I sat in the car for a long time. I twisted the white key between my fingers, keeping my eyes on the house in front of me. It was a beautiful country house that my wife and I chose together. The house had a yard for a dog and maybe one day children. She painted the panels white, and we washed the brick foundation with water pressure, so that it turned bright rusty red again. All the curtains were drawn, and I couldn’t remember the last time I opened them. This house was something that haunted my dreams. My dreams and hopes for the future are gone and are now buried with her, with my wife. This house is a reminder of what we could have had. But now I have to be here. I always have the same dream in this house.
There are three mirrors inside the house. I enter the house through the front door. The mirrors were hidden in different rooms of the house, and I had to find and smash them before it found me. And here I am again - I got out of the car and walked up to the porch. As I took each step slowly, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I spent so little time in this house that I couldn’t remember all the rooms. I had no idea where to hide the mirrors, or if I would be able to find them in time. I put my hand on the door handle, but froze in place. My body was paralyzed with fear, and I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. That was the last thing I was prepared for. I didn’t have any plan. I didn’t know what to do now and what to do after.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep, slow breath. I imagined her face, reliving in my mind the curves of her cheeks and every strand of her hair. I could vaguely smell the strawberry-scented shampoo she was using, and I could feel the softness of her cheeks. When my heart calmed down and my mind focused, I turned the knob and went inside. The lighting was weak, and I could see the outline of furniture covered with white sheets. Dust particles rose into the air, and I stifled my cough as I entered the living room. And here it is - it has begun. I started rushing from side to side, trying to find those mirrors, while this something started looking for me. I started rushing from side to side, trying to find those mirrors, while this something started looking for me. I swept through the living room like a whirlwind. I tore the white sheets off every surface. I threw the sofa cushions aside and opened all the drawers. Fortunately, we never managed to fill our house with all sorts of little things, so all the cupboards were empty, and it was easier for me to look for mirrors.
I rushed out of the living room into the kitchen and opened all the cupboards. When I opened the oven, I saw something shiny behind it. I had to partially crawl inside to get to him. My fingers wrapped around something cold and smooth, and pulling it out, I found a small hand mirror. I dropped it on the tiled floor and stepped on the glass with the heel of my shoe. From somewhere above, I heard a blood-curdling scream, similar to a woman’s. Then I heard the sound of running feet, it seemed like something was panicking. Looking quickly around, I saw a paneled door and, opening it, found myself in a small square room with shelves along the walls. Storeroom. As soon as the door slammed behind me, something ran into the kitchen. This creature was stooped and lanky, it seemed to consist of nothing but bones and gray stretched skin. He was wearing a torn red long-sleeved shirt and ripped jeans. Wet brown hair hung from his skull and stuck to his distorted head and long neck. His face turned towards the storeroom I was hiding in, and I held my breath.
He had her face, or some horrifyingly twisted version of it. I could see the familiar shape of her nose and lips. But instead of the beautiful blue color of her eyes, which I remembered for the rest of my life, the eyes of this creature were milky white and wild. The creature picked up a large piece of glass from a broken mirror and looked into it. I saw the reflection of my frightened eye peering through the door behind the creature’s reflection, and I quickly hid. It let out another terrible scream and ran out of the kitchen. I heard it raging at the other end of the house. I took this chance to leave my hiding place and ran as quietly as possible to the stairs leading up. The creature was in a room down the hall, scattering furniture like toys as it searched for me. It made so much noise that I couldn’t hear my footsteps.
On the landing of the second floor, I saw a long corridor leading to the back of the house. I quickly walked past every doorway, looking into every bedroom and found only empty rooms. The sounds of that thing were still coming from downstairs, but I didn’t have much time to search the empty rooms. At the end of the hallway, I found myself in the doorway of the master bedroom. It was the only room that had furniture, and I felt a pang in my heart at the sight of our old bed. I slowly closed the door behind me and started searching. While this creature was making noise, I still couldn’t risk it hearing me. I quickly turned the bed over, but as quietly as possible. I pulled every drawer out of the dresser. The bedside table was empty. I was about to give up when the shine started shining in the bathroom.
When I opened the closet doors, I found that another hand mirror was perfectly positioned in the center of the locker. This mirror looked like the one I bought her for our two-year anniversary, and I saw her initials engraved on the handle. With a pain in my chest, I picked up the mirror and threw it on the floor with all my might. The glass shattered and flew across the wooden floor. My heart stopped when I realized that I could no longer hear the sounds coming from below. It was completely and absolutely quiet. I took a step back and flinched when the floor creaked under my foot. Suddenly, I heard the sound of frantic footsteps running across the floor on the ground floor, in the direction of the stairs. Panic seized me as I desperately searched for a place to hide. I couldn’t stay in the bathroom because there was a broken mirror, and the creature would definitely find it. The panic turned to fear when I heard the creature climbing up the stairs and screeching at the same time. As soon as I heard the creature reach the top of the stairs, I caught a glimpse of a cord hanging from the ceiling in the toilet. The attic! I pulled the cord and a small square hole appeared in the ceiling. I jumped up and caught my hands on the edge of the opening, trying to climb into the attic. My heartbeat was pounding in my ear, and sweat was dripping into my eyes.
I managed to pull myself up and climbed into the attic, but not before this creature flew into the room. It screamed and rushed to the toilet. For one second, I met those eyes, and my whole body was filled with fear. I didn’t have time to close the passage to the attic, so I crawled in search of another exit. I could hear its claws scraping the wooden planks behind me, as it tried to climb up to the attic, it screamed at the top of its lungs. My gaze darted around the attic in search of another exit or a place to hide. Hope faded when I realized that I had nowhere to go. I was at the end of the attic, and this thing was crawling right behind me. I’ve come this far, and all in order to be torn apart by this thing that imitated my wife. A creature that mocked and mocked her image. Just as I was about to give up all hope, my hand came across something metallic and smooth. Lifting this third mirror, I found myself face to face with my terrified reflection. Behind me, I could see the face of this creature right over my shoulder. His hair was plastered to his face, and his wild white eyes stared at me with pure hatred. His lips curled into a grimace, revealing bloodied crooked teeth. His crooked arm was reaching out to me, and I could see the nails just inches from the thin skin of my neck.
Without thinking, I turned around and turned the mirror on this creature. The creature screamed louder than ever before, and I screamed back. I heard nothing but the sound of our voices and the beating of my heart. The glass shattered against the creature’s face, and I was thrown back. When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a pile of broken glass and was alone in the attic. Looking at my hand, which was still holding the handle of the mirror, I discovered that now, instead of a mirror, I had a silver key in my hand. Looking closer at it, I saw the words “step three completed” on it. I collapsed in exhaustion and clutched the key tightly in my hand. I survived by sheer luck. The last mirror could have been anywhere in the house, and it ended up where I was going to die. I was thinking about how close I was to death, and the image of this God-defying creature was disappearing from my head. It was trying to use HER image. It tried to make me fail and fail again by stalking me with her face and her voice. When I started crawling out of the attic, I knew I was going to see the real her soon. I will bring her back and she will be in my hands again.