Room of Mirrors

I stepped out of the cab and stood there admiring the Victorian exterior of the Blackwell mansion. I had some pleasant memories of this house from the time when I visited this place during summer. 

 

"Is it okay here?" the cab driver asked, placing my bags on the floor.

 

"Oh, yes, thank you." I paid the driver a twenty, which would cover the tip. 

 

I grabbed my bags and walked to the door. I searched for the key the lawyer had sent me, but someone opened the door before I could.

 

"Welcome, you must be Vance Blackwell. I am Jenna Spencer, the caretaker."

 

"Vance Hanshaw, not Blackwell," I corrected. "Marie Blackwell was my great aunt. My grandmother's sister."

 

"Oh yes. The lawyer informed me. I forget easily. I am getting old. Please come in."

 

I carried my bags and stepped into the house. The floorboard creaked under my feet.

 

"Have you been here before?"

 

"Yes, a long time ago. I think when I was twelve." I was twenty-eight now. It truly had been a long time.

 

"Things must have been different back then. Madam Blackwell laid off all the employees after her son and grandson's death. She was obsessed with the idea that the house was cursed and it killed them."

 

"I didn't know Great Aunt Marie felt that way. Their death didn't happen in the house."

 

"No, it was a plane crash. Madam Blackwell said she had opened the door to the room of mirrors and let the curse in."

 

I remembered the room of mirrors. I hadn't seen it because no one was allowed to go in there. It was always locked.

 

"Old age can make you delusional," She added.

 

"She didn't seek help?"

 

"Mr. Waren, the psychiatrist, visited her once a week, but from the conversation I heard when I went to deliver the tea told me that the therapy wasn't helping. CBT, they called it. Madam Blackwell firmly believed that the mirrors held the curse, and she had let it out. She had killed them. That's what she believed and kept repeating. Even on her deathbed."

 

Aunt Blackwell never reached out to us for help. She had left all her property to me. I didn't know why she didn't leave it to mom and dad. In her will, she had explicitly mentioned that it had to be the second child. No one else could inherit this house but the second child. The lawyer said she had insisted on having that written in the will beside my name.

 

"Are you thinking about keeping the place? Living here?"

 

"No, this is enormous. Maintaining it would take a fortune. I plan to sell it." 

 

"Right, of course," she looked disappointed.

 

"I'll help you find suitable employment or retirement pay if that's what you prefer," I offered.

 

She smiled. "Retirement money would be ideal for me at this age."

 

"Sure, I'll inform the lawyer."

 

"Thank you, Mr. Hanshaw. You must be tired. Would you like to have dinner?"

 

"No, Thank you. I'd like to rest. Where is my room?"

 

"It's upstairs, first one on your right."

 

I picked up my bags, but before walking up the stairs, I couldn't help but look at the locked door to the room of mirrors in the living room behind the staircase. 

When I was young, we visited this place almost every summer. Riley, Jax, and I were not even allowed to go near the room of mirrors. Riley was Aunt Marie's grandson, and Jax was the neighbour's kid. Now that I see it, other houses seem so far from here. I didn't remember which house Jax lived in. I had a silent crush on him at the time. He was good at everything he did. He was strong. He taught me how to swim and face my fears. He was the one who told us why Aunt Marie didn't allow us in the room of mirrors. She thought it was cursed. He wanted to get into the room of mirrors and prove that there was no curse, but we never succeeded in our attempts. Aunt Marie was too quick to catch us. 

….

​

I reached my room. It also had the old Victorian style, like the rest of the Blackwell mansion. I didn't know why Aunt Marie never renovated to new designs. Other than electricity, the fridge, stove, water heater and landline phone were the only visible technologies in the house. 

 

I kept my bag on the desk, put my phone on the charger, took out gray pyjamas and a towel and went to the bathroom. 

 

I checked myself in the mirror. My reflection was a lot different than the last I looked into any of the mirrors in this house. All mirrors were identical in design. The difference was their height and width. I was much shorter and brighter the last time I observed myself in this mirror. I was six feet now and had slight muscles. I was still slender but not as scrawny as I used to be. My brown eyes were much brighter and hopeful than my now dim eyes. They did a fine job of seeing, but the spark had dimmed. I obviously didn't see the world as colourful as my youth once did. 

 

I thought of Jax and Riley. We were always up to something. One of the best times of my life. When Riley passed away, I was in college, and I didn't attend his funeral. I believed if I didn't see it, it would be like it never happened. 

​

"I miss you, Riley. Rest in peace." I said to my reflection. It felt as if my reflection froze, staring back at me. The air suddenly grew colder, and my reflection in the mirror started to get angry. I forced myself to look away, and it took so much effort. But when I finally did, everything seemed to calm down, including the cold air in the room. 

I again looked at my reflection. My eyes looked hollow, and my dark brown hair damp. I shook my head. I must be tired, even though it is just a three-hour flight from New York. JFK was always so crowded. The security checks added three more hours to the travel time. 

 

I took off my clothes without another glance in the mirror and stepped into the shower. The water pressure wasn't great, but at least it was warm. I heard a sound on the other side of the shower curtain. I turned off the tap and stepped out of the shower. There was no one. I felt silly. Jenna's mention of the room of mirrors was getting to me. 

I quickly dried myself, changed into my PJs, and went to bed.  

​

….......

​

I felt someone sitting beside me on the bed in the middle of the night. It was Aunt Marie. She looked sad and older than I remembered. I tried to hold her hand to comfort her and almost fell off the bed. I woke up with a sudden alarm, realizing I was dreaming. 

The room was still dark. I checked my phone, but it was dead. The phone was plugged into the charger, but it wasn't charging. I got up to find another socket to plug in the charger, but there was no power. I was checking the lights when I felt someone was watching me from the door. I turned to see, but there was no one. I moved to the door and felt someone behind me. I turned again, but it was only a mirror. Then I saw someone move behind me in the mirror, and I turned to look at the door again. There was no one. I huffed. I was tired. I decided to return to bed when I heard someone scream. I jumped at the horror in the scream. 

 

"What’s happening?" I ran downstairs. The house was too dark except for little candles. 

 

"Jenna," I called as I looked around for her, and my feet halted when I saw the door to the room of mirrors wide open. It was pitch dark inside the room. "Jenna," I walked closer to the door, and what little light was coming from the hallway reflected in the mirrors in the room. I grabbed the nearby candle and stepped into the room. My reflection appeared in all the mirrors as I walked around holding a candle. 

 

"Jenna," my voice echoed, giving me an eerie feeling of being watched. I moved my candle around to see. 

 

The candle fell from my hand when I met someone’s dead, soulless eyes, and for a second, it felt as if all the mirrors had life and simultaneously turned to look at me. I ran backward and clashed with someone's hard body. I yelped with intense fear when he held me.

​

"Calm down," he spoke in a very male, hard voice. "Vance." 

I turned to face him and met his green eyes.

 

"There is… aa Who?" I couldn't form a coherent thought. 

 

"You are all right? Where is Jenna?" He inquired.

 

"Jenna… there is a… who are you?"

 

"You don't recognize me? Have I changed that much?" he smiled, and recognition dawned on me. 

 

"Jax," I smiled despite myself. He was handsome. That was the first thought that ran through my mind. 

 

"Yeah, you look the same, Vance. Just got a little taller. Still shorter than me." he teased.

 

"So, where is Jenna? She called me and reported some break-in."

​

"Why did she call you?" I asked.

 

"Because I am the Sheriff," he prided. 

 

"Oh my God, there is a… Dead Body," I whispered.

 

"What? Where?" He took out his gun, and my eyes zeroed in on it. 

 

"In the room of mirrors, but I don't think we should go in there."

 

"Stay here, I'll go check it." He walked before I could protest. What could I say to stop him? He was the cop. When he didn't return right away, I dared to follow him. 

Those are just mirrors, objects -Nothing to it. I told myself. 

 

"Jax?" I called, standing at the threshold of the door, but he didn't answer. I walked into the room. "Jax."  

 

"Vance, I am here." to my relief, he replied. Finally, there was a flashlight, and I followed it. 

 

 "I thought I told you to stay there."

 

He was standing closer to the dead body. I could see in the flashlight that his horrified eyes were staring at one of the mirrors in front of him. "I have to call this in. He must have a partner. I cleared this room, but I need backup to check the rest of the house." He started to make a call on his cell phone. "Did you find Jenna?" he asked. 

 

I couldn't take my eyes off the dead body.

 

"Don't look at him, Vance." Jax's words forced me to look away from those dead eyes. "Have you ever seen him before?"

 

"Like, when he was alive?"

 

He chuckled. How could he laugh at this time? "Yeah, like when he was alive."

 

"No, I just got here."

 

"Hmm, the phone is not connecting. I think Jenna has a landline somewhere." He started to walk to the door, and I jumped at the loud slamming. The door to the room of mirrors got shut, locking us in.

 

"What the …" he swore, and I ran to the door with him. He tried to open it, but it was locked, "Jenna," he called. 

 

"I don't think it's Jenna," my voice wavered, and Jax turned to see what I was looking at. The mirrors, something dark, had taken over them, and then suddenly, a body fell from the ceiling.

 

"Oh my God," I screamed and hugged Jax, and he wrapped his arm around me. Jenna's dead eyes stared at us. The shadow in the mirror was moving swiftly from one mirror to another. "Tell me you see this."

 

In response, Jax pulled me closer. The shadow escalated its movement and was coming at us. Jax pointed the flashlight its way, and it screeched so loudly we had to cover our ears. Jax dropped the flashlight, which flew in the air at jet speed and hit the ceiling, breaking into pieces. Jax and I stared at the shattered pieces of the flashlight.

"Come on," Jax said, but I couldn't move my legs. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to the other side of the room. The shadow kept following us from mirror to mirror, and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Jax then walked me into a storage closet and shut the door. 

 

"What …. The … absolute … fu…" Jax cursed.

 

My heart was hammering against my ribs, trying to break the cage. 

 

"I'm gonna die." I was shaking. Before that thing got to me, I was going to die of a heart attack.

 

Jax wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his broad chest. "It's okay, you are safe. Take a deep breath. Count to ten."

 

"I am not safe, we are not safe," the panic was rising inside me. "Aunt Marie was right. That thing killed Riley." 

 

The monster shrieked again. We both tried to cover our ears. 

 

"What is it waiting for? Why doesn't it come and kill us like it killed Jenna?"

 

"I don't think it can cross doors. The door to this room was always locked. Remember?" Jax reminded.

 

"Or it can't leave that room," I concluded. 

 

A flickering light in the corner caught both of our attention. I looked around to see where it came from, but there was no source. I moved forward to check what it was. Jax stayed beside me as I pulled it. It was a glittering paper. 

 

"Where is the light coming from?" Jax questioned. 

 

"I don't know," I flipped the paper over a few times, and words started to appear. 

It was all gibberish at first. The words I understood were… “kill… it … it … it… kill … yousecson … kill … it … or it kill yousecson… killedRiley… kill it…”

 

The monster outside squealed, and we covered our ears. The light flickered and then dimmed, removing all the words. 

 

"What does it mean?" Jax asked.

 

"Second son, it wants me to kill it."

 

"What wants you to kill it?"

 

"This light. I am the second son, Aunt Marie mentioned in her will. Only the second son could inherit this house. It killed Riley… It will kill me,"  I met Jax's eyes, which appeared golden in this dim light. 

 

"Is it you, Aunt Marie?" I asked the light.

 

"Your Aunt Marie passed away," Jax reminded me as if I didn't know.

 

"She died, but she is still here," I was sure of it. I had seen her in my room. 

 

"That's…" he started to say, then he looked at the door, "Okay, at this point, I'd believe anything."

 

"I think she is trying to tell me if I don't kill it, it will kill me."

 

"So, how do we kill it?" Jax asked. "I doubt the bullets would work." he checked his gun.

 

"But the bullets can break the mirror," I suggested, and the paper flipped on its own as if it was frustrated. A big "NO" appeared on it.

 

"So, we can't break the mirrors." 

 

"Apparently not." The paper flapped, and another ‘No’ appeared on it. 

 

“Burn… car…” the paper read.

 

"He has a car?" I asked.

 

"Where do we find his car? What model is it?" Jax asked.

 

A big "NO" appeared on the page.

 

"Okay, can't your aunt be more clear?" Jax remarked.

 

"She is trying. She is a ghost. Be respectful."

 

He huffed, "So about this car?"

 

"NO," appeared again.

 

“Nation… nation… “

 

"Nation? How did we get from car to nation?" Jax commented.

 

"Is it a national car?".

 

"What's a national car?" Jax asked me.

 

"I don't know?" I shrugged.

 

The paper flickered a few times, "car…. Nation. "

 

"Carnation, like flowers."

 

"Burn… burn… burn... Yousecson…”

 

"She is talking about burning the carnations, or you?" Jax quipped.

 

"Haha," I said, and the thing outside shrieked.

 

"Shut up." Jax cursed at it, and it shrieked more. I could tell it was outside the door, waiting for us to come out.

 

"Where do we find these flowers, Aunt Marie," I asked the paper.

 

"Large…. Mirrrrrrrr….” The paper struggled a few times, then it lost its light, turning into ordinary paper.

 

"What? Aunt Marie?”

 

"I think she is gone," Jax said.

 

"There are so many mirrors in that room. How do we find the largest one?"

 

"I think it is in the centre, the middle wall. That's where the body was." Jax said, and I remembered the dead eyes of the intruder staring into that large mirror.

 

"I don't remember seeing any flowers."

 

"Yeah, we'll burn the whole darn thing to be safe," Jax said.

 

"Suppose we get to it. How do we even start the fire, find two stones or something and hope to God it works?" It never worked for me at camping. I hated camping. 

Jax laughed, "You are still funny, Vance. But no need to find stones. I have a lighter," he showed it to me.

 

"You smoke?" I made a judgmental face, and he laughed again.

 

"You are typical, and no, I don't. This town always has electricity problems, so it's handy to have a flashlight and a lighter."

 

"What do you mean, I am typical? And what the heck is typical."

 

"How about we burn his monster ass first and then fight."

 

"We are not fighting, but okay, how do we get to the large mirror." the monster was walking around outside. 

 

"We gotta find something that could burn faster," Jax said, looking around. There were papers, but we didn't want to be burned with them. 

 

"How about this?" I picked up the old broom. 

 

"This is perfect." He grabbed the broom from me. "Okay, we'll light it, then walk out the door. He might scream, so be ready."

 

"What if it takes the broom from us?"

 

"It couldn't take the flashlight from me until I dropped it."

 

"Okay, so don't drop it, got it."

 

"The mirror is on the right. That's where we run to together."

 

I nodded, but I knew he could see the fear on my face because he held my arm and met my eyes, "I am with you, okay? I won't leave you alone. I won't let it get to you."

 

"But if it gets to you?"

 

"Then you do what you have to, burn its ass."

 

I hugged him. "I don't want us to die." 

 

"I don't want us to die either. That's why we gotta do this. Okay," Jax pulled me to face him again and added, "And when we make it alive out of here, we'll go on a date," he winked with a smile.

 

I couldn't help but blush. It took away some of my fear.

 

"You assume I am single." I arched my eyebrows.

 

"I do because I am never wrong in my assumptions."

 

I laughed. 

 

"Good to see you smile. Now," Jax lit the broomstick and handed it to me. "I'll open the door."

 

"Wait," I said, and he looked at me. "I'll go on a date with you." 

 

He smiled and kissed my cheek. I enjoyed the softness of his warm lips with a slight scratch of his stubble against my skin. 

 

"Looking forward to it."

 

We stood next to the door. 

 

"Ready?" he asked.

 

I braced myself and nodded. Jax held my arm while he slightly opened the door. The shadow whooshed in front of us at full speed. I worried it would kill the fire, but the broom was still lit. I stepped into the room when Jax nudged my arm. The shadow shrieked. I couldn't cover my ears because I was holding tight on the broom. Jax wrapped his hand around my exposed ear and placed my head on his chest to cover my other ear. The shadow was rounding around us from mirror to mirror. It was making me dizzy. 

 

"Keep walking," Jax whispered, and the shadow shrieked so loud that we both bent down with the waves of its sound. 

 

"Gotta run," Jax said, and the monster screamed, making my grip waver on the broomstick. The shadow got hold of Jax and threw him up in the air, harshly bringing him down on the floor. 

 

"Jax," I screamed and ran to him. "Stay away from him," I warned the shadow. "Jax," I tried to wake him.

 

"I'm okay." I tried to help him on his feet. The shadow shrieked, but we ignored it and kept moving to the mirror. The shadow got angrier and started throwing things from one mirror to another. I realized it couldn't come out of the mirror. It was using each mirror to hold the energy between places. We held still where the mirrors were not crossing, and the flying objects couldn't reach us. 

 

"That's good thinking," Jax said. We started taking one step at a time, jumping between the empty spaces. 

 

The large mirror was in the middle, and the two mirrors were on the side. There was no escaping it. I saw the dried flowers right under the mirror. They looked like memorial flowers. I met Jax's eyes. He nodded in response. I tried to push the broom through the energy between the mirrors. It was too heavy. Jax kept both his hands on mine, and we both tried to push the broom towards the mirror. Then I noticed my reflection in the mirror. It was me, but it wasn't me. It looked so angry. 

 

"Vance, snap out of it." I heard Jax, but I couldn't move. My reflection held my eyes, and then it gave me a sinister smile, and then it pushed with all its force, making both Jax and me fly in the air and back to the floor. I screamed because it hurt. I saw the dying light of the broom, and Jax moved on top of me and rolled me over, placing me in the space between the mirrors.

 

He took out his gun and placed it in my hands. Wrapping my finger on the trigger, he whispered, "Shoot," and I did. It shot one of the flowers, and the monster screamed, making it impossible for me to hold onto the gun, but Jax held my hand and fired another shot, then another and another. The monster was shrieking, but his voice didn't have that much potency. We shot the last flower, and all the mirrors shattered simultaneously. Jax covered me with his body and kept my face against his chest. When the last of the mirrors broke, everything fell quiet. 

 

"Jax," I worried that the glass from the mirrors may have hurt him. I tried to shake him. 

 

"I am okay," He moved and met my eyes. "You are okay?" He asked.

 

I nodded, and he held my hand. We carefully stood up. 

 

"It worked," I smiled.

 

"Yeah, I'll hold on to it," he took the gun from my hand, which I had accidentally pointed at him.

 

"How did you know that would work?"

 

"The flowers needed to be destroyed, and only a second son could do it. Doesn't take a genius to figure out, but you can call me one if you want to," he winked.

 

I laughed, "we hunted a monster,"

 

"We sure did," Jax said, checking for glass in his hair.

 

"You are okay, right?" I asked.

 

"Yeah, Vance, we both need to see the paramedics though. Where is my phone."

 

I looked at Jenna's still body and felt sad. 

 

I hugged him. "Thank you. If you weren't here, I would have died."

 

"If you weren't with me, I would have died too." He held me closer and kissed my lips, and the touch of soft lips and the feel of his warm mouth against mine melted my inside, and when I started to get lost in his scent and taste, he pulled back. "It's so good to have you back, Vance."

 

"It's good to be back, Jax.”

………..