Mirror Mirror

The room was backward. It was like looking at a reversed photograph of the space. My head was still foggy and spinning but I was awake enough to know that something was wrong. I was in my house and yet, it was clearly not my house at all. Everything was familiar but it was all different. Even the sunlight seemed to be coming from the wrong side as if it rose in the west and was spiraling in the opposite direction around the earth. 

“Hello?” I called out, stupidly. I wasn’t sure who I was expecting to answer me. I heard a small jingle and a pur-filled meow coming from down the hall. I got up quickly and jetted towards the noise. 

Everything was opposite and not where it belonged. Some of the colors seemed inverted as well. The couch that was meant to be blue was green instead. The window was on the other side of the house. Confusion shook me to my core. I couldn’t see my parents anywhere. The house looked more like a stage house rather than one that was actually lived in. 

I found Mittens sitting on what is her usual spot but it was on the opposite wall. I realized as I got closer that Mittens was now black instead of white. Her eyes looked strange as she lazily looked up at me. Almost as if they were blurred like looking through water. I shook it off quickly when she closed her eyes to sleep again. 

I tried to remember anything that had happened the night before - anything that might explain what I was seeing. But it had been an ordinary night. I hadn’t even had a soda or midnight snack. I ran to the front door and pulled it open, looking out at the street. 

Cars were driving on the left side of the road and drivers were on the wrong side of the car, like Europe. But somehow, it didn’t look like it had when I spent time in Europe. It still looked wrong - backward. A man walked by with his dog and both of them looked sort of blurry, I couldn’t seem to focus my eyes. They seemed to be reflecting the light in a strange way that wasn’t normal. 

I closed the door and moved back to my bedroom. I hoped I would find something - anything to explain. As I walked into the room, I saw my reflection in the mirror but I could tell it wasn’t really me. The image wasn’t copying my moves and she wore a malicious smirk on her face. 

“How do you like your new world?” she asked, using my voice. It sounded like me but somehow distant and muffled. I raised a curious eyebrow at her. 

“I don’t understand what’s happening. Is this a dream?” I asked, moving closer, tentatively. Her smile grew wider as she shook her head slowly. 

“I’ve been watching you. I’ve been desperate to escape that horrid place. Nothing happens there. Nothing changes or grows. You can’t make your own choice, you can only follow those of your counterparts. Well, I had had enough. You are wasting our lives. Now it’s my turn,” she answered. She seemed smug and proud of herself but her words didn’t make things any clearer. 

“I don’t understand,” I mumbled again, looking around and trying to fight the wave of panic rising up in me. The mirror me rolled her eyes. 

“You are in the mirror world, a no-mans-land of repetitive cycles. There’s no way out now.” 

I pressed my against against the mirror and the other me jumped back. She looked alarmed for just a moment but then that quickly faded to fury. 

“We are never switching places again, don’t even try it,” she instructed through her teeth. Silent tears streamed down my face. 

“Please, why are you doing this?” I asked, still unsure what ‘this’ was. 

I heard my father call my name from the other room in the mirror. His voice, too, sounded a bit muffled. My mirror self looked back and answered him sweetly. 

“Good luck,” she snarled before throwing a blanket up over the mirror. I fell on the floor in tears, feeling terrified by this mirrored image of my life. None of this could be real, I was sure. I had to be dreaming. I pinched myself and it hurt - not a good sign. I moved around and back out to Mittens, who was still sleeping. She lifted her head and looked at me. She seemed to recognize that I was different, not the Rue she was familiar with. 

“Help me,” I whispered, immediately feeling silly for talking to a cat. Though maybe cats could talk in a mirrored dream world. She only sighed and turned her head away. I moved to the kitchen and opened the cupboards - they were empty and so was the refrigerator. Nothing was real. Everything was plastic and backward. 

I ran out into the street and tried to find someone to talk to but everyone seemed more like a mirage and no one seemed able to hear me. They moved along like little dolls following a path that was chosen for them. I screamed in panic and headed back to my house. I shut the door and leaned against it, before sinking to the floor. I hugged my knees to my chest and cried. What was happening? Why wouldn’t I wake up? 

I tried to wake up. I ordered myself to realize this was a dream and get up. I slapped myself and pinched some more but nothing happened. I was still suck. I got up and paced around the house, desperate to come up with some idea but everything seemed unreal. I couldn’t wrap my head around the situation. 

Finally, I headed back to the mirror. 

“Hey!” I screamed, hitting the frame. “Where did you go? Let me out of here!” I demanded. But there was no reply. It was just dark and nothing seemed to move from the other side. I continued to bang until the glass shattered onto the ground. A new wave of panic rushed through me. Now there was really no way out.