The Mirror at the Lake House

“Dammit,” Ruby muttered, realizing she'd missed the turn a second time.

The road she needed was partially obscured by trees and thick undergrowth. To make things worse, Google Maps had stopped working about five minutes down the road.

There was no easy place for a U-turn on the narrow lane. Ruby had to drive another ten minutes until she found a steep, narrow driveway to turn her car around and head back the other way.

I won’t miss it again, she thought as she drove, very slowly this time, keeping vigilant for her turn.

Sure enough, she spotted the turn ahead and made it this time. The gravel road led her down a steep and even less maintained road than the one she’d been on.

At the end of the short road, she saw her destination. The sparkling waters of Lake Michigan shone in the late afternoon sunlight of the chilly November day.

To the right sat a two-story, pale green house with white shutters. Ruby recognized it from the pictures she’d seen online. The boards were worn from the wind, and the whole thing could do with a new paint job.

It was the bay windows that had sold her on the Airbnb house when she was browsing places to stay. The house sat on the lake, and Ruby could picture herself sitting in front of the windows, sipping her morning coffee, writing on her laptop, listening to the waves lapping peacefully on the shore.

It was an image she couldn’t get out of her head. She thought of it on her way to work in the mornings. She thought of it during dull work meetings. She thought of it as she told her husband goodnight and slipped into bed at the end of each day.

Alone. Writing. At the lake. Waves. Quiet. And me. All alone.

It became all she could think of.

The amazing thing was that she had acted upon it. Took a leave of absence from work. Told her husband, Michael, she had to get away for a month. Booked the place and paid the deposit.

Now here she was. Standing in front of the place she’d been dreaming of for months.

Ruby remembered the conversation she’d had with Michael when she tried to explain to him why she needed this so desperately.

“You’re quitting your job?” Michael had said when she told him her idea in the kitchen after dinner. He stared at her in dismay as he stood drying a dish.

“I’m not quitting,” Ruby said. “I’m taking a leave of absence,” she’d explained as she wiped the kitchen table clean.

“Paid or unpaid?” he frowned.

“Both. I get paid for half of it. I have two weeks' vacation left,” Ruby said. “The second two are unpaid. Besides, it will give me time to write.” She finished up at the table and started wiping the counters.

“Write what?” said Michael.

“I don't know. Just write. I never have time to write what I want,” Ruby said. “I spend my time writing press releases and social media blurbs and other boring things for work. But never what I want to write about.”

What she wasn't saying, but they both knew, was she needed to get away from her sadness and their mutual problems, even if it was only temporary. They’d been trying for a baby for a year now. It wasn’t working, and the endless fertility treatments were beginning to weigh on her.

Michael had understood in the end. Or seemed to, she’d thought. And she’d told him she loved him, and he said he loved her.

And that was that.

She found this house at a bargain price. Probably because it was off-season. She put the whole thing on one of their almost maxed credit cards, and the deal was done.

She felt a bit of trepidation doing something Michael didn’t approve of. And worry her job might be gone by the time she got back. But then she would picture herself sitting in that cozy alcove she’d seen in the photos, bundled in a sweater, watching the lake, hearing the waves on the shore and the wind rustling the leaves in the trees and knew this was what she needed.

She pulled up the long drive and parked. There was a white pickup truck parked in the street. A woman got out of the truck as soon as Ruby emerged from her car.

“You’re 30 minutes late,” the woman said tersely. She had long, reddish hair that she had braided down her back and no makeup. She was probably in her 50s, Ruby guessed.

“I’m sorry! You must be Jill. I'm Ruby,” she said. “Traffic was a disaster getting out of the city, and I missed the turn twice.”

Jill looked at Ruby. “I don’t need to show you inside the house,” Jill said. “Here are the keys.” She handed Ruby a set of old, antique-looking keys. “Besides, I don’t go in the house much anymore.”

“Why not?” said Ruby.

Jill ignored this question. “We keep beach supplies at a shed at the bottom of the stairs down there. Walk down and go to the right. Chairs, kayaks, paddles, and things. You can’t miss it.”

She pointed to a set of steep stone steps that led to the beach. Ruby strained to see the shed, but the thick trees hid it from view.

“Maybe I’ll kayak sometime,” Ruby said. “That sounds fun.”

“It will be cold,” said Jill. “But you do what you like. Remember to put everything back where you found it at the end of the day.”

“Great,” said Ruby. Thanks.”

“The house is self-explanatory,” Jill said. “The wifi password is on the refrigerator. It gets spotty sometimes. Not reliable.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Jill continued. “I’m up the road about a mile. Phones don't always work inside the house. You may have to step outside for calls."

“Okay,” said Ruby.

Jill moved to go and then seemed to reconsider and turned to face Ruby, “Are you really staying alone?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Ruby. “My husband has to work, so I don’t...yes, it’s just me.”

Ruby smiled and added, “I needed to get away for a bit. And the lake seemed so peaceful and...” she trailed off. She was doing it again. She often did this. Justified her actions to someone to whom she didn’t owe an explanation. So she stopped talking.

Jill looked at her for what seemed a long time. “You’ll be fine,” she said. “Just don't go in any of the locked rooms.”

“Of course not,” said Ruby.

"Especially not the attic," said Jill.

"Okay," said Ruby

Jill turned to leave and began walking to her truck. Ruby decided this meant the conversation was over and headed to her car for her suitcase.

“One more thing!” Jill called to Ruby as she opened the door to her truck. “Don’t complain to me about the sounds at night.” Jill’s eyes swept up to the top of the house where Ruby could see a small window on the third floor. “I can’t do anything about 'em. They stop eventually. They always do.”

"What sounds?" Ruby said.

"Like a banging," said Jill.

Banging sounds? Ruby thought. That wasn’t mentioned in the online description. “Banging sounds?” She asked aloud.

The older woman had climbed into her truck and closed the door, unable to hear Ruby’s question.

Or more likely pretending not to hear, thought Ruby, as she grabbed her bag and walked up the steps into the house.

Maybe the neighbors are loud, thought Ruby. Though most of the houses nearby seemed to be empty for the season. She couldn’t fathom what sounds Jill could be talking about.

The house was old and creaky. But it was clean with lots of windows.

Ruby puttered around, unpacking groceries she’d brought from home and hanging up her clothes. She found her favorite spot was the window seat she’d seen in the photos online. It offered a perfect view of the lake. Ruby felt a shiver of excitement at the month ahead of her.

After a while, Ruby noticed it was getting dark. She had wanted to go down to the beach before bed but felt a heavy tiredness overcome her. She decided it could wait until morning.

Ruby got ready for bed in a hurry and went into the bathroom in the hallway near her room to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Walking into the bathroom, she flipped on the light. It flickered softly several times and went out with a spark.

Oh great, she thought. I’ll have to tell Jill in the morning.

The light from the hallway lit the small bathroom well enough so that she could see herself dimly in the mirror. Ruby stared at her reflection. Her reflection stared back.

Since the moment she’d clicked reserve on this house, she hadn’t stopped to let herself think too much about it. She had kept herself busy with the planning, but now it was done, and she had plenty of time to think. Had she made a mistake? Was she avoiding her problems or facing them?

She stared at herself in the dimly lit mirror, worrying over these thoughts. And then, in the soft light from the hallway, she could see her features soften and then readjust in the mirror.

What stared back now was no longer her.

She saw a woman with haggard features, deep wrinkles, and red-rimmed eyes staring back.

Ruby screamed and jumped. The stranger was gone. Ruby saw her own face once again reflected in the mirror.

I’m exhausted, she thought. I’m seeing things that aren’t there. I need sleep.

She cracked a window open in the bedroom despite the cold so she could hear the waves from the lake and almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Until she was awakened by a banging sound coming from somewhere above her.

She looked at the clock. It was 3 AM. Another bang, right above her. Are these the sounds Jill meant? She didn’t expect they’d be inside the house with her.

The banging grew louder and was happening above her head. For the first time, she regretted not having Michael with her. But, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. The house quieted, and the only sounds Ruby could hear were the waves down below and the wind blowing through the trees.

She drifted off to sleep again and didn’t wake until daylight was brightly streaming through the windows.

She was so happy to see the sunshine and hear the waves and remember where she was that she brushed aside the strange events from the previous night and climbed out of bed to begin her day.

Her first day at the lake house was uneventful. She filled it with the activities of bringing in more groceries, calling Michael, calling Jill, taking several long walks on the beach, and sitting in the window seat daydreaming as she looked down at the water.

What she didn’t do was write. She kept her laptop open and next to her as she sat, gazing at the lake. But the screen remained blank as she stared out the windows lost in her thoughts.

By night she was exhausted again and found herself looking into the dimly lit mirror in the bathroom once more. Jill had not sent someone over to replace the light yet, despite promising it would happen soon on their call.

Ruby remembered the strange face from the night before and had a sudden urge to see it again. She stared into her own eyes, not blinking.

It happened again. Ruby’s features disappeared and were replaced by something else. This time, expecting it, she didn’t scream and jump back. She stood and stared, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The same woman from before stared back at her. Her haggard face frowning. Her eyes sunken deep into her head. Ruby watched this stranger’s face as long as she could take it, then Ruby moved suddenly. And the woman was gone.

Of course, it’s not real at all. It’s my mind making things up, she thought, as she headed to bed. What she didn’t admit to herself was that she liked the frightening thrill of looking back into the stranger’s cold, angry face. Though she didn't know why.

Again she fell asleep soundly listening to the waves. Again, the sounds from above woke her. She looked at the clock. Again, it was 3 AM. Despite Jill’s prior warning, she had asked her about the sound anyway on their morning phone call.

“Animals.” Jill had said. “Some kind of animal.”

“Why don’t you call animal control?” Ruby had asked.

“I have,” said Jill. “More than once. They never find a thing.”

“Then how do you know it’s animals?” said Ruby.

“What else would it be?” said Jill.

This does not sound like animals, Ruby thought as she lay in bed listening to the raucous bangs. Like the previous night, the sound stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and Ruby fell asleep until the morning sun shone on her face.

It was in this way that she continued for the next two weeks. Keeping herself busy during the day, walking along the beach, sitting at the window seat (she’d given up even the pretense of pulling out her laptop) during the day. Gazing at the stranger’s face in the mirror at night. And then falling asleep to be woken up from banging above her head at 3 AM.

As the days passed, Ruby became more obsessed with staring at the woman's face.

It was the 14th night of this routine, when the banging started, again at 3 AM, that Ruby decided it was time to investigate.

She climbed the stairs leading to the attic and tried the door. As Jill had said, it was locked. But Ruby was determined. She banged on the door and jiggled the knob. Suddenly, she felt it was very important she get through that door. She ran downstairs, grabbed the set of keys Jill had given her and tried every one of them in the lock. None of them worked. The banging had subsided by then, and the house was quiet.

Ruby gave up, walked down the stairs, passing the bathroom on her way to her bedroom. As she walked by, she thought she saw something move in the mirror. She stopped. She stepped into the bathroom.

This time she didn’t need to gaze at her reflection, waiting for the woman to appear. She was already there. Staring at Ruby angrily. More real than she’d ever been before. Her hair hung limply down her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed and deeply sunken. Her skin looked paper-thin stretched across her skull.

Ruby froze in fear as they stared at each other for what seemed a long time to Ruby. Then the woman brought up her fists and banged from inside the mirror.

The banging started upstairs again, simultaneous with the woman’s pounding fists.

Ruby ran from the bathroom, shutting the door and closing herself in the bedroom. Crying and shaking, she looked at the clock, realizing it would be daybreak soon, which for some reason she felt would bring an end to the nightmare, and she would be safe.

The banging continued for some time as Ruby sat shivering on her bed. There was a crashing sound, and then quiet. Ruby heard what sounded like footsteps scurrying down the stairs leading to the attic. The footsteps stopped at her door for a moment, then continued down the hallway and faded away.

Ruby sat utterly still, completely horrified. She didn’t move or make a sound until the morning sun was brightly streaming through the windows.

Once she felt safe, she rose from the bed and quickly got dressed. I’m getting out of here, she thought. She packed her things quickly. Holding her suitcase in one hand, she slowly turned the doorknob with her other and walked out of the bedroom.

She had to pass the bathroom to get downstairs. The door was still closed, and she had no desire to open it.

Ruby stopped at the foot of the stairs that led up to the attic. She could see the door leading to the attic stood open.

She set her bag down at the foot of the stairs. Feeling someone else was controlling her legs and making her walk up to the room, she slowly ascended to the top.

The door sat wide open. Looking in, she saw a room filled with boxes and furniture covered with sheets. There was no one inside. To her left, she saw an ornate mirror leaning up against the wall. The mirror had one long crack that traveled from the top to the bottom in a zigzag pattern.

For some reason, this gave her a horrible feeling. She left the attic quickly, running down the rickety stairs, grabbing her suitcase. She quickly gathered up the few belongings she’d left on the first floor. Not checking to see if she’d forgotten anything, she dashed outside, leaving Jill’s keyring sitting inside on the kitchen table.

She’d text Jill from the road and say she had to cut her trip short. She wasn’t spending one more minute in that house.

As she drove away, she began to relax. It was my imagination, she thought. I wasn’t getting enough sleep because of the animals in the attic. All alone in that creepy house, I started to imagine things. She knew when she got home she’d tell Michael about it. They’d have a laugh, and everything would be fine. They’d figure out the baby stuff eventually. What mattered was that she was going home, where she belonged.

She was so busy thinking these relieved thoughts that she didn’t notice the red-rimmed, sunken eyes staring at her angrily from the car’s rearview mirror as she drove home.