Mirror, Mirror

By Irena Manukian, Grade 8

Chapter 1
I walked into the gloomy hallway of my great-uncles mansion, Silver Maples, and wished with all my heart that I was still at home, sitting in my comfy window seat and reading a book. Its not that I dont like my uncle or anything. I like him just fine. In fact, hanging out with him is actually kind of cool, what with his sense of humor and eccentric stories about his childhood and travels. No, the problem is his house. Its very old, with worn-out wooden floors and complicated levers instead of locks on all on all the doors. Even though I like old houses, this one tends to grate on my nerves a bit. Okay, a lot. There are always weird shadows that look like someone slipping around the corner or standing by a wall. The hallways are covered in maroon velvet and have tarnished silver mirrors and candelabras hanging on them. Just walking through those halls is creepy. You are constantly catching your blurred reflection lit up by candlelight and the oppressive silence echoes and is lost in the heavy Persian rugs. Throughout the house, there is always a chilling feeling that you are being watched that gives me goosebumps. Thats why I wish I could be at home right now. Spending the two months of summer here is going to be unbearable. But I cant go home. Not now, thanks to my parents. They won the lottery, which I dont object to, but I do object to their immediately deciding to buy us a new house, even though I protested loudly about losing my room and snug window seat. Then, they sent me away to my great-uncle for the entire summer to avoid the trauma of moving. Really? What am I, a toddler? It couldnt be helped now. Id make the best of the summer and go home to a mansion instead of a house. Joy. I realized Id been standing there in the hallway, thinking, for a long time. I started moving down the hall, pointedly avoiding the mirrors and stomping as loudly as I could to keep the muted silence from driving me insane. You know, my rugs will never be the same again, Rachel someone chuckled behind me. I stiffened with fear, then relaxed as I recognized my uncles throaty laugh. Wow, thanks for scaring me to death, I said as I turned around. I didnt even hear you come up behind me. Thats because you were too intent on destroying my rugs to notice, he laughed. I noticed the muddy footsteps leading to where I was standing and started guiltily. I started to apologize, but he stopped me. Ive been waiting for a reason to get rid of these since my housekeeper gave them to me. I am very much in debt to you. I laughed, then studied him. He had changed since I last saw him two months ago. The lines on his face had deepened, and his striking blue eyes had withdrawn into his face, but they still twinkled with laughter, and his ever-present smile was still there. He was wearing a suit and tie, just as if-

Well, you certainly are lost in thought today, my uncle said. Ive just come back from a meeting, and I have to leave again soon. Your room is the third-floor guest room, the one you like so much. You can go and make yourself comfortable. At that very moment, one of the shadows that plagued me so much disappeared around the corner. I gasped, and my uncle whirled around and looked into my frightened face. What did you see? he whispered. His face was deathly white and his hands were shaking. Uh- only a shadow, I said. I was close to breaking down, because my uncles face had paled even more. He started to turn, then faced me again and said in an unsteady voice, Do not touch the mirrors, Then he left, trembling like a withered leaf. I was busy considering all that I had seen as I dragged my overflowing suitcases up the stairs. What was wrong with touching the mirrors? And why did he freak out when he noticed that I saw the shadows? What was I supposed to see? Sunlight? I sighed. It wasnt like any answers were going to turn up in front of my face. Might as well start unpacking. At that very moment, my uncles housekeeper walked into the door. Sylvia is very pretty. She has dark gold hair streaked blond, and her eyes are green with gold flecks. I pretty much worship her, and she knows it. She also knows pretty much everything there is to know about my uncles house, so I decided she would be the very person to ask about the mirrors. Hey Sylvia! Hows it going? I said. Hi, Rachel! I am so glad to see you! How was your school year? Did you get on the honor roll? No, but Im close. I was only one C in math class away. Next year, I hope. We made small talk for a while, and then Sylvia said, You know, your uncle made some changes to the dcor this year. I hope you like them. Really? I asked. What did he add? He put some really cool talismans above some of the doorways, and he took down a couple of the mirrors and put up pictures instead. That was odd, I thought. My uncle had always told me never to believe in talismans, because they were the kind of thing people invented to take advantage of your money. And he thought those pictures he had had stashed up in the attic were so ugly, they were repulsive. What was going on in this house? And what was the problem with the mirrors?

Chapter 2
I sauntered down the hill where my uncles house is and into the surrounding neighborhood. Its a quiet place, really. There are lots of trees, mostly silver maples, and giant backyards, and the downtown is full of quaint little shops that have been here for years. Right now, I was going to go see my friend Lila, whose mother owns a store called King Arthurs Antiques. Lila and I love going through the merchandise, because of all the relics and yellowed documents and old vases and jewelry. I only hoped Lila wouldnt be too busy helping her mom to hang out with me.

The evening sun lit up the storefront, illuminating all the curios in the front window. Lila was sitting on the bench out in front, reading a book. Lila! I yelled, and ran to give her a hug. Her whole face brightened instantly. Rachel! Oh my gosh, I didnt think you were coming this year! Well, I was and I did. I can see that. Lets go in, I have so much stuff to show you! Lila was practically jumping up and down from excitement. Her frizzy red hair was in a state of disarray, bouncing on her shoulders and getting in her eyes. Lila tugged me through the door and up to the counter. Her mom was behind it. Lilas mom is incredibly amiable. She looks exactly like Lila, the difference being that shes a tad more patient and is an amazing cook. She always offers me pastries whenever I come over, and today was no exception. Hello, Rachel! Would you like some fresh-baked scones? Straight from the oven! I readily agreed. Mrs. Carrs scones are heavenly. She led us back into the kitchen, where Lila and I grabbed some and went back into the store. Those are so cool! I enthused, pointing to a pair of candlesticks adorned with silver filigree angels. At that moment, I caught my reflection in a tarnished mirror at the back of the store. A mirror? I thought. Lilas mom didnt have a mirror. I turned around, and saw that the mirrors were from my uncles house! Oh, yeah! said Lila, following my gaze. Your uncle showed up here last week and dropped those four mirrors off. My mom was thrilled. Sylvia told me, I said nonchalantly, wandering over to the pile. These look really dirty. No wonder he didnt want them. It was true. The mirrors were grimy. I reached out and scraped off some of the dirt, then stroked the stained metal. All of a sudden, I felt a magnetic pull on my fingers, and a swishing, wailing sound filled my ears. Coooommmmmeeee, the voice murmured. Coooommmmmeeee to meeeeee! No, I thought, I wont, , you cant take me, leave me alone, no Suddenly, I saw a kaleidoscope of colors forming before my eyes. They formed into a picture, but it took me a second to understand it. I saw a spirit, floating quickly through a swirling blue tunnel. It was panting with exertion, and suddenly I knew where the tunnel led: to the mirror. The spirit was coming for me In the background, I heard Lila yelling, Rachel! Rachel! I heard her mother come over, and I opened my eyes with an effort, still aware of the spirit getting closer. I saw Mrs. Carr run over with a funny-looking amulet. When she put it on my chest, I finally found the strength to jerk my fingers away from the mirror. Anxious, concerned faces looked down at me. My vision blurred. I slurred, I should go home to no one in particular. Then everything went black.

Chapter 3
I woke up in my bed with my uncle sitting by me. His face was creased with worry. I tried to get up, but my head felt like it was about to explode and I felt weak as wet paper bag. Dont try to get up! my uncle said quickly, seeing that I woke up. Youve been through a lot. I searched for an explanation for why I was in bed, and it all came back to me, like someone had opened a drawer and all the memories were pouring out. I was full of questions. What was that? I asked my voice hoarse and unfamiliar.

My uncle looked at me, clearly bewildered. What was what? he asked. Mrs. Carr drove you up here. She said you had a fever and had collapsed in her store. Now I was the confused one. But I felt something in the mirror My voice trailed off as I saw my uncles open face close up. No ands, ifs, or buts. You have a fever, and youre not getting out of bed for another several days. Then you can unconfuse yourself. For now, take it easy. He smiled, a tight, forced grimace, and left the room. My head was awhirl with questions. I knew I had felt it, the presence of the evil in that mirror, and seen that vision. I didnt know what the spirit was, or why it wanted me to come to it, but I knew one thing: my uncle knew what it was. And he was hiding it from me. Having cleared that up, I lost no time in leaping out of bed. I didnt care what my uncle said. No doubt he was already off to one of his fancy suit-and-tie conferences, and Sylvia didnt care where I went, as long as she knew where it was. Lila had seen what happened. She and her mother would answer some of my questions.

Chapter 4
I sat in Lilas warm, cozy kitchen eating crumpets and drinking tea out of a fancy cup with a saucer. Her mother was chatting and making small talk effortlessly, by my brain was on overdrive already and I just couldnt focus. Im sorry, I didnt quite hear you, I said for about the millionth time, and Mrs. Carr looked at me carefully. Why are you so jittery? she asked. Then it dawned on her. This has to do with the mirror, doesnt it? she asked softly, and I bit my lip and nodded. Do you want me to tell you the whole story? Yes. Mrs. Carr thought for a minute. I dont know where to start. How about at the beginning? Lila said very helpfully. I glared at her and started to say something, but at that moment, Mrs. Carr started the story. You see, inside the mirrors live these wraiths, or spirits, mirror images of everyone who lives in this world. They use the mirrors as portals to move back and forth between the two worlds. They I interrupted eagerly, So those are the creepy shadows that I always see sneaking around my uncles house! This revelation made Mrs. Carr turn pale. You can see them? I nodded, puzzled. But cant everyone? No. She shook her head. You are in great danger. What? Why? Because the shadows, as you call them, believe that everyone who can see them in this world is a danger to their very existence. They seek people with the gift out, she gulped, and turn them into spirits like themselves. I was in shock. But I dont want to be a spirit! You will be, if you dont find a way to keep away from them until you leave The end result seemed inevitable to me. And the scales didnt balance in my favor.

Chapter 5
The next two months flew by in a flurry of activities and sleepovers that kept me as far away from the house, and the mirrors, as possible. I rarely saw my uncle; he was immersed in his meetings and almost never came home before ten. The night before I was scheduled to go home to my fancy new house, I sat in bed, bags packed, gazing at the full moon that shone through my blinds. I pulled it off!, I was thinking. For the entire summer, I had kept from being turned into one of those shadow spirits. I was so deep in thought, I didnt hear it approaching until it was too late. It bent over me. I hate you! I hissed. It smiled, showing me its cavernous mouth and jagged teeth. Then the feeling is mutual! And I gasped as it plunged its shadowy hand deep into my chest and drew out my quivering heart. The transformation was agony. It felt like blue fire coursing through my veins. When the pain cleared and I woke up, strangely lightheaded, there was a spirit waiting by my bed, just as my uncle had that day. That was when I began learning The History. You see, a long time ago, spirits and humans were allies. All could travel between the worlds freely, and every human had a spirit counterpart. Then, for some inexplicable reason, someone locked all the spirits in their world. My uncles house was the only spot where we were free to pass in between the worlds. We are determined to convert as many counterparts as they could, but are limited to people who have the gift, because the person must be able to see us for the change to happen. My uncle is dedicated to our cause, and that was why he had let them change me. My new job is to convert all the new arrivals. Its easy. You just remove their heart and let nature do the rest. Its kind of lonely, though, because the new visitors arent due for another month. My boss is busy brainwashing them to believe my uncle is their uncle. Why dont you stop by for a visit? I dont bite, I promise.