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The Gift of the Glass

Heidi’s War

By J. S. WadePublished about a year ago Updated about a year ago 20 min read
18
The Gift of the Glass
Photo by PaaZ PG on Unsplash

Graphic and Horror

The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own. I didn't want to look, but she made me. He made me. They made me. Someone made me. I don’t know.

An angelic young girl, maybe eight years old, stared back at me with hopeful eyes and waved. She mouthed the words, "Help me."

"Tell me what you see, Heidi," Dr. Harriet Satcher said from behind me.

"A young girl."

"What is she wearing?"

"A blue dress. A dirty blue dress with Stacy embroidered on the front. "Please let me stop. I don't want to do this anymore."

"Why Heidi? What are you feeling?"

"Someone’s coming."

"Who's coming?"

"Something dead."

"How do you know?

"I can smell it, rotten eggs."

The young girl in the mirror jerked her head away from me and her face transformed from innocence to terror. She mouthed, "No!" as a hairy, scaly fist smashed her in the face, and she disappeared from the mirror frame. Splatters of blood dripped down the inside of the glass.

The pock-marked face of a balding man wearing a black smock with a filthy clerical collar filled the mirror. Jagged cracks spidered across the glass with the force of his presence. Rotted teeth gleamed black and rusty as he grinned and flicked his snake-like tongue at me. His dead black eyes narrowed, he sucked his lips inward, and spat a stream of brown liquid into the glass. Putrid odors of decay and rot filled the room.

Gripping the fallen girl's blonde hair, he pressed her bloodied face against the inside of the glass, dipped his finger in the blood running down her pale face and wrote, Hello, Heidi, and pointed a gnarly finger with a long yellowed nail and said, "You're next."

His mouth became unnaturally unhinged and opened wide like that of a giant python. He crammed Stacey’s head, then arms and torso, into his expanded throat until her feet disappeared down his gullet.

I screamed as the curtains of my mind blocked the grotesque vision, and my legs folded under me. My body slammed into the floor, but I didn't feel it.

🪞🪞🪞

I lay on the lower bunk in the dormitory of St Helena's University and College Prep in St. Augustine, Florida. The nightmares had gotten worse and robbed me of my sleep. Tonight's seemed unnatural as I had escaped the reach of a psychotic bald-headed preacher who wanted to harm me. The longer I stayed awake, the hazier the memory became. I hoped to remember enough to share it with Dr. Satcher. She had been helping me with my grief since my parents had died two weeks earlier. My three roommates slept contented, and I was happy I hadn't awakened them. They didn't speak to me. What do you say to someone who has just lost their parents in a house fire?

The sun hadn't risen yet when I slipped into the communal bathroom. I left the lights off as it allowed me to avoid the mirrors. I do not like mirrors. My father loved them. He wasn't a glamor man stuck on his reflection but had a gift that allowed him to see things in the past and future. The most significant negative was the loss of privacy. Imagine you are in the bathroom stark naked after a shower, and your long-dead Aunt Josey appears uninvited. He loved the song Sound of Silence, and now I understood the darkness was our friend. Last year he recognized that I had the gift too. He called it a gift, but I'm not sure it isn't also a curse.

Once again, I couldn't pee and stood up from the toilet. I might need to visit the campus nurse. A shadow passed where the mirror should be, something darker than the dark of the bathroom. The rotten odor of sulfur filled the room, and tendrils of an invader threaded up the wall, retracted, and searched another direction. A faint voice whispered, "Heidi? Where…are…you?" It was the voice of the sadistic preacher.

I found myself on the lower bunk in my dormitory again. Another nightmare had come within the innocuous dream of the bathroom. I was afraid to scream and wake my roommates. Now, I had two visions to share with Dr. Satcher. The nagging fear that I was being stalked pervaded my senses, and I wished I could talk with my Dad so he could help me understand.

🪞🪞🪞

My first encounters with the gift of the glass were fun once I stopped freaking out about my parents being dead. How many people get to say goodbye to a loved one after they are gone? Two days after the house fire, my mother and father visited me in the bathroom mirror. They told me they loved me and I would see them again. My mom waved goodbye, and my father remained.

"Heidi, this is a gift passed to you to communicate through the glass. Share this with no one! Some will abuse you for their gain. Remember, the glass can see forward, backward, and present in many realms. If the mirror breaks, you are no longer shielded from the dark realms where pure evil exists, and they will come for you."

"Who are they?"

My Dad smiled with a grimace and his eyes were saddened. He glanced over his shoulder. There was something important he wasn't telling me.

"I have to go, dear.” He touched his fingers to his lips and faded away.

🪞🪞🪞

The dorm room alarm clock went off, and the girls hustled to make their beds, go to breakfast, and attend morning roll call. I had been given a pass due to my bereavement, and they didn't even call my name. Besides, my appetite had been zero for days, so I skipped it.

That afternoon, I left Lacrosse practice, where I had been a star player before the fire. I didn't need a shower because the coach gave me a pass on playing for a while and barely acknowledged me. The entire faculty and staff had been very kind to me. They didn't press me to be involved until I was ready. Instead of going to study hall, I made my path straight to Dr. Satcher's office while the memories of the nightmares were fresh in my mind.

Dr. Satcher had called me weeks ago to her office when she heard about the loss of my parents. Her compassion for my well-being gained my trust, and we grew close. During the third session, I broke down, ignored my father's warning, and told her about the gift of the glass. It moved me that she believed me. Without judgment, she committed to helping me understand the importance of the unique gift.

“How are you feeling today, Heidi?"

"I'm tired. I dreamed of the mirror again. A little girl in a blue dress was being held captive. She asked me to help her when a nasty man in a preacher's collar hit her. He said, I was next. Then in my second nightmare he hunted me in the bathroom."

"Heidi, I have to tell you the truth. It's wasn't a nightmare. It happened."

"What do you mean it happened?

"Last night, as a part of your therapy, you were hypnotized, and you used your gift to help find the girl you saw in the mirror. She was a client of mine. Her name is Stacy."

"This is real? Not a nightmare? I trusted you Dr. Satcher. My Dad warned me not to tell anyone. I should have never come to you."

"I'm sorry Heidi."

"Sorry doesn't get it. I'm out of here. Find some other weirdo to experiment on."

"Wait, Heidi. Please? You are in danger. The monster manifesting himself to you is a destroyer of light and a pedophilic monster. He is not of this world and targets certain young girls. He collects them. Your parents were on a team to rid him from this world and free the thousands of souls he has consumed. Why do you think they moved here and enrolled you at St. Helena's? There's something else I need to tell you…."

"You're a liar. My parents would have told me. This psycho has the gift of the glass and knows my face now. Thanks."

"Heidi, you are...

I stormed from her office before she could finish another lie.

🪞🪞🪞

Angry and scared, I sat on a grassy hill overlooking the campus reflection pond. It had become my secret get-a-way when I needed to think. A banner plane flew overhead advertising an upcoming New Year's Eve Party. I laughed. Someone had screwed up and will probably be fired. The banner read 2023 when everyone knew the New Year would bring in 2020 and a new decade. How could someone be so dense?

The sun set over the water as birds flew acrobatics in the sky, scooping their last-minute meals before darkness fell. Shadows rippled across the pond until the image of my Dad formed in the reflection. The word trust foamed in the water below him. The water swirled and erased it, and a second message rose to the surface, Dr. Satcher. The message disappeared like the first. A third set of words formed, what is the year? And then four final words, Love, Mom and Dad.

How did my parents know Dr. Satcher? Was she telling me the truth that they were assisting her in her hunt for this monster? What else didn't I know about my parents? The ground grew cold beneath me, and a desire for clarity tapped at the recesses of my mind. I felt like I had forgotten something important.

🪞🪞🪞

Dr. Satcher and her husband, George, sat on the couch in her office. A new full-length mirror hung on the wall covered by a black cloth. She watched me enter, but George ignored me and kept talking.

"George, I need to speak with Heidi alone," Dr. Satcher said. George stood and left the office without acknowledgment.

"Is your husband always so personable? He is beyond rude," I said, "Someone needs to teach him the ten-foot rule."

"We can discuss that later. First, we need to speak clearly to each other. What made you come back?"

"My father sent me a message in the reflection pond. First to trust you, and second to ask you, what is the year?"

"Heidi. What year do you think it is?"

"I don't understand all the mystery. It's 2019. Has everyone lost their minds?"

"There are mysteries that I must be careful how I reveal to you. It's for your own good. Let's call it the laws of the universe."

"It's not 2019? Tell me."

Dr. Satcher walked to her desk, retrieved the daily newspaper, and laid it on the coffee table.

"Heidi, what is the date of this paper?"

My head began to spin, and I felt faint as the core of my being resisted the offer. Finally, by sheer will, I read the date under the headline, December 15, 2022.

"This can't be. My parents died two weeks ago in 2019. How did I lose three years of my life? What is going on Dr. Satcher?"

"Have you ever read the name plate on my office door Heidi?"

A mental tornado spun in my mind. Numb to my surroundings, I moved to the door and opened it. The nameplate read,

Dr. Harriet Satcher, Chairwoman, Institute of Parapsychology.

"You're not a regular psychologist?"

"I am master certified in psychology and attained my PhD in the Paranormal from The University of Edinburgh."

"That's where my father studied."

"Yes, I know. We were colleagues for a time."

"How could I lose three years of memory and find myself being counseled by a woman who studies ghosts?"

"Heidi, you are intelligent. All the answers are in front of you, but you must be the one to acknowledge them. I can only assist you. Does anyone else recognize you or speak to you besides me? Why do you skip the cafeteria? Do you have homework, or do you play Lacrosse anymore?

I trembled as my feet grew cold. I realized my clothes were the same as yesterday and the day before. I went through the motions of life, but every day seemed the same until the nightmares came.

"No, no, no, Dr. Satcher. Am I dead?"

Dr. Satcher's face exuded a depth of compassion I had never seen before.

"Am I a… a… ghost?"

"Heidi, it has taken us three years to come to this point. It's what I do. Yes, you died the night your parents did three years ago in the house fire. I am a trained medium and help those stuck in this world find the path to transition into the next. There is more, but you need to acclimate to this revelation first."

"Why didn't you just tell me after I first came to you?

"The reality of one's death can't be forced. There have been cases were those stuck in transition have become poltergeists. At that point it is too dangerous to help them. Mediums have died trying."

"Why am I stuck here?"

"You are stuck here because of something unfinished. The night you and your parents died wasn't an accident. Your father had assisted me in tracking down a demon who targets children stuck in between, like you. He had made first contact with a tortured young girl who managed to cry out for help like Stacy.

The emotions of the moment caused a small splinter in the glass but we had found the monster. The battle team from the University of Edinburgh had agreed to a plan of attack to free the souls and drive the demon back to hell. Their team of Mediums with their spirit Warriors of the Light were to arrive the next day. Unfortunately, your father left a trace of himself, a fingerprint on the mirror, when he sought to console the terrified girl.”

"What happened? Why didn't the attack go as planned?" I said.

“A friendly ghost named Jaspar, who chooses to remain in this world, witnessed the attack on you and your family. He enjoyed playing chess in the mirror with your dad.

The Demon, his name is Palatar, traced your father to your house, broke through the bathroom mirror, and set the house ablaze. He destroyed your family, but when he witnessed your beautiful spirit form rising from the ashes, he desired you. For centuries this creature from hell has had a penchant for taking young girls stuck in between. What greater punishment for your father's attempted intervention than to rob him of his daughter in the afterlife?"

"But he didn't. I'm still stuck here."

"Yes, that's true. Jaspar said he had never seen anything like it. Your parent’s fierce charge into Palatar stopped him cold. They pushed your spirit out of the house to roam free here on campus and jumped into Palatars dark realm to draw him away from you."

"They saved me, from Palatar?"

"Yes, at the price of their own transition and yours. By saving you they are forever stuck in the Demon's dark realm. They remain in hiding. I'm sure Palatar is hunting them as we speak to add them to his collection. The clerical collar he toys with is his prized possession from an arrogant archbishop who attempted an exorcism when the Demon roamed the earth decades ago."

"That's why my mom and Dad haven't contacted me until today through the reflection pond. Because they are in danger. I must help them. What can I do? Please tell me."

🪞🪞🪞

After days, or maybe weeks, had passed, I don't know because ghosts like me have no sense of time. I stood ready in front of the covered mirror in Dr. Satcher's office. The battle team of Mediums from the University of Edinburgh had arrived and stood prepared down the hall.

"Remember, Heidi. If he breaks through, do not let him touch you or you will be lost. Understand?"

"I do."

"It's not too late to change your mind. Your parents would understand. Palatar will have no mercy on you."

"Dr. Satcher, either I am going to be with my parents in the eternal light or the dark. They sacrificed theirs for me and I can do no less. Besides, Palatar must be stopped. He's the reason I'm stuck."

"He's the reason thousands are stuck, Heidi," as she slipped the black cloth off the full-length mirror and stepped away.

My reflection showed my singed pink silk pajamas ragged with burns and tears. The right side of my face oozed fluid from the red welts where the skin had split from the superheat of the fire. A stubborn tuft of hair stood straight up on my seared scalp, and I thought the Pebbles Flintstone hairstyle might have been cute under different circumstances. Accepting my death allowed me to see myself as I was for the first time. My appearance did not repulse me but angered me. Hell hath no fury like a teen girl robbed of her parents and life. I didn't even get to go to prom, have a boyfriend, or have a first kiss. Palatar would pay for all that he had done.

"Focus, Heidi," said Dr. Satcher, "Call for him. Provoke him. But be prepared to run."

"Palatar, oh Palatar. You wheezy old bastard. Are you looking for me? I'm waiting."

I waited.

"Hey preach! You afraid of a little girl? Thought you said I was next."

My confidence rose and my reflection transitioned to the long blonde hair, smooth face and skin I had before my death. The seeping burns and disfiguration were gone. The pink silk pajamas were restored with the panda bear on my top. I smiled at myself.

"Palata…"

Gray fog billowed and curled within the mirror from frame to frame. The bald man emerged from the haze and grinned with his rotted teeth. He ran his tongue over his cracked lips as slobber dripped off his chin.

"You called the great Palatar, the preacher, the consumer of young souls, and eater of priests? You dare insult me, child? You will bow before me and grovel at my feet for mercy that you will never receive. Your pain and suffering will please me."

"Oh, shut up you skanky slime ball. You are nothing but a bully, a thief, and pedophilic Demon who belongs in the depths of hell."

Palatar slammed his scaly fist into the glass, and it cracked. Sewer-like gases escaped into the room, and Dr. Satcher gagged behind me.

"You are weak Palatar. That's the best you can do? You will never have the likes of me. I'm too good for you. Too sweet, too innocent, too strong."

Palatar roared in rage and bared his decayed canines. His eyes bulged, and parasites escaped the flames rising within his crusty, wrinkled cheeks. The glass splintered outward from the center like a bullet had hit the bullseye.

"You will suffer greatly Heidi. No one taunts Palatar."

The Demon slammed both fists into the glass, shards of mirror exploded across the office, and his massive arms shot toward me.

"Run Heidi. Now!" cried Dr. Satcher, "to the Dance Hall. Run!"

I escaped into the hallway as his black tendrils fingered their way in pursuit.

I turned left at a corner as his fingers shot past me and punched the wall. Raw sewage and the decay of an ancient graveyard penetrated my nose, and I gagged.

"Palatar, you reek!"

I ducked and turned into the Dance Hall as his scaly hands shot over my head, just missing me. A prepared circle, drawn on the floor, waited for me in the center of the room. I stopped, floated above it, and waited as I’d been instructed.

A light-absorbing mass collected at the entry door and reformed into the demon creature he was. Seven feet in height, the scaly body pulsated with thousands of tumor-like lumps of the taken souls he possessed. His yellow eyes protruded like a rabid vulture, and his long tongue flickered like a snake. A dozen horns curved in an arch from his shoulders to the top of this puke-green head. A gaseous cloud with the blended stench of rotted fish, sulfur, and decayed flesh swirled around him. Ectoplasm dripped and puddled where he stepped like the clear snot.

"Damn, Palatar, I thought the bald-headed preacher was ugly. But Damn!

"I will rip you apart and consume your soul, child." Palatar said in a deep raspy voice, "It’s been awhile since I looked forward to destroying someone like you."

The Demon stepped forward. He had missed the dozen cloaked mediums from Edinburgh encircling the room with full-length mirrors that were turned away from him. They rose and faced him in one motion. The mirrors were rotated so the reflective glass faced the demon. Within each mirror stood a ghostly Warrior of the Light each Medium had called with their gift of the glass. Unified, they raised their palms, and a blinding light struck Palatar from all sides. He screamed as all colors became void, and the dance hall seemed to be consumed by celestial white. "No. This can't be," as he fell to his knees.

The imprisoned souls embedded in his body burst into a thousand splinters of light. They transformed into pastel orbs of many colors as the freed souls floated toward the heavens. With each escape, Palatar shrunk in size until all those possessed by him had been released. A pink orb floated toward me and brushed my cheek before ascending. I knew it was the young girl Stacey.

A glorious winged Angel being appeared beside me, brighter than the room. His gold-dusted wings retracted, and my soul knew it to be an Archangel. I had never felt such tranquility and peace as in his presence.

"Do not be afraid, Heidi. I am Uriel, the Angel of transformation. I have come to assist in this battle against darkness. There is one final task that only I can perform."

He strode toward the reduced remnant of the defeated Demon and drew a massive sword. Blue and gold fire danced from the hilt to the blade.

"Palatar, stealer of souls, murderer of eternal innocents. I banish you to the depths of hell where you will spend eternity in chains never to return to this world or any other realm."

The sword swung in an arch, and the blue fire split him asunder. The demonic body exploded in a fiery starburst.

Uriel bowed to each of the spirit Warriors of the Light in turn around the room. They bowed to the Archangel in acknowledgment and departed each their own way.

The Archangel stood before me in the beauty of his shimmering white robe, spread his wings, and took my hand.

"Are you ready, Heidi?" he said.

"Glorious Uriel, I want to, but I cannot. I must seek out my parents," I said, "How can I leave them behind?"

Uriel smiled, "Heidi, you are of pure heart. Do not worry. Behold!" He pointed to a mirror. My mom and Dad appeared in the glass and slipped onto the dance floor beside me. Jaspar, the once reluctant ghost, followed.

"Heidi, we are so proud of you," my Dad said, and my mother smiled.

"Are you all ready now?" Uriel said.

"One more thing, please." I said.

I floated by each medium from Edinburgh and thanked them for fighting the good fight with me. When I reached Dr. Satcher, I said. "Dr. Satcher, thank you for the pureness of your mission and the patience of heart that can only come from unbounded love."

"You’re welcome Heidi, now go," as she wiped tears from her eyes, "Go, before you miss out again and we have to start all over."

I floated to the Archangel Uriel. We all joined ethereal hands as a sparkling white portal to the heavens shone from above. Flakes like snow danced around us. Together we rose into the celestial beam as the Mediums of Edinburgh clapped, laughed, and slapped each other's shoulders.

As I rose, the twelve mirrors in the room showed reflections that were my own, and my face radiated serenity, tranquility, and peace.

🪞🪞🪞 🪞🪞🪞 🪞🪞🪞

supernatural
18

About the Creator

J. S. Wade

Since reading Tolkien in Middle school, I have been fascinated with creating, reading, and hearing art through story’s and music. I am a perpetual student of writing and life.

J. S. Wade owns all work contained here.

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Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insights

  1. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  1. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  2. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

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    Writing reflected the title & theme

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Comments (15)

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  • Caroline Jane12 months ago

    Nicely done Scott. Well written as always. Late comments I know... currently catching up. 🥰

  • Wow I can’t believe you fit so much into this story Great job 👏🏽

  • C. H. Richard12 months ago

    Wow the detail you encompass throughout the story kept me totally engaged. Well done ! 👏 ❤️ So glad there was a peaceful ending❤️

  • Roy Stevensabout a year ago

    Great little touches of humour in with the dramatic horror. A fun read Scott!

  • JBazabout a year ago

    You hit all the senses with this challenge. Smell?...I don't think any one did that. And a clever plot twist normally I can see it, but you got me.

  • My jaw hit the floor when I realised Heidi is dead. That was super unexpected. Palatar is scaryyyy! Glad he's gone! Loved your story so much!

  • Babs Iversonabout a year ago

    Wow!!! Wonderful entry!!! 💖💖💕

  • Cathy holmesabout a year ago

    Great entry for the challenge, Scott. Well done, as always.

  • Novel Allenabout a year ago

    A well written story. You have a gift. Not my favorite genre horror. But still can appreciate a good story,

  • Dana Crandellabout a year ago

    Incredibly well written and imaginative, and the ending will add to audience appeal. This one should do well in the challenge. Great work!

  • Shane Dobbieabout a year ago

    Ridiculously well written as always but -and I say this because you’re so good you don’t really need another pat on the back- this is a whole novels worth of story crammed into a short and, as a result, it felt over-stuffed. You can have too much of a good thing. Not jealous of your writing skill at all😂

  • Nice👍

  • Another masterpiece. Beautiful, sensitive, vivid & evocative of both menace/evil & heroic innocence & love. But leave it to me to find one small editorial comment. Third to last paragraph, first word, "Your" should be "You're". (You knew I was going to do it to you, didn't you? Lol)

  • Dana Stewartabout a year ago

    Nicely plotted. I really enjoyed how she lured the demon. Really good story and a great contender for the challenge.

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