Reflections

[Gloria]

 

Marie didn’t want to look in any mirror, ever again, in fact, she collected those she had in the house and took them to the charity shop. The young woman behind the counter, very pleased with such largesse, thanked Marie, for the outsized ornate hall mirror, she’d already decided she would place on the wall opposite the counter; customers would easily see how attractive it was.

 

That evening she took her coat from the coat rack, placed her scarf around her neck, and took a quick glance into the mirror, her hands rising to her face, as she looked with horror at the figures prancing, braying, their long fingers reaching out to pluck at her hair, pinch her face. Cackles ever more shrill hurt her ears as twine, fine as a silken hair, wound tight around her body; she could feel the pulling, strained to resist but slowly, surely she was drawn closer ever closer to the mirror.

 

Mr Jameson, arriving earl the next morning found the shop in quite a mess, as if there had been an upset, a fight maybe. He looked around, sighted the mirror, admired its ornate frame and mirrored surface, before seeing – surrounded by a circle of dancing devils, a bound figure cringed . . .  blue eyes visible and filled with terror.

[Stephen Torelli]

It's the season for such tales. In fact, I pictured this happening in a hand-me-down store in our neighborhood... a telling tale.