Secret Treasure

“Welcome to Bob's Treasure Chest, where you'll find some of life's most precious gifts! I have beautiful China sets, and the finest tea cups you'll see. Also, there's plenty of extravagant jewelry pieces in the back that I know you'll love. Don't be afraid to ask me for help, no matter the situation. ” Bob Stoudamire greeted his customers as they strolled through the green and gold trimmed, double doors. 

He was relishing this moment. Seeing the large group of customers, who chose his business to do their shopping, is a real treat. It has been six months since he's gotten a lot of traffic coming in. Times are hard these days and paying the bills is not easy. So, to Bob, the more people the merrier! He began working his way around the shop, helping anyone that may need assistance. 

“Don't you just love the way jewelry shines, Keith?” Marcy asked her boyfriend as they were exploring every inch of Bob's Treasure Chest. “Those are beautiful jewelry pieces, my love. Although, they are tremendously expensive.” Keith took a swift glance at the price tags in the jewelry case and proceeded to the other side of the shop. 

Keith noticed that next to the china and teacup sets, stood tall and wide, a beautiful bronze and black antique mirror. It seemed to have a natural aura glowing around it. 

“Marcy, take a look at this mirror. It's the most beautiful thing I've seen!” Keith stood stuck with his eyes wide open in awe of the mirror's beauty. “It's huge! I wonder how old it is. Like, what's the history behind this thing.” Marcy held an inquisitive expression on her face, as she was trying to guess its background.

While Marcy and Keith are in admiration of the mirror, Bob stood in a corner behind some antique furniture, watching them take interest. His chest starts to fill up with worry, mixed with anticipation. His palms and forehead starts to perspire with sweat. He starts to regret putting the mirror out for sale but then, he knows he will be relieved once it is gone from his life, forever. 

“How, can I help this lovely couple? Intrigued by this beautiful mirror, I see. Bob asked. “Yes, sir. This mirror is beyond beautiful. What is the price for this treasure?” Keith replied, still stuck in infatuation. “Well, I put a discount on this beauty cause it's hard to get someone to buy it. It's one hundred and fifty dollars.” Bob answered. 

“That's all for this humongous thing? Why only that much? What's the story behind this mirror?” Marcy asked, not sure why the price doesn't sound right. Bob begins to feel weary as he feels Marcy is asking too many questions, “It was given to me as a gift from a childhood friend of mine. I've had it for a couple of years. I recently moved to a new home and dont have the space for it now. It's hard to sell it, nowadays. That's why I cut the price down tremendously.” 

“We'll take it, sir.” Keith quickly said, eager to take the mirror back home. “Wait, we haven't agreed to buy this together. What happened with discussing our decisions first? Plus, we really don't know where this mirror could have came from. I just don't have a good feeling about this one, honey.” Marcy chimed in before Keith could reach for his wallet to pay. 

“Calm down, my love. You don't have to be so harsh about it. I figure it will be a great investment for our home we just moved in. I mean, what harm could this beautiful mirror do?” Keith reasoned with Marcy. Bob's hands start to tremble as his nerves are rising. He slowly slides them into his blue jean pockets.

Marcy takes a pause as she thinks about what Keith has said. She has been falling in love with the stunning Victorian house that they've bought. She thought about all of the places that the mirror would fit. “Fine, we can buy the mirror. It is beautiful. I just hope we're not making a mistake, Keith.” Marcy says as she gives Keith a stern look. “I promise, my love. We are not making a mistake. You'll see.” Keith responds as he pulls out his wallet and grabs his credit card to pay. 

Bob excitedly grabbed the credit card to finish the transaction. Finally, the mirror will be out of his life for good. There's still a soft spot deep inside that makes him feel bad about having to sell this mirror. At the same time, he can't take any more of it. Good riddance to that thing. “Would you like me to help you carry it out to your car?” Bob asked impatiently. 

“Sure, thank you sir. I really appreciate it “ Keith replied happily. Marcy sensed a weird vibe coming from Bob. She couldn't place her finger on it, but he is acting weird now that they've bought this mirror. Also, his armpits are soaking wet. Eeww! “Thank you, Mr. Bob. Let's go, honey.” Marcy said, ready to leave the store and escape Bob's weird vibes. Keith and Bob successfully carried the mirror and got it secured inside their car's backseat. They each say their goodbyes, then Keith and Marcy head back to their home. 

Back home at Keith and Marcy's Victorian house, they both worked as a team to carry the mirror inside the house. Keith held one end of the mirror while Marcy held the other. As they began making their way up the walkway to their front door, Marcy heard a faint voice call out her name. “Marcy…Marcy.” At first she thought she was hearing things, then the voice called her name again. This time the voice was a little bit louder. “Marcy! Marcy!” Marcy started feeling nervous as she was certain she heard someone calling her name. She just can't see where it's coming from. Nobody is outside at the moment except for her and her boyfriend. 

“Keith, honey. Did you hear that?” Marcy asked, afraid that he may think she's crazy. “Hear what, my love? I don't hear anything.” Keith answered, confused as to what she's hearing. “So you didn't hear my name being called? It happened twice.” Marcy was confused as to how Keith didn't hear the voice. “No, I didn't hear your name being called at all. Are you sure you're not hearing things?” Keith asked worried about his girlfriend's sanity. 

“I knew I shouldn't have asked you. You probably think I'm crazy now. I promise, honey. I heard my name good and clear.” Marcy reassures Keith. “Ok, my love. I believe you. Let's just get this mirror inside and I'll cook you a nice steak and potato dinner. You know you love your steak.” Keith persuades Marcy. “Ok, Keith. Steak does sound nice right now. I could really use a warm meal after carrying this heavy mirror.” Marcy responds as they continue to carry the mirror inside the house. They place it next to the fireplace in ther living room. Marcy decides to hop in the shower while Keith is in the kitchen getting dinner started.

Meanwhile, Bob is enjoying a lasagna tv dinner while watching his favorite game show ‘Family Fued’. In between laughs and crackles at the jokes that comedian and host Steve Harvey was saying, Bob couldn't help but to think about the couple that bought the mirror. Suddenly, his smile went away and he found himself staring a hole into the ground. “I sure hope they're doing alright. I wish I didnt have to sell that thing. I should've found somewhere that I could throw it away. Even though I was threatened that if I threw it away, something terrible was going to happen to me. What else could I have done?” Bob sat and pondered some more before snapping out of his trance and finishing his dinner. He got in the shower and got ready for bed.

Marcy, out of the shower and dressed, made her way down the stairs as she began to smell the delicious odor of the juicy steak dinner. “It sure smells good in here, honey. Keep it up and you just might get dessert.” Marcy complimented, as she walked up behind Keith, put her arms around him and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, my love. There's nothing in this world I wouldnt do for you. You are looking lovely in that gown might I add.” Keith said as he stared Marcy's body up and down. “Uh, uh ,uh! Don't you think about it, mister. Dinner comes first, dessert comes later. Thank you, honey.” Marcy responded, then made her way to the living room to check herself out in their new mirror. 

Marcy stood in front of the antique mirror to check out her look. She felt that she indeed looks quite stunning. She put her face closer to the mirror and being silly, she makes her eyeballs meet in the middle and then they move the opposite way. She kept doing this for another minute then suddenly, her reflection’s left eye moved in a different direction than hers. Marcy's heart skipped a beat. She let out a loud scream as she fell backwards onto the floor. “Keith, honey! Hurry! I'm so scared!” Marcy began sobbing. “What's wrong, my love? Is everything ok? What happened here?” Keith rushed into the living room and found Marcy still in the floor. She was sobbing and staring at the mirror, holding her knees to her chest. 

“Keith, I swear, I saw my reflection's eye move! Do not tell me I'm crazy or I'm making stuff up. No, I'm not tired either. I want this mirror out if this house now, Keith!” Marcy is teary eyed and livid. Keith doesn't know what to say. He sure doesn't want to upset his girlfriend more than she already was. “Ok, since you're having a hard time with this mirror, I will have it gone by the morning. Is that ok?” Keith asked as frustration started to grow inside. His patience with Marcy was starting to wear thin. “Thank you, honey. I'm sorry I came off so hard on you. It really scared me. Something's not right with this mirror. The owner of the shop was giving me weird vibes. He looked so worried that we weren't going to buy it.” Marcy reassured Keith. “Don't worry about it. Let's go in the kitchen and get ready to eat. Dinner is finished.” Keith shook his head and made his way back into the kitchen to fix their plates. Marcy quickly followed behind him.

Dinner was nothing short of positivity as the frustrations that Keith was feeling has now dissipated. Marcy hasn't given the mirror another thought as they were caught up in their deep conversation. “Want to watch a movie till we fall asleep?” Keith asked as he started to grow sleepy. “Sure, even though I know we'll hardly be watching the movie.” Marcy joked. “Well, now you know I can't help myself.” Keith laughed at Marcy's joke. Marcy grabbed his hand and they both made there way upstairs to their bedroom as the night ended. 

Keith awoke suddenly to the sensation that he has to go to the bathroom. He turns to look at Marcy and she is sleeping peacefully like a baby, unbothered. Keith made his way to use the bathroom, then he went downstairs to the kitchen to get himself something to drink. 

After he grabbed a bottle of water, he went into the living room and sat on the couch. He began staring at the mirror, trying to figure out the problem that Marcy has with it. He could see his reflection and began waving his right hand from side to side. He waved his hand for five minutes until he noticed his reflection’s hand waving in the opposite direction. Keith quickly jumped up on the couch, standing in fear. “Woah, Marcy was not lying about this thing. I thought she had went bat crazy.”

He walked up closer to the mirror and began waving his right arm again. This time he did it for two minutes while saying ‘hello’. Suddenly, his reflection waved its hand in the opposite direction. The only difference is this time it said ‘hello’ back. Then the reflection belted out an eerie laugh. Keith threw the water bottle at the mirror and quickly ran up the stairs to wake and inform Marcy. He realized right then that he should've listened to his girlfriend.