Mirror rorriM

What's it like on the other side of the mirror?

Sara pushed her key into the lock and turned. At about a quarter turn, it caught and refused to budge. Sighing, she turned harder, but her key continued its resistance until it finally broke. Swearing softly, she knocked on the door once, then twice. Despite her knowing that the knock would reverberate throughout the house, there was no answer. Of course her parents would never bother to come open the door or at least leave it unlocked. No reason to tear themselves away from their “important” work. Swearing again, she headed back out into the rain and walked to the back of the house. Sara always kept the door in the back unlocked in times like this. Pushing open the door, she finally entered the house, albeit, more wet than she was before.

            Dripping, she entered the kitchen and closed the door behind her. She then threw her muddy shoes on the mat beside her and started to walk to her room. Looking back, she saw a puddle where she had stood and a trail of water following her. Shrugging, she continued walking away without cleaning it up. Let her mom yell at her. At least then she'd be getting interaction with her parents.

            It wasn't like this before. A couple months ago they lived in another town far from here. There, her parents worked mostly while she was at school and were usually back home by the time school was over. However, whether her parents were home or not didn't really matter too much back then, since she spent so much time with her friends after school. Then, on the weekends but they'd always spend time together at dinnertime, sharing stories from the week and laughing so hard that they wouldn't be able to eat for several minutes. Then came the promotion for her parents. Both mom and dad were to be relocated to a different town to help the business there and they just couldn't say no. She hadn't cared much then, she was sure they would change their minds, but they never did. Soon all of their stuff was packed and ready to leave. Sara barely had time to say goodbye to her friends before they left.

            Then the real troubles started. The “promotion” her parents had gotten wasn't all it cracked up to be. There was so much work to do that they had to continue to work even when they got home. If that wasn't bad enough, the people here sucked. The teachers were mean and the students were just plain rude. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad if she had friends, but with people like this, it was impossible to make any friends here. She wished she could go back home where only good memories resided, but that wasn't going to happen. Her parents would never give up their work to go back, so there was no point in thinking about it too long.

            When she finally entered her room, she paused just long enough to throw her bag down before she jumped on to her bed. Despite still being wet, her blankets still warmed up her chilled body. She curled herself up into a little cocoon. Homework could wait until later. Right now she was tired, she just wanted to sleep...

            Waking up, Sara looked at the clock. She had been asleep for two hours. She could have stayed there longer too, if not for the pang of hunger she was starting to feel. Groaning, she sat up, allowing her sleep riddled limbs to stretch out before getting out of her bed. Yawning, she left her room and headed into the kitchen, wondering whether her parents had bothered to make anything for dinner. No such luck unfortunately. Looking into the kitchen, she saw nothing but the basic appliances arranged neatly around the room. It was a wonder they ever ate, they couldn't seem to even bother to tear themselves away from work to make something to eat. She knew her parents hadn't come down yet since the puddle from before was still sitting in front of the door.

            Sara sighed and looked into the refrigerator for food. She was lucky, there happened to be some pizza left over from yesterday when her dad had picked it up after getting off late at work. Getting a plate, she loaded it up with pizza slices and threw it into the microwave. Now all she had to do was set the timer and wait. 30 seconds... 15 seconds... 5 seconds... Then, finally, the loud beeping resounded in the empty kitchen told her her pizza was done. She took it out and started to eat, not even bothering to sit down at the table. What was the point?

            Sara ate quickly, not letting the savory tastes of melted cheese and pizza sauce to linger in her mouth. She quickly downed a glass of milk, then threw the garbage away and tossed the cup in the already piled up sink. She'd let her mom clean it up when she got around to doing her weekly cleaning. Her mom was too busy to clean even every other day and her dad had never scrubbed a dish in his life. Sara meanwhile, was just too lazy and depressed to bother with it.

            Done with her little “meal,” Sara decided to get started on probably the only thing that kept her sane in this town, exploring. Though she had lived here for several months, Sara still hadn't been able to explore all of the house. Tonight would be special though. For weeks Sara had been working on getting the attic stairs to come down. Ever since she had found the string taped to the ceiling, she had been trying to get it open. However, every time she managed to get one thing done, another problem presented itself. Half of the string broke off or the hinges needed oiling. Then she found the steps were too weak to stand on. Finally, no obstacles were in the way of her getting up there. She couldn't stand waiting anymore and now finally was the time to get up.

            Stretching, she reached for the frayed string and pulled. Slowly the stairs descended, opening the path to the attic. Excited, she raced up the stairs, not thinking of what may be lurking up there. Her movements sent up a hoard of dust which settled everywhere. The floor, the covered boxes, and all over Sara. Taking a sudden breath, she breathed in dust which sent her into a flurry of sneezing and coughing. When she finally got a hold of herself and the dust had settled, she started to move again, but this time carefully and all the while holding her nose.

            Looking at the items in the attic, she saw her enthusiasm had been wasted. All that was in the room was a couple of dusty boxes and some furniture with sheets draped over them. Sighing, she started to look into a box. As long as she was up here, she might as well take a look around, even if it was a disappointment. She had gone through several boxes, when a box she had gone through before started to tip. By the time she had gotten there, the box had already fallen to the floor. it's contents spilled all over and a new flurry of dust was disturbed. Eyes watering and nose streaming, she tried to get out of the cloud of dust. Suddenly, her foot tripped on a loose bit of floorboard she couldn't see and was sent careening down to the floor. As she fell, she felt a sort of ripple move through her as if she was passing through a strip of water. Next thing she knew, she was laying on the floor, the dust settling around her. When she looked up, a huge mirror towered above her. However, before she got a chance to really get a look at it, clouds of dust sent her into a sneezing fit and she hurried out of the attic as fast as she could.

            She was running to her room when a delectable smell reached her, making her stop dead in her tracks. Her stomach rumbled at the smell. The slices of pizza hadn't really been filling and just the smell made her hungry again. She started to move towards the smell, but stopped a couple paces away. Her parents were too busy to cook, so there was no way that that was where it was coming from. Well, there was nothing she could do but check it out. As she walked slowly down the stairs, the smell got stronger. She was definitely getting closer. A few steps later, she found herself in the kitchen with the biggest surprise anyone could give her. Her parents were cooking. It wasn't just some cheap, quick meal either. It was a full course meal with a roast chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and an assortment of vegetables. That wasn't all. She could see a whole batch of sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, her two favorite desserts.

            Sara hadn't seen this much food since the good old days at her old town. Best of all, both her parents were cooking and talking to each other. Her parents talked to each other less than they did to her because they were so absorbed their work, but now they were talking as if they didn't have a care in the world.

            It was then that her parents saw her. Her mom turned back around to the food, but her dad smiled and walked towards her. He embraced her in a huge bear hug, something he hadn't done since she was little.

            “Looks good doesn't it,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Come on and sit down, dinner's just about ready.” He guided her to the table then dropped his arm from her to help her mom, who was having a bit of trouble with the chicken.

            “Thanks dear,” she said.

            “No worries darlin,” he said back, kissing her a little on the cheek. Sara almost gagged. She hadn't seen her parents all lovey dovey for a long time. Even back then it had been yucky ,but seeing them here, spending time together after such a long time, made the grossness of it all... worth it in a way.

            She didn't have to wait long. Within another minute or two, a plate was set in front of her, laden with food. Sara's mouth watered. She looked up at her parents. This had to be a dream. Her parents, this food. It just couldn't be real and yet, here it was. Looking back at her food, she decided, what did she have to lose, and took a big bite of chicken. It was so, so fantastic. She took a bite of mashed potatoes and gravy. Simply delightful. She took a bite of vegetables. So delectable, even though they were vegetables. Sara had no troubles finishing off her plate. She was about to ask for seconds when another plate was set in front of her.

            The main dish had nothing on the dessert. She bit into the sugar cookies, they were amazing. Excited, she bit into the chocolate chip cookies. They were still warm and the chocolate melted in her mouth. It was like heaven on Earth. She demolished the chocolate chip, but decided to save a couple sugar cookies to nibble on later. So while her parents weren't looking, she folded about five or six sugar cookies into a napkin and stuffed it into her sweater pocket, hoping it wouldn't get too crushed.

            Sara was about to throw away her garbage when her dad intervened.

            “Please, allow me,” he said and walked away.

            As soon as he left Sara's side, her mom walked up to her.

            “Please, could you visit the garden before you go to bed tonight. I want you to tell me what you think of it.” She smiled and walked away leaving her alone in the kitchen. Sara, deciding to take her up on that offer, got up and headed for the back door behind her mom.

            Her mom had never been much of a gardener. Even at her old house, her plants hadn't been very strong and some never even got the chance to grow fruits or vegetables. When we had moved here, her mom had tried to start her garden again, but eventually she got so swamped with work that she stopped caring for it. Last she saw it, all it was just a overgrown patch of weeds, but if the garden had changed as much as her parents had, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

            Sara was wrong. The garden was nowhere near the level she had expected it to be. It was absolutely amazing. It was like walking in a jungle. Hundreds of trees in every direction, full to the brim with fruits and nuts. As she last saw it, the backyard had been just an empty plane stretching out to a thin forested area a hundred yards down. That was just the beginning. On the ground surrounding every one of the trees were all kinds of plants. Fruit, vegetables, wheat, and flowers in every shape and size as well as every color of the rainbow. There was absolutely no word to explain the wonders of the garden. There was definitely no way this could be real.

            There was only one way to find out. Sara quickly ran back inside and practically flew up the stairs. She went so fast she had to stop to catch her breath before bringing down the stairs and going up into the attic. It was exactly how she left it, everything old and covered in dust. It wasn't the old and dusty things she was worried about right now though. All she cared for was the mirror, nestled behind the dusty boxes. It had been the first thing she had seen after falling, and she knew that she had been on the opposite side of it before she had fallen. Looking at it now, it didn't seem like much. It was pretty, yes, but it was so simple. Sara didn't see how falling near(or maybe through) could make things change so drastically.

            Curious, Sara touched the golden frame. She ran her fingers along the twisted vines up to the beautiful roses, their petals spread out in full bloom. It was definitely very old, as the design was mostly worn away now and the gold was a very dull color. She was running her hand across the topmost section when her hand slipped down. Her hand didn't slip too far, but it was enough to reach the silvery reflexion. Then her hand disappeared! Scared and surprised, Sara withdrew her hand. It came out of the mirror as if she had just been holding it in the air. Braver now, she put her hand back in. Then her arm. Then she found herself walking into the mirror. As she moved, a ripple ran through her body, much like the one she had felt before when this all first happened.

            Opening her eyes, she found herself staring back the way she had come. She looked back to see that the mirror was now behind her. Its surface was smooth, it was hard for her to believe that she had gone through it just moments ago. Wary, she left the attic and went downstairs into the kitchen. It was empty and contained none of the sweet smells that were there before. Looking in the refrigerator, she saw that all that was in there was pretty much leftover pizza and the trash can contained only a paper plate. There was no evidence that the great meal she had before had been made. Curious now, Sara walked by the office. There were her parents, working mindlessly and not talking to each other.

            Sara shook her head once or twice then walked into her room and laid on her bed. It was then that she remembered the cookies she had stuffed into her sweater pocket. Heart racing, she reached into the pocket and when her hands touched the napkin, she could swear her heart had stopped. She took out the napkin and unfolded it to reveal the sugar cookies. Suddenly very tired, Sara laid down the cookies on her desk and quickly fell asleep.

            Opening her eyes, Sara looked at the clock. 8:10. She closed her eyes. 8:10? Suddenly it came to her. 8:10! She was going to be late. Getting up she looked at the papers sitting untouched on her desk. Sara groaned as she felt the energy from her long sleep drain way. She hadn't done any of her homework AND she was gonna be late. The teachers were going to kill her. Teachers at her new school were strict about not doing homework and quick to give out punishment. Not only that, but people were going to laugh at her because that's just how they are. They laugh at people when they lose something or doesn't do something they should have and turn every little thing into a big thing. She just couldn't face that.

            Then her gaze found the cookies on the desk. Of course, if everything was turned around... maybe it wouldn't matter that she didn't do her homework or that she was going to be late. Smiling, she ran out of her room to where the string hung from the ceiling. She had an idea, she just hoped it would work. Bounding up the brittle stairs, she went into the attic, as dusty as ever. Peaking around the corner, she saw the mirror in the same place it was before. Closing her hands into fists, Sara closed her eyes and walked into the mirror. Once again she felt that strange ripple and found herself facing away from the mirror.

            She cautiously exited the attic and walked to the stairs. Stopping there, she listened. Nothing. The house was silent. Her parents apparently still had to work, even in this backwards place. It didn't matter though. She was back here and now she would test the limits of this other world. It was time to go to school.

            It didn't take long to walk there. The school really was only a couple blocks away, but she was still totally late and the halls were completely empty by the time she got there. Bracing herself, she walked into homeroom.

            “Oh, looks who's here!” her teacher exclaimed.

            “I'm sorry I'm late,” Sara said, putting her head down.

            “Oh, don't worry about it. Please, sit down!” Her teacher said, sounding a bit too happy.

            “Uh.. Okay.” Sara sat down in her usual place in the back. Talking resumed in the class as if nothing had happened. The teacher hadn't yelled at her and the students weren't making fun of her. Sara had never felt so happy before.

            It wasn't just homeroom either. First period was like it too, as well as second, and third, and all the rest. The teachers never got mad at her for not having her homework and didn't make her answer questions if she didn't want to. They didn't even give her homework at the end of the period. The students were nice and even talked to her, if she wanted to, of course. Everything was simply perfect.

            I wish I could stay here forever.

            Of course, eventually school was over, but it was still the best day of her life since coming here. As she walked to her locker to get her stuff, people stopped to let her go by, all the while smiling that same freakish smile she had been seeing all day. It was as if someone had plastered their smiles on. Not only that, but they moved stiffly, like they were puppets being led with strings. All they had to say were nice things about her. However, the creepy thing to her was that everywhere she went, the students seemed to sense her presence and turn towards her. It sent shivers down her spine, but she wouldn't let it ruin the good mood she was in now. In fact, she was in such a great mood that she actually skipped home, something she hadn't done since she was a little kid.

            As Sara walked in from the front door, which was unlocked for a change, she heard a call from the kitchen.

            “Oh Sara! Would you come here for a moment!” her mom called.

            Sara, wary, obeyed. Even though she knew that she was in the other world, she couldn't help but feel like she was returning to her normal home. However, her wariness was forgotten when she arrived in the kitchen where her mom's voice had called from. The table in the kitchen was piled high with treats of all kinds. Sara's mouth watered as she took stock of the mountain of cookies, brownies, cupcakes, mini cakes, and more she didn't even have words for. She wanted to dig in but something stopped her. Last time, when she had come here, her parents had been happy, but not this happy. Her parents had on that same creepy, plastered on smile as everyone in school had. It hadn't bothered her much then but now... it was just scary. Sara couldn't imagine her real parents being that happy, and it disturbed her to see large smiles on their usually tired faces.  She wanted to get out of here. Now.

            “Oh, no thanks. I'm really not hungry.” She started to back out of the way but her dad moved to block her.

            “Please eat. We insist,” he said and pushed her towards the table. Sara obeyed and took a bite of one of the desserts to appease them, but they weren't satisfied.

            “Please, eat more,” her mom coaxed, handing her a plate stacked with sugary delights. However, the sweetness that Sara would normally have adored stuck in her throat. Unease grew in her heart as her parents stared at her, smiles still firmly in place.

            She ate another treat, then another, then another until she had tried everything at least once and she couldn't possibly eat anymore. How long had it taken them to make this? It had to have been hours, but why would they go through all this trouble. Looking up she saw her parents had disappeared. She had been so focused on eating that she hadn't even noticed when their insistent voices had faded. Taking her chance, she ran out of the room.

            As she turned the corner of the hallway connecting to the kitchen, she heard the sound of footsteps. Her parents had returned to the kitchen. Heart beating wildly, she hurried up the stairs. She tried as hard as she could to be silent, though she worried they would be able to hear her heart as it thumped wildly in her eardrums. Reaching the top of the stairs, she turned down the hall and ran passed the first bedroom. Right at that moment, she heard the sound of footsteps going up the stairs. They were pursuing her. Sara thought her heart would give out from the fear that was stirred inside of her.

            Finally, she reached the frayed string that hung from the ceiling. She quickly lunged for it and pulled hard on it, no longer caring about being quiet. However, to her dismay, the stairs caught halfway. Hearing sounds of her parents nearing her, Sara jumped onto the half lowered stairs, no longer caring for her own safety in her effort to get away. She began to struggle to the edge of the attic, but a hand suddenly caught her by her ankle.

            Turning back, she saw her mother holding onto her while her father stood just behind. The same smile was still plastered to their faces, but something unreadable flashed in their eyes. Their smiles widened at the sight of the horror on her face, but it didn't reach their eyes. Their gazes froze Sara in place as they kept an iron hold on her ankle. Suddenly, a malicious light shone in their eyes, sending new waves of fear through her. She used it to break the spell of their gaze and began to struggle. Their hold remained steady, but she was able to pull herself up enough that her whole upper body was in the attic. Spying a chair within her limited reach, she threw her hand at it and grabbed onto the leg. In one swift movement, she used all of her might to drag the chair over to the edge and topple it behind her.

            The hand around her ankle let go as her parents were thrown to the floor by the chair. Using the small moment she had before they could recover, she used her fear to pick herself up and pulled the stairs back up. The moment she closed it, she pushed a heavy dresser over and tipped it over the stairs. No more than a second later, she heard scraping sounds as they tried to pull the stairs back down.

            Safe for the moment, Sara tried to calm her heart. Reaching stability in her heart beats to an extent, she strode over to the mirror. Closing her eyes, she put her hand near the reflective surface and began to walk into the mirror. However, as she walked, her hand hit something. Opening her eyes, she saw her hand had hit the surface of the mirror but hadn't gone through. What was wrong? Why wasn't her hand going through?

            Behind her, the sounds of the stairs coming down reached her ears. It was only a matter of time before they pushed the dresser out of the way. Mad with fright, Sara smacked the mirror. To her horror, the mirror lurched backwards and fell to the floor with a sickening crash, breaking into pieces.

            “No!” she gasped and threw herself on the shards. “No. No no NO!” That was it. She was stuck here. The thought of staying here forever, with whatever had taken the shape of her parents brought tears to her eyes. Sounds of the dresser being slowly shoved over echoed in the room. Terrified, she grabbed pieces of the mirror in her hand and squeezed until she felt warmth spread through her hands. Opening them, she saw that she had cut them open with the shards and the cuts were now bleeding. It was only then that it really hit her.

            She would never see her parents again. Never see her old friends or even the mean people at school again. She was stuck with those ever smiling creatures.

            “Sara! Come down already. It's dangerous up there!” her mom called. No, she couldn't call that her mother. That awful, plastered smile woman was not her mom. She wanted her real mom. The one who had always held her close when she had nightmares, the one that worked all day to provide for her. That was her real mother.

            Sara put her head to her knees and cried as the dresser was being scraped across the unyielding floor. She felt like screaming.

            I want my mommy!

            I want my daddy!

            I want all those other people I hated!

            I just want to go home!

            She sat there crying, thinking of all those things she wanted back. It didn't matter whether her world was perfect or not, all she wanted was to return. Go back to the place she belonged to. It was then that she felt a ripple, as if someone had thrown a pebble into a puddle of water. Opening her eyes, Sara found herself back in her room, tangled in her blankets. Putting her hand to her face, she found her face was wet.

            Suddenly, she heard a door being closed downstairs. Sara jumped out of bed and ran to the stairs just in time to see her parents walk in the house. With a squeal of joy she ran down the stairs and jumped into her parents arms. Smiling a normal, joyful smile, she looked up into her parents tired, surprised faces.

            Confused, her parents put their arms around her and embraced their only child.

            It was all a dream.

            It was then that she saw her hands. They were red with dried blood over angry pink gashes.

            Had it really been a dream?