Reflect

April 17, 2005 6:47PM

Pratt Antiques Oakman, AL

Melanie Pratt sat in the chair at her father’s desk swinging her legs and listening to the music playing from the old radio in the corner. She had finished her homework already and was waiting for the store to close at 8 so she could go home and play. Ken had proposed to Barbie before school, and she was anxious to return to the story before bedtime.

She had practically grown up in this back office, which is a bold thought for a four-year-old to think. The dull orange walls and dusty hardwood floor seemed to get duller and dustier with every passing moment, and Melanie found herself wishing her father would change the room. Pink walls, with butterflies and a pretty purple carpet. That would look good, she thought.

Melanie began to feel restless. She had been sitting in her parents’ office for an eternity, and little girls are just not meant to sit still for so long! She hopped off the seat and began looking at the lower shelves lining the walls. There were a lot of books with words she did not know, most of which were very dusty. She moved on without a second glance.

Pictures of her family lined the shelves, all coming from her father’s family. The antique shop had been passed through the family for a long time, probably since the dinosaurs. Melanie looked through the pictures, walking along the shelves. She did not notice the loose shoelace, stepping right on it. She fell to the ground with a thud, knocking over a couple of the frames in the process.

“I’m okay!” She called to her father, who was dealing with a customer. Melanie didn’t want to disrupt him for a scraped knee.

She crouched down and tied her shoe like her mother had taught her, crossing the bunny ears before pushing one through the rabbit hole. She pulled the ears tight and stood back up. She straightened the disturbed frames, until a golden glint caught her eye.

Melanie reached back towards the back of the shelf, finding a pretty bronze box. Curiosity overtook her, and she flipped the little latch on the front. Inside the box was an even prettier mirror, with roses and vines running around the edge. The vines wrapped around to the handle, disappearing behind a cluster of roses.

Turning the mirror around, Melanie looked at her reflection. Wild red curls and icy blue eyes looked back at her, and she made a funny face. Suddenly, her reflection faded to black. An icy feeling began to spread through her chest, reaching down to her fingers and toes. She felt sad, sadder than she had ever felt before.

The face in the mirror began to change, looking paler and older than Melanie. The hair became straight and turned the color of a mud puddle, and the eyes turned mean and dark. The face began to laugh, but no sound came out.

Melanie tried to look away, to put the mirror back, but she couldn’t seem to move. The icy feeling had frozen her solid. A shrill scream reached her ears, sounding incredibly far away. She stood like that for what felt like an hour, scared and frozen to the spot.

The mirror was ripped from her grasp, and she collapsed into her mother’s arms. Her father stood in front of her, holding the mirror with two fingers like he was afraid it had cooties. Her stomach flopped, and she emptied her half-digested taco dinner onto the office rug before everything faded to black.

. . .

The first thing Melanie noticed was the soft feeling of her blanket and pillow, followed immediately by a full body ache and an upset belly. As she fully woke up, she registered the sound of two voices yelling nearby.

“We’ve been over this, Tim! It’s a family heirloom, the only thing my family brought when they came to this country, and I cannot get rid of it! Melanie has the flu; I’m taking her to the doctor first thing in the morning.” Her mother screamed.

“She’s allergic to that mirror, and I don’t want it anywhere she might find it! She was fine at dinner, and less than an hour later she’s got the flu. I’m no doctor, Cecicia, but even I know that’s not how viruses work.” Her father’s voice had gotten quieter, but angrier too.

Melanie got up and went to the door to listen. Her parents’ arguing continued, and she began to feel guilty. Her mother didn’t have much from her family, and because of Melanie she’d soon have even less.

The icy feeling began to crawl back into her, and for a second time that night, everything went black. here…