"Who am I......"

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

It had been a month since Cyrus and Emily Mckay moved into their first home, a month since they went to an auction event and bidded on a 6ft antique mirror, which they brought it home, a month before occurences with the mirror would present themselves........

Cyrus and Emily met in college, both pursuing careers in the medical field. He studying in Psychology, her in Nursing as a CNA, both finding themselves in similar classes together, growing a mutual friendship for each other, but neither taking the first step to something more until Cyrus made a bet with Emily that whoever got the highest test score on a semester final, they would go on a date, the location determined by the winner. Though the scores of the final ended both in a draw, both conceded took turns taking the other out on a date. Fast forward four years after college, the two are married, and are starting their medical futures.

As fate would have it, both would find positions at the local hospital, Cyrus a resident psychologist, Emily a CNA, and both busy with the daily requirements of their duties at the hospital.

In the month the McKays have moved in, furniture arranged, some items, pictures and other still in boxes in a spare room, but hanging on the wall in the master bedroom, lie the giant mirror. A 6ft tall, dark wood with gold trim Victorian mirror, which the two would use for their daily routine between getting dressed for work, and later that evening for bed. Often times the two would stand side by side in the mirror's reflection, making silly faces or smiling before starting or ending their tasks. But on a morning before work Cyrus notices something:

"The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own." In his reflection, he could see the bed that he and his wife slept in. the alarm clock, the lamp, but opposite the bed near the window, a leather chair. Cyrus quickly turned to see if it was there, but wasn't. He turned back to the mirror to find that the image of the chair was gone as well. Thinking to himself it was all in his head from lack of sleep, he brushes it off, and continues his day. Off and on as Cyrus would use the mirror, items that should not be in their room, would briefly appear in his reflection, and disappear as quickly as they came.

"Emmy, have you been seeing weird things in the mirror at all?"

"Like what Cy?"

"Oh, things like....chairs, books, stuff."

"No", Emily replied. "not at all. you sleeping okay?"

"Maybe, maybe not. the last couple weeks of pulling a double must be starting to get to me. and you?"

"It's been rough in my department too. i almost thought i was gonna have to sleep at work for a couple of nights, nothing like caffeine to help push through, lol."

Though Emily had not seen some of the things her husband had glimpsed through the mirror, it wouldn't be too long before she would have her fair share.

One night, before going to bed, Emily started brushing her teeth. After rinsing, she went to the mirror in the bedroom. taking one last look at herself, she gave a smile, but the image was different than what was expected. Instead of a young woman in a light blue nightgown, the reflection was a woman in a black nightgown, hair down, the smile with the expression of anxious intent, and dark eyes. It was the dark eyes from the reflection that caught Emily's gaze, neither full of life or malice, but only the feeling of emptiness. Quickly, Emily closed her eyes and turned away from the mirror. Slowly, she turned back to the mirror and opened her eyes again, only to see the reflection of herself again, light blue nightgown and all. Cyrus had already been in bed when he felt Emily jump into bed and pull close to him.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"Nothing, nothing, just wanted to be close to you. sorry if i woke you up." Cyrus seeming puzzled at her actions, soon ignored it as the two went to sleep.

The routines at the hospital, though tedious at times, were long. Both Emily and Cyrus worked with patients; Emily with various fluid tests and patient check-ups, Cyrus making rounds with other doctors in the mental health ward. One patient, a John Doe was an peculiar case given to him.

"Afternoon John." Cyrus said. After a long, blank and motionless stare, Doe replied, "Afternoon Doc, what day is it today?"

"Tuesday John. are we ready to try some exercises today?" Doe at first hesitant, then nodded yes. The exercises would begin with Doe counting up to 50, then backward to 1, reciting the alphabet, then trying to recall everything that he could about his life. He could describe some features about his parents, a particular hangout he enjoyed when he was a teen, and the high school he went to, but it was the last exercise that Doe began to become nervous about.

"Doc, do we.....have to...do this one again?"

"Yes, John, in order to help you get better, we have to, i won't hold it up too long. Underneath Cyrus' clipboard covered by a short towel, was a small mirror. Cyrus told John to close his eyes, and slowly count from ten back to one, then open his eyes, and Cyrus would reveal the mirror.

Ten.....nine....eight.....seven....six...five...four....three....two.....one....John Doe opened his eyes as Cyrus took the towel away from the mirror. At first, no reaction, John turning his head from one side to the other at his reflection, then his hands began to shake as if being shocked by some invisible electric current.

"who am i....who am i......Who am i.....Who Am I........WHO AM I..WHO AM I....WHO AM I......!" Doe's frantic behavior got louder and louder as he repeated the phrase. Cyrus quickly covered the mirror, and called for orderlies to help calm and restrain John. Cyrus felt bad for Doe, but for the second time a mirror had been showed to Doe, Doe lasted a full 15 seconds. There was some, though little improvement, but Cyrus was determined to find the mystery behind Doe's phobia.

With Emily, despite her various tasks, she was able to take a little break with other nurses in a small breakroom on the floor she was on. Other than typical gossip, to make it through the day, one of the nurses hooked her up with some caffeine tablets for a little "pick-me-up" when she needed.

"Emily, how you doing so far?"

"Like a road runner on a hot plate, lol, but good so far."

"That's good to hear. don't be afraid to ask for help. we've got a great team here, don't put too much stock in any rumors you might hear about some of the people on this floor....but maybe about one particular doctor."

"Who?" Emily was curious, not worried.

"Dr. Dalton, he works off and on between the medical side and mental health ward. he's nicknamed "Dr. Swing" cause he and his wife are into....well you know."

It took Emily to get the full grasp of what the nurse had told her, then covered her mouth in disbelief. She made it a point to avoid him at all cost should the situation called for it. Later on during the day, Emily and Cyrus were able to have lunch together in the cafeteria. Each one would talk about how their day had been going, and looking forward to going home that evening. Without noticing it, a fellow doctor came up to their table.

"Hello you two, how's our two new members doing?" Dr. Dalton stood over Emily and Cyrus with a confident, but warm smile.

"We're good." the couple said in unison.

"You know, when you two get some free time, me and my wife would love to have you over for dinner. I off and on have small dinner parties, or game nights, just something to bond with all my coworkers."

Cyrus spoke, "Sure, when we get a chance, that would be cool."

"Well, i gotta go, some rounds to do later before my shift's over. Cyrus, there's some more documentation i have to go over with you for the ward, it can wait till tomorrow. pleasure talking to you both."

After the doctor made his exit, Cyrus and Emily stared at each other with surprised faces. Without skipping a beat, both leaned close to each other and replied, "We are not going to his house!" both later laughing, the two finished their lunch, before going their separate ways.

In the weeks that followed, Cyrus and Emily's schedule became more routine, and the mirror also began to ramp up its attacks to claim the young couple. One or both would look in the mirror as they were either getting dressed, or going to bed, and notice that their reflected selves would look older, worn out, and even at times frail. This would make Cyrus or Emily do a double take at their reflection before seeing their normal selves. One night as the two slept, Cyrus had a nightmare.

In the dream, Cyrus had come home for lunch. As he entered their home, he could hear faint noises coming from their bedroom. The closer he got to the room, the louder the noises, and when Cyrus enters, he finds Emily in a compromising position with Dr. Dalton. Shaking, he looks down at his right hand holding a revolver. He raises his arm to point at the two, then a hand appears out of the mirror, grabbing Cyrus by the shoulder, turning him. On the mirror in crimson streaked words it reads:

WHO AM I, WHO AM I...

Cyrus wakes up with the gun shot. Shaken, Cyrus looks at Emily, sound asleep, then gets up out of bed to look at the mirror. No words present, red streaked or otherwise. The dream was so surreal, that it took Cyrus 30 minutes to shake the terrifying feeling he had before going back to bed.

A new week had begun, and though Cyrus tried to put the dream out of his mind, a part of him was trying to figure out the connection between his dream and the mirror. Cyrus would do his best not to worry his wife, but would not be long before Emily would have a nightmare of her own. Wednesday night, the two had been able to come home early, a rare situation, so Cyrus and Emily attended a comedy show. The laughs was just the thing to ease tense minds, so after the show, they came home and went to bed.

Two hours into sleep, Emily's nightmare would begin. In the kitchen, getting a drink of water, she heard a voice calling her from the bedroom. As she entered, sitting in a leather chair was Cyrus, or what looked like him. Slumped down in the chair, with a knife in his hand was sobbing:

"Why...why did you do this.....why did you do this to me?!"

"Cy...honey....?"

As Emily looked to the bed, she saw a body and gasped. On top of blood-stained sheets, was an image of Emily, laying lifeless, with an odd-looking smile on the body's face. Cyrus's image began to cut his wrists, bleeding out, and whispering as it died:

"Who am i.....

Emily awoke with a scream, startling Cyrus awake. With both awake now, both looked to the mirror, words began to form in crimson red, "who am i", and cracks begin to form on the mirror. A figure began form inside, white coat, gray skin, and empty eyes, began banging from inside the mirror.

Emily and Cyrus wasted no time, in their pj's, they ran out of the house.......

In the morning, the two were met by the police after getting a report of a disturbance. they told the detective there what happened.

"You two were lucky", said Det. Specktor, "I've been trying to track this down for the past 4 years. you see, that mirror belonged to a doctor and his wife back in the 20s, custom made for his wife. A psychologist trying new therapy techniques using mirrors. well, unfortunately, one day the hubby comes home early, and finds his wife doing one of his doctor buddies, he goes into a rage, grabs a gun, shoots em both. then he later takes his own life writing "who am i" on the mirror, crazy huh?"

Cyrus and Emily look at each other in silence, not realizing the two marks on their bodies, one across Cyrus's right wrist, the other one the right side of Emily's stomach.......