THE DEMON'S MIRROR

1881

Wow, this is a pretty mirror. I love how it looks. The local antique store has the most beautiful items. "Papa, can I get the mirror?" My papa nods. I walk up to where my papa is. He hands the lady five coins.

The lady looks at papa and tells papa "The mirror is cursed. Whatever you do don't look at it." I look at papa, he tells me not to listen to the crazy lady. I leave the store with my new mirror.

TEN YEARS EARLIER 1871

"Demon lady, we the Pryor family banish you demon of the underworld into this mirror, cursed never to leave the mirror for all time."

The Pryor family encircled the demon lady. Eunice, the matriarch of the Pryor family lifts the mirror in the air and says "Into the mirror we curse you for all time." A bolt of lightning strikes the mirror. Eunice brings the mirror down upon the demon lady. The demon lady yells and vanishes into the mirror.

Eunice tells her family "We are the keepers of the mirror. The mirror shall never leave our possession."

Over the years and throughout the future generations the Pryor family became irresponsible in protecting the mirror. But it gets worse. The mirror has become lost breaking the promise made to Eunice to always protect the mirror.

Now the mirror has been lost to time and history, waiting for an unsuspecting soul. The demon lady waits for her next victim.

PRESENT DAY

I love antique stores. You can buy anything in these stores. I love the old-world charm. My house is litter with antiques. I hate buying anything new.

I'm here today at Lady's Antiques. My favorite store looking for an antique mirror. I love mirrors. No, I'm not vain. I don't constantly look in the mirror telling myself Lyra, you look beautiful. I like mirrors because they don't lie to you. Mirrors always tell you the truth even when you don't want the truth.

A lot of the items are handmade dating back to the sixteen, seventeen and eighteen hundreds. These pieces lasted the test of time. I'm walk around Lady's Antiques looking at dressers, China dolls, standing mirrors, not what I'm looking for.

I search and search and search the whole store until I come upon a beautiful handheld mirror. I pick it up, look back and forth. This mirror dates back to at least the eighteen hundreds.

I turn the mirror around. There is a description on the back of the mirror. Lass Den Damon Niemals Raus(never let the demon out). I wonder what that means? Anyways I take the mirror and pay for it. I'm leaving Lady's Antiques when Anissa, the owner stops me. She tells me "Be careful with the mirror. Don't look inside."

Okay, that was odd. I leave the store and head home. The mirror will go great with my antique vanity table.Anissa seemed afraid of the mirror. Maybe I will ask her about it later. Until then I will heed her warning and not look inside the mirror.

The mirror is not for me to look at. It's more of a decoration. I open the door to my home and walk inside. I walk up to the second floor and into my guest bedroom. I put the mirror on top of my vanity table, perfect.

What was that? I thought I just saw a face inside the mirror. I pick up the mirror, there it goes again. It was just a flash but I did see a face. Calm down Lyra. It's a mirror. It's just your face you saw.

I put the mirror down on the vanity table and go downstairs. "My next victim awaits me." What is wrong with me? It's just a mirror. Nothing bad happens with mirrors. Just don't break them.

Three days have pass with the mirror, lately I've been hearing strange nosies but I've chalked up as my imagination. One of my other favorite things to do is sit in my back porch looking at the stars. Tonight big is such a beautiful night. I take my ice tea to the porch, sit in my seat and look up at the stars. They are so beautiful.

Bang! I shoot up from my seat. Someone is in my house. Oh My God! what should I do? I grab my phone and call my best friend Izzy. Come on pick up Izzy. "Hello."

"Izzy, it's Lyra. I think someone is in my house." I frantically tell Izzy."

"I'm on my way."

I can always count on Izzy. Bang! There goes the sound again. I grab the door knob, open the door and step inside my house. Bang! Oh My God! the noise is getting closer. I walk slowly, further into my house. Bang! Shit!

"Lyra, open the door." Thank God Izzy is here. I open the door and let Izzy in. I hug her and begin to tell her everything.

Izzy grabs my hand. We begin to walk through my house. We walk through the living room, kitchen, dinning room and den. We check the windows to make sure they are all locked. There's no one in my house. It's all cleared. The windows are locked and nothing is disturbed.

Now me and Izzy are going to the second floor. We walk up the stairs. We check my bedroom first. It looks good. No one is in the bathroom. Next, we go to the guest bedroom. I open the door and turn on the light.

Me and Izzy walk-in. We look around. No one is in here. I notice Izzy looking at my vanity table. She picks up the mirror. Izzy looks startled. "Izzy, are you okay?" She turns to me and asks me "Where did you get the mirror?"

I tell Izzy "I bought the mirror at Lady's Antique." Izzy turns away from me still staring at the mirror. But what Izzy tells me next shocks me.

"Lyra, the mirror is cursed." I can't believe what Izzy is saying to me. "The banging you heard came from the mirror. Did you see a face?" I nod.

Boom! Bang! Boom! Me and Izzy jump. I look at Izzy. "Did you look in the mirror?" Oh My God! the lights are going on and off. I can't hear what Izzy is saying to me. I'm frozen in place. What is Izzy saying?

"Lyra, look at me?" I slowly turn my head to Izzy.

"Did you look in the mirror?" I croak out a yes.

Izzy grabs my hand. She pulls me down the stairs. I feel myself running. The lights continue to go on and off. I hear banging on the wall. The windows are opening and shutting. Izzy rushes me outside. "I have to call my mom."

I see Izzy on the phone. I turn back around and face my house. I look at my bedroom window. What I see scares me. I can't take my eyes off of her. "Oh My God! Lyra, don't look at the window." Izzy grabs me and turns me to her.

"Lyra, talk to me." I feel Izzy touching. I hear Izzy talking to me but I can't say anything to her. "Lyra, Oh God! Lyra. Mom hurry. That thing has Lyra."

Why can't I move? I hear Izzy. I feel Izzy shaking me but I can't move. "Mom, Lyra is not answering. That thing is in her house."

"Look at me Izzy. It's just you and me against the demon lady. It's up to us to save Lyra. Do you have the mirror?"

"Yes. Here it is. I grabbed it before we left the house."

IZZY

I take my mother's hand. I look back at Lyra. She's in a trance. Me and my mother enter Lyra's house. A menacing laugh comes from behind us. "You can't stop me. I'm too strong."

My mother says "You wanna bet. Grab my hand Izzy.'

I grab my mother's hand. "Repeat these words."

"Demon lady by the power of the Pryor family and the forces of good, we banish you back into the mirror for all time. We curse you for all time never to be released."

"Keep repeating the words."

Me and my mother keep repeating the words. I hear a loud thunder. "We banish you demon lady." My mother lifts up the mirror, a bolt of lightning strikes the mirror. My mother brings the mirror down on the demon lady. "We banish you into the mirror, cursed for all time."

The demon lady howls. She vanishes back into the mirror. "Hand me the towel." I hand my mother the towel. She covers the mirror. "I'll go check on Lyra."

"LYRA

What happened to me? "Lyra." I turn around and see Izzy running to me. "What happened to me?" I ask Izzy.

Izzy's mother begins to explain to me that the mirror I bought was a cursed mirror. The Pryor family, their ancestors cursed a demon generations ago and since that time the mirror has been lost. But stories of unexplained deaths connected to a cursed mirror have been reported. Their family searched for the mirror but has never been able to find the mirror.

Over the years the Pryor family have stopped looking for the mirror. The promise they made to always keep the mirror in their possession was broken. Many more deaths were reported because of the mirror and yet no Pryor family member ever came forward. Many more years went by and all traces of the mirror was lost until I bought the mirror. I was the next victim.

"Thank you for saving me." I hug Izzy and her mother.

"Anytime Lyra." Izzy and her mother take the mirror.

I will never be the same after this experience.