There is a mirror

It is a lonely life here, in death row. The days go by slowly, and time is but a mere thought. The only sign of the passage of time is the meals, and even then, it feels as if they forget about you, feeling the pangs of hunger every waking moment. 

But this is fine. They don't need to know you are not the one that must be punished, but rather, your other self: the one through the mirror. In a way though, you are equally guilty of murder. It was you who set him free. 

You still don't know what happened, not really. It was a lovely winter morning, and Jackson had risen early to play, making loud noises around the cabin, waking you and Amanda. The fire in the lounge was the sole provider of heat in the house, and by the time you woke up the fire was gone. So, shivering, you set yourself up to go outside and fetch some wood, kissing both Jackson and Amanda goodbye, promising to be back for breakfast. Walking through the forest surrounding the lodge you see it. A monolith, where you see nothing but the reflection of the snow-covered winter trees. Curiosity rising, you forgot about the wood and approached it, feeling its calling. Once in front of it, you see yourself, but, there is a problem: the person in the mirror is you, but not really. The picture in the mirror is of you with an emaciated face, with sunken cheeks and eyeballs and a far-away look in the eye, coupled with ill-fitting clothes that are too big for the wiry frame. 

The you in the mirror speaks, and you jump in surprise and fear, for your gut tells you there is something wrong here. Still, you do not move. 

"Please! Help me, I'm starving! Please help me, you will help me, right?! right! I am you, and you are me." A pause where all you can hear is your own breathing takes place. There is a large possibility you will faint, as the you in the mirror continues to speak, screeching his demands, desperate, needy, but above all, you believe, dangerous. "I have waited for so long for you! They said you would come. They said, he will come, and you will be free! Search the labyrinth for the mirror at the heart of it, and wait. Wait they said! It's been so long! I am so hungry I could eat you! See? See?!" At this moment you notice it. The figure in the mirror, you, but not you, is missing fingers and teeth. He has been eating himself. Immobile, you keep staring at the mirror in horror. "I found the mirror so long ago! It will take you to another world they said! It's happening! It's happening! Just let me out and this will be over!"

"What do you mean, let you out? It's a mirror! I can't open a mirror." You are surprised at the sound of your own voice. "It is not a door." This does not make sense at all. "It has no handle, I can't open a mirror!" You are desperate not to let him out, and it shows. In fact, this could all be just a nightmare, and you haven't woken up. There can't be another him stuck inside a labyrinth, there is no way there is another world beyond the mirror. There is no such thing as other worlds! "This isn't real. I'll turn around, go home, and I'll wake up in bed and I will not remember this, because this is just a dream."

He is enraged. "Fine! I'll do it myself then!" He goes on, volume rising alongside his anger. "I'll enter your world by force and take everything from you!" At this point, you are not sure if you are the one who is shaking, or if the whole forest is quaking in fear. Something horrible is about to happen, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. "You should have helped me! You were meant to help me!" Cracks start to appear in the mirror, and all you want to do is run. Your legs, however, are paralyzed. "You will pay the price, the universe will make you pay!" The cracks are larger now, and all it will take for it to break and for the monster to be let out is one simple push.

"You will regret this." He shoves into the surface of the mirror, shattering it, and as he sets foot into your world, all you can see is red. He runs straight at you, and as you slump into a pile of flesh and bone in the snow, the red fades into black, leaving you unconscious.

It was the sirens that woke you up. Or where you actually asleep? You stand up, feeling wet as if you had just taken a shower. But you were not in bed, actually, you don't know where you are. You try to identify your surroundings, and find yourself in front of the dead fireplace. It is dark, save for the red and blue of the police cars' lights shining through the windows.

There is a loud noise, followed by screams. "Amanda, Amanda! Is that you! Amanda!" But the screams are not those of your wife: it is the other you.

"It was him! He did it, he killed them! Take him, take him!" A shot is heard, and a body hits the floor. The other you is gone. But, what did he mean, he killed them?

"This is the police! Put your hands where we can see them!" The light from the police lamps' hits you straight in the eyes, creating white spots in your vision. It is once you've adjusted to the light, and uncovered your eyes that you see it.

There is red in your hands, and your arms, and surely your face is covered in blood as well, and it might as well be all of you, because you feel so wet and sticky and nothing makes sense and Amanda and Jackson are nowhere to be found and you can't hear them.

"Amanda, Jackson! Where are you?!" The police approach, hitting you, calling you a monster for what you've done. "But what happened?! What did I do?! What did I do?!" Every shout is more desperate than the one before, and tears begin streaming down your face, and you wail because a part of you knows what happened, and you don't understand how or why it came to this as your body falls limp beside the cold fireplace.

Death row is lonely, but it is fine. Here there is no chance of finding a mirror in the middle of the woods, leading to another you. The mirror inside your cell is covered, just in case, and the window too. You don't know what you look like anymore, and you don't want to know if you look like the monster in the mirror you saw on that winter day so long ago.

Because you are sure of only one thing: the you in the mirror was right, and you were the monster all along.