The Mirror

The Mirror

I hated cleaning my house, even though I was a neat freak. It was boring. It was a beautiful day outside, and here I was scrubbing the bathtub.

I could have put it off until another day, but my OCD would not allow it. I’m not sure which came first, my OCD, or my need for perfectionism. But they both acted as one “beast”, compelling me to spend the day cleaning. And since I had deemed Sunday mornings as cleaning day, I must adhere to my schedule, otherwise the beast would tap away at me like an annoying child.

Suddenly I heard the rumble of thunder off in the distance. Puzzled, I peered out of the bathroom window. “I didn’t know it was supposed to rain today”, I thought to myself. I could see dark clouds moving in from the west. Somehow this made me feel better about having to spend the day inside cleaning. “Ha”! I said triumphantly to no one in particular, feeling vindicated.

I walked through the house to the front porch, and stepped outside. The storm was moving in fast. The tree tops began to sway violently as a loud crack of thunder boomed overhead. It was still rumbling as rain began pouring from the sky in buckets.

“What the hell” I said out loud as the sun scrambled behind the clouds. Even though it was morning, it seemed more like dusk. I watched as the rain formed murky puddles in my yard already. It ran down the sides of the street as if running in a marathon, not letting anything break its mad dash.

All at once I heard the screen door bang. I quickly turned my head and saw the door bouncing slightly against the frame. I easily rationalized the wind must have blown it open, and headed inside. Oddly, there was rain water leading into the house across my freshly mopped floor. It was raining hard, but I had never seen it blow across the floor through the screen like that before. Sighing, I went towards the kitchen to grab a mop. But then I noticed the trail of rain seemed to turn down the hall. Puzzled, and slightly spooked, I followed the trail into the hallway. There was a small puddle on the floor at the end of the hall, as if the source had stopped briefly in hesitation before deciding to go left.

I was seriously creeped out now, but I continued on, determined to figure out where it lead. It appeared to head into the bathroom. I silently quipped it must need to go pee, but that thought soon gave way to an uneasy feeling of fear. Another small puddle was near the tub. I was certain I had not closed the shower curtain when I had gone outside, but there it was, definitely closed. It seemed to dare me to open it. The room was eerily dark now as thunder cracked outside the window. I looked at the widow, rain was pounding against the pane as if trying to warn me I was in danger. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a slight movement of the shower curtain, as if someone, or something, had brushed against it. Maybe they did it on purpose to freak me out, which it certainly did.

As I stood there in fright, a deafening roar of thunder filled the room like a cannon had gone off. I automatically closed my eyes against the wave of noise. I felt fear wash over me like fire as my heart pounded against my chest. I was actually trembling as I looked towards the tub. The room seemed to grow even darker as my breath caught in my throat, too afraid to breathe when I saw that the shower curtain was now open at one end.

I stared in horror, literally unable to move. Darkness wrapped itself around me as it seemed to breathe against the back of my neck, tightening its hold on me. I heard disembodied whispers begin to fill the air, quietly at first, then growing loud, chanting maniacally like demonic minions. I felt compelled to look towards the mirror as I struggled not to. I knew my fate was waiting for me there, ready to drag me into its lair of horror, and death. But I was helpless against the hypnotic chant of voices as I began to turn my head in terrifying dread.

At first the mirror seemed painted in black. But as I continued to stare, the faint image of a face began to take shape. It seemed to be raining inside the mirror as the face drew closer. A puddle began to form in the sink as rain water dripped from the mirror. As I looked at the growing puddle, it began to turn red. What appeared to be blood poured from the mirror now unforgivingly, spilling across the sink and floor as it covered me with its evil stench. I looked back at the mirror as the face broke through the glass, its mouth gaped open, its blood red lips harsh against its pale skin. It had no eyes, but the dark black empty sockets seemed to stare at me as it inched towards my face. Her hair was wet, and matted with blood. I could feel her breath on my face as blood dripped from her gaping mouth. Hundreds of teeth it seemed filled her mouth like blood stained daggers. Just as the deafening sound of thunder filled the room, her mouth shoot open. I could see the tormented faces of lost souls in the depths of her mouth, their hands raised in desperation before falling back into the abyss of darkness. Just as I raised my eyes, her mouth opened even wider, a growl escaping her lips as she devoured my face.

A loud bang of thunder echoed through the darkness. I moaned in fear and opened my eyes, the nightmare I just had still clinging to my very soul. I sat up and looked towards the window and saw rain gently splashing against the pane of glass. I began to relax as I realized it had all been a horrible nightmare, a scene straight from the mind of Stephen King. I even managed a slight smile as I gave myself kudos for having such a vivid imagination. Shaking my head, I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. As I walked down the hallway, flashes of my dream passed before my eyes. But there was no spooky trail of water leading down the hall as I made my way to the bathroom.

Trying to prove to myself that I was fearless, I passed through the doorway without a care. But it only took a heart stopping second for terror to grip me. There was a puddle of water in front of the sink on the floor, and shards of glass from the mirror were scattered across the floor like sharp teeth. As I looked towards the tub, I saw the closed shower curtain move slightly as darkness filled the room.