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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#225: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

From Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection to the speaking mirror in Snow White, mirror images have always been a popular motif in literature, commonly used to introduce questions of identity or self-consciousness. But they can also be used to create a split between reality and illusion: is what we see really the truth, or are our eyes — or indeed minds — playing tricks on us? Taken one step further, one might even argue that texts themselves are a reflection of their author and the world they inhabit.

This week’s prompts invite you to reflect (pardon the pun) on topics of self-image, twisted realities, and outer appearance that may or may not capture what’s going on beneath the surface.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone buying a cursed — or perhaps blessed —mirror from an antiques store.

Fantasy – 74 stories

Write a story about someone trying to paint (or otherwise create) a self-portrait.

Character – 66 stories

Write a story about someone coming across their doppelganger.

Mystery – 48 stories

Write a story about a character who one day notices that their reflection has taken on a life of its own.

Fantasy – 50 stories

Set your story in a house of mirrors and make the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Horror – 42 stories

Stories

“Mirrorbound Unveiling” by Diana Silandrie

Submitted to Contest #225

Chapter 1: Reflection's Revelation Eldoria's morning sunlight spilled into Emma's room as she stood before her bedroom mirror, a paintbrush in hand. Intent on capturing the vibrant hues of the sunrise on her canvas, she glanced at her reflection for inspiration. Yet, what met her gaze wasn't merely a mirrored image. The reflection, once a static likeness of Emma, now had a life of its own. It blinked independently, studying her with an enigmatic smile. Emma's breath caught in her throat as she stumbled backward, her eyes wide with disbelief....

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“First Date” by Jacqueline R

Submitted to Contest #225

Emmie wished the butterfly feeling in the pit of her stomach didn’t exist. She was doing everything in her power to calm her nerves. Deep breathing, counting the floating leaves on the river and constantly reassuring herself. Standing in the middle of the park, she forced her feet to remain glued to the cobblestones. To her right, an old tire dangled from a massive oak tree, whose leaves had fallen, creating a blanket of gold and orange surrounding her. To her left, the river that ran through the middle of the park, still had a few st...

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“Smile” by Marten Norr

Submitted to Contest #225

I used to smile at myself in mirrors. I heard as a kid that the simple act of smiling releases the happy chemicals in your brain, and I figured the result would be twofold if I saw myself doing it. Kind of like proving to myself that I could still smile at myself even if things weren’t going well. That I could make myself feel better in some small, simple way. It became a habit, something I’d do without thinking while I washed my hands—a bit odd in public restrooms, but it was easy to pretend I was checking my teeth for stuck bits of food. ...

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“Mirror World” by Quentin Eddington

Submitted to Contest #225

I tried my hardest, I really did, but life was tough. My classes didn’t matter. I mean, really, when will I need to know about the Qing Dynasty in real life, or use any of the vocabulary learned in English class? The only thing kind of useful is my algebra class, because at least that relates to computers and programming and making video games. It’s the only class I could pay attention to and actually get a decent grade in. That’s what my report card said. When my dad got my grades, he looked at me with his signature disappointed face...

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“The Other Me” by Addison Frame

Submitted to Contest #225

Once I reach my dressing room, I sit down in front of the vanity. I start doing my makeup, avoiding my face in the mirror. I paint the blush onto my cheeks. “You know you can't avoid me forever.” The voice says. “I know,” I whisper, taking my eyeshadow palette out of my makeup bag. I got a silver dress today. Maybe a glitter-eye look, then? “Yeah, do glitter.” The voice says. “Right,” I take a breath, finally fo...

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“Cara” by C.E Chase

Submitted to Contest #225

Blue specks ring out from the soft egg yolk center, fading deep into the silk white stars. My hair melts into the cerulean lagoon, my toes gripping the white sand as my body bobs between the point the water reaches the shore. The salty pool lapped against my fingertips as I spread my arms out to my sides. I could feel the heaviness ripple and swirl between my hands. The blue galaxy above me casts a mesmerizing reflection on the water, illuminating my skin with its ethereal glow. Everything mutes. Leukos Galaxy. It’s barred. And it’s too big ...

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“Peering through me” by Cira Flannery

Submitted to Contest #225

I live on the street the alley cats avoid and the trees lean their leafy branches obscuring my hollow hole of a mailbox. This is Luxembourg, a land of priceless Renaissance architecture, and unfathomable prizes nature behold. Every winter season the snow falls, sprinkling every European mountain peak and the headstones to the centuries-old graveyards and Catholic chapels, but I’m spared from it all, behind these windows I’m a prisoner of a prissy, darling, icing-on-the-cake reality. I have soured into a miserable witch, dreaming about the da...

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“The Spider's Shadow” by Branson Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #225

*SHATTER* And a ball comes flying in. There is a faint sound of children egging each other on to grab the ball in this dusty, dull, crumby house, one that hasn't been properly lived in for maybe 20 years. "You get it!" Shouts one kid. "No. Devan should get it! He threw it!" Yells another. "You kicked it! And you broke their window!" The running feet at a fast pace begin to slow down and abruptly stop at the creaky porch window. A head pops through the broken window, peaking into the dilapidated house. Not only did the window shatter, bu...

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“Hermit ” by Jack Connolly

Submitted to Contest #225

My grandfather was a bit of a hermit after his second wife died. He could barely keep it together after his first wife, my grandmother, died, but when his second wife, half his age, died unexpectedly, he became a different person. He sold all of his possessions, and three of his houses, to purchase a gigantic mansion in the woods up north. We never heard from him after that, and it wasn’t until we got a call from the sheriff’s department asking us to identify the body that we got an update on what he was doing all alone out there. Apparently...

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“Hall of MIrrors” by Avery Crescent

Submitted to Contest #225

Amusement park rides swirled around us as the heady scent of buttered popcorn and fried dough wafted through the balmy summer air. Clanging bells, hissing water guns, and popping balloons punctuated the steady din of the jostling crowd around us. I'd brought my teenage sons Alex and Jake to the carnival and they were eager to try every dizzying ride in the park. Standing outside the chains at each ride, I'd watch the two of them howling and laughing their way through the tilt-a-whirl, the scrambler, and the orbiter. As my sons raced to the...

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“Faceless Reflections” by Tita Martin

Submitted to Contest #225

I have the sense that I’ve been here awhile, lost in the house of mirrors. And, yet, my memories of my time here are obscured by fog. Instead of memories, it seems I only have an absence of them. With each moment that passes I do not remember the moments that came before. I do not remember for what reasons I am here, lost and trapped in the house of mirrors. I become more confused the farther I travel, each hall, each corridor, each room the same as the last. Every direction I turn all that can be seem are...

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“Nikolas and the Labyrinth of Deceit: A Faith the Sightless Dragon Short Story (abridged to suit prompt requirements)” by Jules Fellms

Submitted to Contest #225

“A magic mirror?” Nikolas peered into the reflective surface that seemed to glow softly of its own accord.“Simply put, yes. Will you take it?”Nikolas took a breath to respond, but remembered the old woman’s previous warning. “What must I do? Or rather, what will happen if I do?”Suzanna nodded in approval. “You were paying attention. Come, sit here.” She guided the young man to a stool near a smoldering fire, and his tiny dragon companion gilded gently down before the embers to stretch out, basking in the warmth.“I trust,” Suzanna began, “tha...

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“Eyes Full of Fire and Water” by Abbas Garmabi

Submitted to Contest #225

It happened one evening; I had been sitting for hours in front of an old antique mirror with a classic wooden frame when these words suddenly popped out of my mouth, “I’m going to buy it.” And everything started with that; it was about one year ago. I have not been interested in collecting big pieces of antiques as I do not have a place to display them. As an antiquarian, all those old stores on an ancient street in my hometown have always been an endless world of wonders for me, especially on the weekends when I walk in and out and, at...

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“Marianne, on the wall” by Lizzie Corrado

Submitted to Contest #225

marianne, on the wall Social Cliques. Every high school has them. Everyone wants to be in one. However, at Kingsley High, Everyone only wanted to be in one clique. The Kingsley girls. The Kingsley girls was the hardest group to get into. and Marianne was the leader of it all. The Kingsley girls were the hardest group to get into. The bar was set high. The requirements were as following: “you gotta be rich girl. We need you to be able to keep up with ALL ...

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“I'll be Seeing You” by Sailor Mueller

Submitted to Contest #225

“I’ll be seeing you, In all the old familiar places,”Billie Holiday’s voice crooned through the vinyl.I tore the sheet from my notebook, crumpled it in a ball, and threw it across the room. Putting my hand to my forehead, I leaned in closer to the paper and began to trace the lines again.“I’ll be seeing you, In every lovely summer’s day,”I scanned the photograph in front of me, taking note of each detail: every crease, every angle, and every nuance in the lighting.I do not know how long I sat there for. I do not know how many minutes ticked ...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 24, 2023 EST

Won by Olivier Breuleux 🏆

Title: The Day Alfred Googled Himself

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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