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Reflect for a Lifetime

By Shweta Gupta

By Shweta GuptaPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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Reflect for a Lifetime
Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

It was only a couple months before that Jenny had laughed in that supposed psychic’s face. Although now in retrospect, she probably shouldn’t have. But come on! He had really told her that her life was going to take a turn for the worst. She had laughed and told him he was two years too late for that prediction! She had after all overcome all the hurdles - her parents trying to convince her that she wouldn’t be successful working for a publishing company or William telling her he couldn’t be with a feminist woman! Despite her massive breakup, her move across state borders to New York City, she had managed to not only survive, but to be successful! She had already gotten a promotion in the 6 months that she had been working for Blaustenhouse Publishing Company. Jenny had also managed to secure a condo in Manhattan! The Upper West side! Her agent had told her it was a steal…rightfully so. Who sells a condo here for only 200K? Plus it was absolutely beautiful, with sunlight streaming through the glass to ceiling windows, the marble countertop, the bedroom that could easily fit a king sized bed…that psychic had to be faking! Everything was finally looking up. She had moved in within a month. Her plants were placed strategically throughout the corners to let in some nature and she had splurged a bit on her soft velvet white couch. Deciding to get rid of her old things, she had decided to furnish her new condo with expensive and tasteful things. Her kitchen drawers held expensive silver flatware, her bedroom housed a fluffy white rug and an ottoman she just had to buy. It had taken her a few weeks to get it just right and quite a bit of money! One thing she was really surprised by was that the condo came with this absolutely gorgeous mirror. It was right in the center of the fireplace and when she had asked her agent if the previous owner was going to be taking it with them, her agent shrugged and said they had left it. Jenny assumed the owner had loved how the mirror fit into this apartment. It was like it was made for it with the minimalist gold detailing and a shine that hadn’t disappeared despite the dust that had collected. Jenny was more than happy to accommodate her TV in her bedroom instead. Who doesn’t like to lie down while watching reruns? This place was absolutely perfect, a dream come true.

Being that it was a Saturday, Jenny had to clean her entire place. It was a bit of a ritual to her, but it helped her stay sane. Her bed, with the brand new silk bedsheets, looked like it belonged in a magazine after she was through. Her bathroom sparkled like the countertops and sink had recently been assembled. Absolutely beautiful. With her house clean, Jenny was in desperate need of some pampering. With her new, short baby blue bathrobe, Jenny filled up the tub with her favorite lavender scented bubbles. In the meantime she decided to try on that face mask that had been delivered to her that very morning. A cucumber clay mask honestly sounded like just the thing after this hectic week. Work had gotten kind of crazy since her boss had just went on vacation for a couple weeks. Since Jenny was her right hand, Jenny had been told to substitute. Except, most of the clients weren’t too happy that the lady who was supposed to be publishing their work wasn’t present for their meetings. Oh well. These kinds of things were fairly common in this industry and it’s not like Amanda had left for months - everyone needs a vacation sometime!

With her clay mask on, Jenny went to find her binder. She had been reading a fantasy manuscript that had been submitted a couple days ago. So far it seemed like it was going to make a tremendous amount of money for her office and for the author. She couldn’t seem to find the manuscript anywhere…made sense since she had just cleaned. Jenny had a habit of putting things away and forgetting about them. This time though, she couldn’t just leave it. The author needed an answer by Monday. Looking in her closet, under the bed, on her desk, Jenny finally found it comfortably situated on her vanity by a little black book. She couldn’t fathom how the manuscript even got there. And that book…well that didn’t seem to be hers. It was old and worn with yellowing pages. Tucked away in a fold of one of the pages was an unmarked check for twenty thousand dollars! That would give her savings account a great start! Jenny shook her head. No, no, she couldn’t possibly cash a check that didn’t belong to her. But it was in her home. Whoever had left it didn’t seem to be in a rush to get it back. Oh well. Worst case scenario she will just explain that she found it and gave into the human urge to cash the check. Then she will return the money. It would put a bit of a dent in her savings, but then again it would be to replace this $20,000 that she didn’t have to begin with. Finding no other fault in that logic, Jenny wrote out her name, inscribed the check, and deposited the money through her mobile app. Suddenly really perky, she decided to book a spa day for her Sunday. With an appointment for a massage, facial, and nails the next day, Jenny hung up her robe and stepped into the hot bubbled and scented water, with the manuscript in hand. After reading about a couple of battles with dragons, Jenny rinsed off and completed her skincare routine. Feeling fresh, she decided to get started on her dinner. Her usually stocked fridge was completely empty. Oh well. She would have to go grocery shopping tomorrow after her appointments. For today she would treat herself to some pizza from the pizzeria a couple blocks away from her place. While waiting for her favorite pizza, jalapeños and pineapples, she decided to complete her reading, while commenting in the margins. All in all, this looked like a bestseller.

Just then, her phone pinged with two messages. One stated that her pizza was downstairs and the other stated that the deposit had gone through. Elated, Jenny ran down to relieve the delivery man. The weather in NYC drove her crazy sometimes. Today the sun had seemingly disappeared into a mound of clouds that appeared out of nowhere. At least now she had hot pizza and possibly a series to look forward too. With the large pizza scalding her palm, scrunched in the corner making space for the five men that had entered. Hopefully they would get off before the 24th floor came. However, her luck had run out. Squashed in the back, with the box bumping the shoulder of the nearest suited man, Jenny ended up having to scramble out when the doors opened on her floor. Mmmm. She could smell the delicious cheesy combo. It was simply heavenly. With her Netflix cued up, a glass of ginger ale, and the box on her lap, Jenny spent the rest of the night really living up the rainy night.

As the sun shone brightly through the vast apartment, Jenny woke up. Surprisingly, she wasn’t in her bed…her bed which was neatly made still. Did she fall asleep on the couch? Except her couch looked like she had left it. Cushions put away neatly, because she wasn’t going to let her hard work be wasted. Where was she? And how could she see her entire apartment?

Just then she heard her door knob turn. Panicked, she tried to run. Except she could not move. Her feet seemed rooted. She couldn’t even look down. Only her eyes flitted here and there. With tears streaming down her face, Jenny looked up to see her real estate agent entering her home with a young girl in tow.

“This place is for sale at a steal! It only costs 200 thousand dollars and it includes all the furniture!”

The girl couldn’t help but think that there was something wrong with this place. After all, it looked like the previous owner had left in a rush. Something within her told her not to trust the smiling agent she had found online.

“Let me think about it,” the young girl smiled, glancing at the ornate mirror in front of her. And paying no mind to courtesies or any kind of manners, she rushed out of the beautiful apartment.

Just then, Jenny felt something brush against her ear. Startled, she tried to turn, but could do nothing as the voice beside her whispered, “that’s what you should have done when Debbie showed you this place. Because you too, like that girl noticed that this mirror gave no reflection.”

psychological
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