl, giggling and shushing each other. Monica grinned and waved the ornate mirror in her hand. Her friends appropriately oohed and aahed at the right times as she explained how it was a family heirloom, passed down through the generations.

“Now everyone, don’t peek into the mirror!” She exclaimed solemnly, silencing the whispers in the room. “I’m going to try to see the future.”

Debby was not as excited as her friends about this. She had heard many stories from her brother Jonathan about demons possessing people through mirror rituals. When she tried to tell Monica this, her claims were quickly dismissed. They were probably just horror stories her brother used to scare her, they said.

Nevertheless, she remained apprehensive over this late-night ritual they were doing at Monica’s birthday party. She’d rather just watch a movie or play a game. But her worries were overruled by her friends’ excitement.

Debby watched as Monica angled the mirror so that only she could look into it. The other girls sat quietly in anticipation. “Mirror mirror,” The birthday girl chanted, a wide smile on her face at the attention from her friends. “Show me what my parents got me for my birthday!”

There was silence for a few seconds, before Monica’s face dropped in disappointment. “Nothing happened!” She grumbled, as her friends laughed at her good-naturedly.

“You’ve just got to wait and see what your present is, Monica, like the rest of us peasants!” One friend teased, laughing at the pout on the mirror-holding girl’s face.

Monica rolled her eyes and laughed along, and everyone soon shifted gears to talking about which movie they should watch. The mirror ritual had put everyone in the mood for a horror movie, and very soon nobody was paying any attention to the antique heirloom in the birthday girl’s hands.

Debby was engrossed in watching an argument between two girls about which film was the scariest, when she noticed Monica placing the mirror on the floor, reflecting side facing down.

In the split second before it was completely covered, Debby saw something in the mirror. Although she didn’t see it for very long, the sheer horror caused by the image had burned the image into her eyes.

A strange version of Monica was reflected in the mirror. Her eyes were pitch-black, and her mouth had twisted into a cruel smile.

For a moment, Debby thought she had hallucinated it. But when she looked more closely at her friend, she noticed some things that she had previously ignored. 

The normally opinionated chatterbox was silently watching everyone argue about the movie, without adding in her own two cents. She was quietly watching the other girls with a strange look in her eyes. When someone turned around to ask her a question, the expression on her face would immediately change into a bright and lively one, mimicking her normal behavior. But when they looked away, she returned to being an odd observer.

Debby shivered in fear when she saw how the girl who was acting strangely was stroking the back of the mirror gently with her nails. Although the antique seemed to be made of silver, the nails left behind noticeable gashes with their movement along its surface.

Something was very wrong!

She stood up abruptly in a daze, making a vague excuse about having to use the bathroom before escaping from the room. Debby stood in the corridor outside, listening to the muffled carefree bickering coming from inside. She took a few deep breaths to calm down, and decided on the best course of action.

She knew she had to call Jonathan. Her brother had often narrated similar tales before, and would probably know better than her. He’d know what to do, or if they should just run away. But the thought of fleeing and leaving her friends to their fates brought a heavy feeling to her heart.

Nevertheless, she called him anyway. Quickly telling him the situation over the phone, she begged him to come upstairs and help her. With a terse acknowledgement, he hung up and made an excuse to leave the gathering of adults waiting on the ground floor of Monica’s house.

When Debby saw Jonathan walk up to her with a calm expression, she couldn’t help but burst into tears. He quickly sped up and gathered his sister into his arms, and softly comforted her. She felt much less scared and stressed with him to help out, and gradually calmed down.

Wiping away her tears, she looked up at him with determination. “What do I have to do?”

Her brother smiled at her bravery, and quickly gave her another hug. “You shouldn’t put yourself into much danger. We just need to break that mirror before the demon completely possesses your friend, and everything will be fine.”

This sounded like a very reasonable explanation. The only issue was, how would they do this?

But of course, Jonathan had already thought of a plan. “Go back in there and tell Monica that her parents are asking her to come down for something. If she leaves the mirror behind, pretend to have an accident and break it while she’s gone.”

Debby sniffed and ran the scenario through her head. “What if she takes it with her?” She questioned, worried about this deviation from the plan.

“I’ll be waiting down the corridor, pretending to search for the bathroom. When I pass by her, I’ll pretend to fall, and grab the mirror to break it.” He explained confidently, and her brother’s self-assurance helped her feel more calm about their plan.

She quickly took a few deep breaths and nodded. As she watched Jonathan walk away, she swung the handle to open the door. She noticed that everyone had finally decided on a movie, but she couldn’t be bothered to figure out which one it was. A few girls glanced at her entrance, but quickly looked away to continue watching the screen.

Debby walked at what she hoped was a normal pace, and sat beside Monica and the possessed mirror. She met the odd gaze of her friend, and smiled. “Your parents are calling you down for something.” She whispered, before looking at the screen with everyone else.

Monica nodded slowly, and got to her feet. From a quick glance from the corner of her eye, it became obvious that she was going to take the mirror with her. Debby’s heart pounded for her brother, and felt fear at the thought that something might go wrong.

As the birthday girl left the room and closed the door behind her, there were a few moments of silence. A sudden scream echoing through the air made her flinch, heart jack-rabbiting in terror. But she realized that it was just an actress in the movie, and cursed herself for being so cowardly.

Just as she calmed herself down, she heard another scream, and the sound of glass breaking. This time, there was no correlation to what was occurring on-screen. 

Debby should have been afraid, but she only felt relief. She had heard the mirror break. Everything was over now.