Ever since the pandemic started, i’ve been working from home. And unlike my coworkers, i figure it’s a hell of a lot better than the office.
I have a job in a tech company, and i can do most of my work from home without worries, or the frequent interruptions i get in the workplace. It also helps that i am a bit of a night owl, and tend to stay up till late - usually until sleep takes the better of me, around 3 or 4 AM. And due to the quiet of the night, my productivity rises and i can give more attention to the details that are so essential, in my area of specialization. So while i shouldn’t, i admit i’ve been enjoying this aspect of my post-pandemic life.
So i have this late-night routine that i do, after finishing my quota for the day. Nothing special really, just get up, brush my teeth - usually while facing myself in the bathroom mirror, and go to sleep. So i can get up the next day and follow the same mundane routine over and over again.
It can get a bit lonely, but i don’t mind. I live by myself and i’ve always been a rather quiet and introspective person. Not the type of fun gal you would invite to parties and such. I’ve also never had any historic with mental illness or disorders - something i beg you to keep in mind - and i never believed in the paranormal. Never.
Well, at least until very recently. When something terrifying started happening.
It began about a week ago. I had just finished with work, and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once i was done, i briefly gazed upwards, and my heart almost stopped.
It lasted for less than a second, when i caught a brief glimpse of my own reflection in the mirror. And for a moment i could swear she was looking down at me, her lips moving, slowly, as if she was saying something i couldn’t hear.
But it was only for half a second, through the corner of my eye. And once i fixated my sight on the mirror, my reflection was normal again. Needless to say, it creeped me out. I pressed my hand against my chest and let out a small, nervous laugh. The reflection did the same.
I was just tired, that was it. Staying up till late doesn’t do wonders for your health, and my perception was suffering from it. So i went to sleep. And the next day, things went as usual.
But of course i didn’t forget about the strange accident, and every time i looked at myself in the mirror, i felt this strange feeling, almost as if i was being watched. I stared at my own eyes and it felt like someone else’s. But i ignored it, and things were pretty normal for the following days.
Until one night, it happened again.
I finished brushing my teeth, and i was ready to turn off the lights when i made the mistake of looking at myself in the bathroom mirror. And my reflection was speaking.
She was staring right at me. Not in the same way as i was, her expression was completly different. It’s hard to explain. She was frowning and her mouth was moving rapidly, almost urgently. As if she was angry, or scared, or all at the same time. I couldn’t hear anything. But she kept talking.
And i swear to you i was dead quiet.
Another person in my place would have screamed, ran, or even destroyed the mirror right then and there. But i didn’t do anything. It was just too surreal, too terrifying. I was paralyzed and she kept looking at me, and i couldn’t even focus on what she was saying. Her lips didn’t stop moving. And there was only silence.
And in the blink of an eye, my reflection was normal again. Looking at me with the same terrified expression i had on my face.
What the fuck? - I uttered.
I pressed my back against the wall and fell to the floor. No, no no no. What the fuck was that? It couldn’t be a trick of perception, i saw it. My reflection was acting on it’s own. Once i gathered strength to stand on my feet, with shaking legs, i backed away to my room and locked the door, closed the window, and sat on the corner with my phone in hand.
I thought about calling someone. But it was three in the morning. What would i say? That i got scared of my own reflection in the mirror?
It couldn’t be real. But i am sure i saw it.
I lost all my will to sleep and stayed awake till dawn, searching the Internet to find out if anyone had a similar experience. But all i found online were horror stories and mental illness articles. And at that point, i even started doubting myself. Maybe it was all in my head, and my nocturne habits and workaholic nature were truly taking the better of me.
All i wanted to do was leave my own house, go to someone else’s place and stay the night. I was terrified and had to get away from that mirror. But i had no one. My brother lived with my parents in a different state, and i had no close friends to call. So eventually, i feel asleep without realizing it.
I woke up early in the morning, and for a brief moment i just assumed it was all a dream. But the memories were too vivid. I cautiously locked the bathroom door and kept thinking about what happpened the entire day.
In the afternoon, i contacted a mental health professional and made an appointment. I had to be rational. There must have been something wrong with me.
That night, i decided to focus on my work. I hadn’t eaten or drank much the entire day, but i knew it was inevitable i would have to go to the bathroom. So i decided to take my cellphone with me, and in case anything happened, i would record it. And that’s exactly what i did.
You can picture an idiotic girl filming the mirror in her bathroom, hands shaking so much the recording barely got anything. But nothing happened that night, and no matter how many times i checked the video, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
And of course there wouldn’t be. It had to be me, right? It was almost a relief - there was nothing of paranormal going on, i was just getting crazy. I was just seeing things.
So with that notion in mind, i decided to go back to my usual routine. And in case anything weird happened again, i would face it while keeping my cool, acting only with reason. It was an illusion, after all. And i had alredy made an appointment with a psychologist anyway.
So that night i went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, did everything as always - without taking my eyes off the mirror. But when i was ready to leave, the moment i turned my eyes away, i caught the glimpse of my reflection again. And there she was.
Talking with the same urgency as before. This time, gesticulating rapidly. I breathed in, controlling my panic, and turned around to face her. It was just an illusion, i thought to myself. She kept talking, and for some reason, i wasn’t as scared now. It was different. There was something strange about the way her mouth moved, i couldn’t hear but i felt like she was saying something important. As if she was trying to tell me something.
It didn’t feel like an illusion.
For some reason, i felt nervous. Almost angry. So i just frowned, and asked out loud ‘‘What? What is it? I can’t hear you! I don’t know what you’re saying!’’
For a moment she stopped. Our eyes locked. It was so strange seeing myself that way, not like in a recording, but almost as another person. She seemed desperate. Then she did something i couldn’t predict, and left me utterly baffled: She reached for something behind the mirror, and my eyes followed exactly in that direction - it was where i kept my lipstick. She took her own version of it, without i even touching mine.
And she wrote something in the mirror.
'’uoY dniheB’’
It took me a second to realize what was written. But when i did, i froze in place. Then i instantly looked behind me: The hall, followed by the door to my bedroom and the window. There was nothing out of the ordinary. There was only me.
So i gazed back at my reflection, and her expression had changed. She dropped the lipstick. She had this terrified look on her face, almost as if she just had a sudden realization.
And then i noticed, the reflection of the hall, and her bedroom. My bedroom. There was something over there - a large shadow. Something hiding almost out of sight. But right behind her. I was sure of it.
And in the blink of an eye, the terrifying experience cessed. My reflection went back to normal. Even the writing disappeared.
But i kept staring at the mirror for what felt like an eternity. Perplexed.
Then i went and checked every lock, every window, every corner of my house. No, that was not an illusion. Something terrifying was happening, and i coudn’t keep that shadow out of my head. I checked the bathroom multiple times, but my reflection never changed. And that’s when i decided to write the first draft of this story.
I couldn’t focus on work, and i was way behind my quota. The next day i decided to take some fresh air, go outside and drink some coffee. I even called my brother, told him everything that was going on, and to my surprise - he believed in me. Strangely, he also seemed scared. Told me he would be travelling to pick me up, and i shouldn’t go back to the house. I should stay the night at a hotel, or someplace else.
But i didn’t do that. I know it’s infuriating, but i went back to my house. I just had a feeling, about my reflection. I couldn’t understand what she was saying, other than what she wrote. But i felt like there was something important that i was missing, and i had to understand or i would never be safe again.
It was late at night when i returned home. Everything was dark, and i admit i had second thoughts about entering my own house. But i turned on the lights and checked everything - i was alone. Then i went to the bathroom. Everything was quiet, same way i left it. I washed my face, and once i lifted my eyes, my reflection had changed.
And once again, my heart almost stopped.
There was someone behind her.
I instantly looked behind me, but there wasn’t anyone. I was alone. Then i gazed back, terrified, at my reflection. She was completly unaware of the gigantic figure, the bald man in the bathroom right behind her.
He had this large, fleshy frame and a tallow-colored face, and he was completly naked. He didn’t have any hair in any part of his immense body. And the worst part was his terrible, wide and almost inhumane grim.
I almost screamed. My reflection just looked at me, confused, and i shouted:
'’There’s someone behind you! Oh God, he’s right behind you!’’
But she just kept looking at me, barely moving, as if she couldn’t understand. She couldn’t hear me. Desperate, i reached for my lipstick and immediately wrote in the mirror:
'’Behind You’’
She looked back, at the terrible figure, but it was as if she was looking right through him. She couldn’t see him. She couldn’t see him and he was right behind her. She then looked back at me, and that’s when i realized what was truly happening. I dropped the lipstick.
Oh God.
I ran. I ran the farthest i could from that house and i didn’t look back. I kept running and i only stopped when i caught sight of other people on the streets. I entered a coffee shop, the only one that was open that late at night, and immediately called my brother. He’s not answering the phone.
I didn’t know what to do so i decided to go back to the draft and finish writing this. I’m still here. I never want to go back to that house again. But there are mirrors here too. And every time i look at my own reflection, i can see the pale man and his terrible grim. Oh God, i can still see him right now. On the other side of the street. Always in my reflection. And i don’t know what to do.