Careful What You Wish For

 If only she could go back in time and stop herself from buying that cursed mirror...

Mesmerised!

That was the right word for what happened to Primrose that Friday afternoon after high school.

She closed her eyes, now laying on grass in pain, smoke engulfing her surroundings and recalled the exact moment when her life changed forever... only for the worse!

That afternoon she ran down the street in a hurry. She couldn’t afford to be late for her part time job... not again. She threw a look at her watch. 3:50 PM. She shook her head in disbelief.

Then she saw a narrow road that led to the main road. Funny how she never noticed that shortcut before. The road was deserted but that didn’t stop her from exploring it. At the end of the road, to her surprise, she found herself standing before an old unwelcoming antiques shop called Rare Relic.

It was situated on the old street, where all the flower shops and art stores were, and of course the Rare Relic. All the stores and shops were closed, only the antiques shop's rusty oak door showed the open sign. Out of curiosity, Primrose glanced at the window where a lot of vintage artifacts, weird figurines and jewellery were displayed in a careless style. What caught her attention was the most beautiful vintage item she had ever seen in her life.

A mirror in a handcrafted wood frame in a burst shape resembling the suns rays, painted in bright gold. The surface of the glass, though  covered still attracted rays of light hitting the mirror. It illuminated for a moment, then stopped.

Primrose blinked hard. She must be hallucinating, she thought.

Her hazel eyes kept gazing at the mirror longingly which was displayed. Captivated by its beauty, she even forgot the time. She just knew she wanted the mirror. As if under a spell, she pushed the heavy wooden oak door and went inside.

A cold breeze slapped her face. Her worn out long chiffon grey dress swept the black dirty floor as she moved. It was unusually dark inside and she was unplesantly affected by the reigning cold unwelcoming atmosphere. There was a cluttered counter with an old, dusty cash register and an equally old, equally dusty old lady. The lady was dozing off in a sitting position, her uncombed long grey hair scattered around her face and rested on her severe black dress. Her wrinkled face looked tired. Primrose hesitated whether she should wake the lady or not. After a moment of thought, she decided to go for it. She needed that mirror. If it was expensive, well she’ll just work harder but she’ll have it.

As her arm nervously approached the lady’s shoulder, she retreated in an instant when sharp exhausted black eyes glared at her. She wasn’t happy that her sleep was disturbed.

“Hello madam,” Primrose greeted her with a smile but it soon faded away. “Go away, I’m not selling anything,” she muttered, then closed her eyes again, unbothered of Primrose’s presence.

“I just want to know the price of the mirror please,” she asked. The old lady’s startled black eyes stared at her for a long time.

“What mirror?” she asked, dumbfounded. “That mirror,” Primrose pointed at the display window and the old lady’s gaze followed its direction. Then she stared back at Primrose. “You really see that mirror?” she questioned even when she already knew the answer. Primrose fell silent. Was the lady crazy or something? “After all those years finally, the chosen one,” she muttered to herself.

Primrose carefully stepped back and looked at the door. She was chilled to her bone. She didn’t want to be here anymore. Something wasn’t right.

“Don’t leave,” the old lady hurriedly said. “The mirror chose you and you shall have it now," she informed and smiled at her.

Primrose wasn’t used to kind treatment towards her. Everyone just treated her like trash because of the way she looked, especially Reina AKA The most popular and prettiest girl of Mirage High School. It bothered her so much that she replayed the earlier incident in her head.

Earlier that afternoon after high school dismissal, Primrose rushed in the school hallway when she spotted Reina, a pretty blue-eyed tall blonde dressed in an expensive outfit, busy flirting with her handsome boyfriend, Ethan, the kind of boy all girls in Mirage High School dreamed to have. Primrose prayed in silence to be unnoticed as she continued to walk the crowded hallway.

Reina threw a disgusted look at her as she passed by. She was stopped involuntary when Reina grabbed her arm and shook her. Next thing she knew was that she was thrown on the ground. Everyone felt silent and looked down at her like she was some sort of garbage. "How do you manage to go outside when you look like this? Reina questioned. Primrose felt ashamed and became more aware of her appearance. She knew she wasn't pretty. She was short, chubby and had a dull round face with medium oily length black hair that lacked volume.

"My bad, I forgot how penniless you are," Reina mocked. "Poor you living a miserable life studying and working to feed your family," she scoffed. Tears rolled down on her cheeks and she was brought back to present. The old lady was studying her with an eerie look on her face.

“But I don’t have the money. I just wanted to know the price,” Primrose muttered.

The old lady drummed her fingers on the dusty counter and shook her head. “That mirror cannot be bought with money, my dear.”

She lifted her short figure from the worn out chair and fetched the mirror. Turning it backwards, she carefully wrapped it in a red silk cloth. “This isn’t an ordinary mirror. It will change your fate.” Primrose was all ears. Enough was enough. She needed her fate to change.

“At midnight, go somewhere where it’s dark, unwrap the mirror and spill three drops of your blood on the mirror," she informed. Primrose nodded. “You’ll experience the magic you so wanted. But be careful what you wish for.”

“I promise.” She smiled and handed her the mirror. “I’m Lachesis, you can call me by my name.” “Pleased to meet you, I’m Primrose.”

“Thank you for your gift. I will never forget your generosity, Lachesis.”

“I know. You’ll remember me for a lifetime,”

“Aren’t you getting late, dear?" “You should go now,” she encouraged.

"I'll feel bad if you don't take my money," Primrose murmured. "Fine, give me one dollar and go," Lachesis ordered. Primrose happily did so and returned home.

That evening she waited till midnight, then went in a dark corner easily available since her tiny house didn't have electricity. She unwrapped the mirror, took a knife then cut her finger and let three drops of her blood fall on the glass surface. In an instant, the mirror gleamed brightly and a beautiful reflection of a woman appeared. Upon looking closely, Primrose was shocked how the woman ressembled a younger version of Lachesis.

"Wow, this is amazing," Primrose said in awe. "Now my dear, what do you wish for?" Lachesis asked. "To be pretty, rich, have a boyfriend who's in love with me. I want to be like Reina," she babbled with enthusiasm. "Then you shall have it." Lanchesis snapped her fingers and a second later her surroundings changed. Her house now was a mansion. She glanced in the mirror. Unable to believe her eyes, she touched her blond wavy hair, then caressed her beautiful fave with delicate features. It felt like a dream but she was happy. Lachesis appeared again. "There's a price to live like this," she informed. "Whatever you want," Primrose whispered, completely under the spell. Lachesis gave her a triumphant smile and disappeared.

Still admiring herself, she heard a knock on the doorstep. She rushed to the door and opened it with hesitation. Ethan stood in front of her. She opened her mouth in amazement. The fact that he knew where she lived made her gush like a fourteen years old girl. Ethan wasn't smiling though. He reached for her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Primrose," he said in a soft tone. Wait, what loss?

"Your brother was killed while crossing the road. He died instantly," he continued.

Primrose fell on the ground, the shock too much to bear. Not her brother. She cared for him too much, to live without him was impossible. She cried for a long time. Ethan left her afterwards claiming he had to return home. Primrose didn't care about Ethan anymore. She just wanted his older brother. She only had him left in this world.

Realisation of the shocking reality finally got to her. The mirror...she needed to make a new wish. She dashed back to where she left the mirror. She lifted it upwards and Lachesis appeared again. "I want my brother," she pleaded. "He was the price for your beauty, the luxury around you and the affection received from the one you want," Lachesis replied in a neutral tone. "I'll pay differently. I want my brother," she sobbed. "My mirror requires human sacrifice as payment. It has been so for centuries won't change now. You cared so much about appearance and wealth that you didn't bother to cherish what you already had." Primrose stared at Lachesis in stupefaction. "What are you?" She managed to ask.

"A cursed entity. My reflection has been trapped inside this mirror for centuries due to greedy humans like you who kept wishing for anything and everything leaving me drained out of energy. Not once did one human thanked me. You are like the rest, greedy and selfish." Primrose closed her eyes. Surely this wasn't the result of her action.

"That's why you shall be punished. I will be your doom now."

Lachesis snapped her fingers and the mansion was in flames right away, destroying everything in its passage. Primrose coughed and screamed when the flames burned her severely while she reached for the door and managed to step outside.

The fading words she heard from people as she breathed her last, laid on grass were, "It's no use, she's gone."

The old firefighter who helped in extinguishing the fire studied the beautiful dead girl with third degree burns on her body saw the mirror next to her, gasped in horror and stepped back. This wasn't the first time a mirror was found next to a corpse with everything in flames behind. Every time everything was destroyed except that mirror.

At dawn, the next day a small girl, Sophie with her white cat curious approached the burnt mansion. A ray of light reflected on something. She bent down and saw the mirror.

She took it, her cat meowed nervously, her fur in spike. She turned the mirror and saw a prettier version of herself. As she shifted her attention to her cat again, another reflection appeared... Primrose’s reflection who banged the surface of the glass whose soul was trapped on the other side. Sophie didn't see Primrose. She just saw herself in the mirror, instantly fell in love with her reflection and turns to go back to her house, not bothering to understand why her cat refused to follow her.

The cat sat on the road, watched it’s master walk away for the last time.