Face in the Mirror

I glanced at myself in the mirror. The face was taunting me. It seemed like it was daring me to comment. I could feel a tear streaking down my face. The face in the mirror laughed at me. Mocking me. I was captivated by the face at the mirror and the insults it hurled at me.

"Get out of the bathroom!" Jenna screamed. She pounded on the door with her fist while her other hand was probably preoccupied with texting her best friends. Her pounding broke the trance that I was in.

Jenna was my baby sister who had managed to hit the beauty and social jackpot much before me. She looked the typical popular girl. Her eyes were a sparkling blue that perfectly complemented her wavy blond hair. Her wardrobe consisted of skinny jeans, shirts with logo, and fuzzy boots. Her iPhone consisted of absolutely no games, but social media apps.

I was such the opposite of Jenna. My hair was a lank brown that hung in an oily bunch. My brown eyes were just plain ordinary times a million. I typically wore white shirt with my jeans and a pair of sneakers. My iPhone consisted of no contacts along with a set of addictive logic games.

Meet me, Celine Shadow. Social outcast. A nothing girl. 

Face in the Mirror 

"Get downstairs girls!" my mother screamed up the stairs. The aroma of her famous Belgian waffles wafted up the stairs.

"I can't! Celine's still in the freaking bathroom! You should have gotten a bathroom added on!" Jenna yelled. I could still hear her fingers pinging away on her phone.

"Shut up!" I yelled back at Jenna. I pounded on the door with my fist.

Jenna yelled back, "Get out of the bathroom!" Jenna pushed the door open with her boot-covered foot. I could not believe that this social media obsessed girl could kick down a door. Then, I saw the bobby pin in her hand.

"You picked the lock didn't you?" I asked. I stalked out of the bathroom.

"Good! Now, stay out!" Jenna screeched. She slammed the door. She was so dramatic. I rolled my eyes.

There was another bathroom downstairs. I walked down the carpeted stairs. I was mad at the stupid daughter of a gun. I turned at the corner and walked into the downstairs bathroom. The face in the mirror was taunting me again.

The face was mocking me. It twisted its face into a horrible looking monster, obviously resembling me. Its eyes bulged out while the mouth was a single red line. I screamed almost immediately, I hated this in the mirror.

The face had started to appear around three years ago. My sister had just won her first modelling competition. My sister was proud of herself. My mom had bought her a cake while I was forced to smile and laugh. My dad had a few drinks. He had screamed that I was useless and that I never ever won anything. The tears had rolled down my chubby cheeks. I hid in the corner of the bathroom. When the tears had dried, the face staring back at the mirror had started to appear. My eyes had started to distort my face and soon, I was no longer me. I was the nothing girl in the mirror.

This time, the face had started to talk. Its lips were moving, but I could not hear the voice. I reached my hand out to touch it. I had felt a yearning to caress it. To love it. To be it. The yearning to be it was growing stronger. My eyelids drooped down and just for a second, I closed my eyes.

When I had opened them, the world had completely changed.

Face in the Mirror Chapter 3

This was simply, the most beautiful place that I had ever set foot in. The bright sun filled me with warmth I hadn't felt in such a long time. There were no obnoxious classmates or snobby sisters to bother me. It was simply a paradise to me.

Never had I seen such bright colors. The flowers danced with grace and beckoned for me to smell them. The lush green grass was the thick blanket spread over the earth. Trees reached up to the sky, but let in plenty of sunlight. Little birds flitted around, and their chirps filled the air with beautiful music. I stared into the sky and saw a vast blue sky with no clouds to block it. I spun in a circle, completely in awe of the beautiful paradise. As I spun, I fell into a mirror.

The mirror was a tall one, maybe up to my height. There were ornate patterns carved onto it with diamonds, rubies, opals, and emeralds. I gasped. My fingers desperately wanted to caress the beautiful mirror. Still, there was a dread inside me that told me to stay away.

"Do not touch the glass," ordered an ominous voice. I turned to see where the voice was coming from.

"Where are you?" I demanded.

"Don't try to find me, or you will suffer a harsh fate," that voice ordered.

"Let me out!" I shrieked. My voice had started to plead with that voice. Tears had started to leak out the corner of my eye.

The voice laughed a cruel laugh. I felt my face cringe at the awful laugh. The best way to put it is that it was the best villainous laugh of literally all time. "The little girl is crying now. Are you going to run back to your mommy?" it taunted.

That was enough. Something in me cracked and the anger poured out of me, completely unfiltered. I screamed at the top of my lungs, "SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MY LIFE, SO JUST FREAKING BUTT OUT! GET OUT! NOW!" I panted after screaming at the nonexistent voice. Instead of feeling relieved to have that out of me; I just felt a stronger need to scream at someone.

"Are you done throwing a hissy fit?" it asked.

"Yes, now how do I get home?" I screamed back.

"You're not going home with that attitude. Can the little girl say please?" the voice asked with an edge to its voice.

I sighed and said, "Can you please let me out of here?"

"Yes and no. I will allow you to leave only if you fulfill all four of my requests. And, if you don't do one completely correctly, you will not be allowed to leave. You will forever stay in this paradise as my slave. Everything you are and own will disappear and become mine. There is no taking back on your promises. Are you willing to accept this?" the voice asked.

I started to think over the offer. If I did not leave this place, I did not know what would happen to me. If I did not fulfill the three tasks, I would die. I could not die today or anytime soon. I started to hyperventilate. Did I mention that I was horrible under pressure? The only option that allowed me to live was the three-request job. At least I had a few days to live before I lost my life to a nonexistent voice.

Finally, I said with a grimace, "I will take the second option. I will fulfill all three of you requests."

The voice chuckled a little bit. The chuckle seemed to say, Such a poor little girl.

I looked into the mirror again and the face had reappeared. It smiled a devious smile that made me squirm. My gut told me that I had just made a horrible mistake that I was going to regret. Again, my lids felt heavy. My body was involuntarily shutting down. The paradise disappeared from my view. Soon, I was home and sitting in the bathroom with my head between my legs.