Latent Echoes

“The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own.”

As Cain uttered those words to his wife, her annoyance quickly turned to amusement, “Don’t even. I swear you don’t have a serious bone in your body. Everything is a joke to you!” she laughed, striking him playfully.

When Cain’s expression didn’t break, he saw a look of concern cross his wife’s face. “Ok, fine. I’ll entertain you. Tell me then, Cain, who is it you saw in the mirror?”

“I can’t explain it, Emily, it was like it was me but not me, then it was someone else..and today” he said shakily, “today there was no reflection.”

“Are you coming out to me as a vampire?” she teased and he chuckled at the absurdity of it all but still couldn’t shake it.

“Well,” she said, hands on her hips, “you’re gonna have to do a better job at explaining. Try. Enlighten me about the man in the mirror the best you can. Start from the beginning.”

An exasperated sigh escaped his lips, “A couple days ago I got up to get ready for work, and when I glanced in the mirror I swear I saw a trickle of blood running down my chin. I rubbed my eyes and it was gone, then I cut myself shaving.”

“Ok.” she said hesitantly, “The mirror predicts the future now. What else?”

He could see there was absolutely no belief in her eyes but he continued nonetheless.

“The next morning when I walked by to get to the toilet, I caught sight of myself out of the corner of my eye and I was dressed in a suit and tie, with a gold name plate pinned to my lapel. I got to work”

Emily cut in, “and you got promoted to branch manager. I think I see what’s going on here.” she said lovingly, taking his face in her hands, “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and now this promotion has added to that. It’s going to be a blessing in the long run, I’m sure, but right now things are a bit chaotic for you.”

Cain shook his head, “No, I mean yes but no. Yesterday my reflection was normal, but behind me there was this guy in a red flannel. He was standing behind me.”

“Against the wall behind you or like, leaning over your shoulder?”

“It’s difficult to explain, he was farther than the wall.”

She eyed him inquisitively, “He was farther behind you than the back wall of the bathroom?”

Cain nodded, “Yes. It makes no sense I know, but he was thirty feet away in a twelve foot bathroom.”

“And where did this flannel man come into play? Did you get gifted a shirt from a lumberjack yesterday?”

Cain gulped, “No, but I was sitting at a stoplight playing on my phone and I could see the reflection on my dash and the light turned green. I hit the gas before I looked up and a horn blared behind me. I hit the brakes and right in front of me was a lady crossing the street.” He wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye. “I would’ve run her over but I know, I just know it was that man behind me that honked.”

Emily, still on the fence about the phenomenon, tip-toed lightly with her next question, “You said today there was no reflection?”

“None.” said Cain, “None at all.”

Emily glanced at her phone, “Cain you have to go, you’re going to be late on your first day as manager.” She kissed him on his cheek and sent him out the door.

***

As Cain was being escorted around the bank he had worked at for nine years, being shown areas he had never been, shouting erupted from the lobby. He and his boss both turned to see an armed gunman enter and fire three successive shots into the ceiling.

He then lowered his gun at Cain.

The masked man approached and demanded, “You! In the flashy suit, gimme everything out of the safe.”

Cain, his hands raised placatingly, turned to see his boss had fled, leaving him alone to deal with bank robber.

“I..I don’t have access to the safe.” he stammered.

The thief tapped on Cain’s name tag with the barrel of his pistol, “That there says you do. You got thirty seconds to get me the money.”

“I’m not lying, I just got promoted and I don’t have access…”

“I ain’t gonna ask again. Do what I say or I’ll be forced to use this.” he said, showing off the firearm in his hand. “And if the cops show up before that safe is opened, I’ll take as many of these people with me before I go. The last one is for me, you understand?”

“Sir, I can’t open the safe!” he pleaded.

The gun was pointed directly at him and as he looked down the barrel, all he could think about was Emily.

There was a soft ‘click’ and nothing happened. The robber stared in disbelief but before he could remove the jammed round, the police showed up.

***

Cain went home after interviewing with the police, walking in looking disheveled and distraught.

“Cain, I tried calling you, I saw on the news, are you ok? Did you see the guy?”

Before he could open his mouth, he glanced down to see her hand wrapped in bandages. “What happened?” he asked, taking her hand gently, “How bad is it?”

“It’s nothing, it’s big but not deep. I was cleaning the bathroom and when I was wiping down the mirror it just fell off and shattered. I swear it wasn’t on purpose.”

But it was on purpose. Perhaps not purposefully by her hand, but something or someone much bigger than Cain had intervened that day and changed a prediction that was destined to have come true.