She was crying when he saw her. Not the loud wail of despair kind of cries, but a certain sob of defeat. Something about the resignation her body language pulled at the heart strings of Paul’s heart. He was tired and exhausted from the 6 hour class he had done and was anticipating another 8 hour class for the next day. But still, he could not just walk past the pretty lady who looked so defeated. With a sigh, he walked towards the bus stop where she sat.
“Hey hey hey, what’s up?” he asked, “Why are you crying?”
The girl looked up through her teary eyes. She was even more beautiful than he imagined. She swallowed hard before speaking. “I lost something that was very dear to me.”
“And what is that?” Paul inquired.
“My grandmother’s mirror. She gave me before she died.” she replied. “It’s the only thing I have to remember her by.”
“And where did you lose it?”
“Down at the Gambling Goose trail.” she pointed. “I’ve searched for it so much but I haven’t been able to find it.”
Paul looked towards the ominous looking trail which seemed scarier in the growing darkness. It was getting late and he really needed to rest. “If I found it for you, would you feel any better.
She looked up at his face and cleaned her eyes. “Yes. I would feel so much better if you did try.”
“Alright then. Hold my bag.” Paul said, dropping his bag by her on the bus stop bench. “Wish me luck.”
The trail opened up quickly and he had to use his phone touch to see the path. There had been bear and cougars sightings around the trail in recent weeks and he was indeed afraid. But the urge to make the girl smile was quite strong so he continued. Looking left and right, he searched the trail hoping to find the artifact that held her happiness.
Paul was almost giving up when he saw a reflective object down on the path. Renewed energy surged through his body as he ran towards it. The mirror lay right on the path. A round surface wrapped around a silver covering which had sparkling emeralds connected to it. Happy to have found it so soon, Paul picked the mirror up quickly and was about to leave when he felt a sudden chill. It was freezing and bit into his bone which was surprising as it was the middle of summer. He wasn’t very superstitious but he knew that gust of wind was no ordinary one. He pulled his coat tighter and walked briskly back to the bus stop.
The pretty girl was gone, nowhere to be found. Paul looked left and right as he did while searching for the mirror. This search proved futile. The grocery bags and coat, that sat beside her, were gone as well, leaving just his school bag on the bench. An uncomfortable thought crossed his mind and he quickly dashed to his bag to see if his belongings were still present. His laptop and documents were still intact. All in all, everything seemed to be just as he had left it. He waited for half an hour with hopes that she would return to collect the object that was so dear to her heart. She didn’t and he went home.
Three hours later, Paul was in bed, twirling the mirror and wondering about the girl that had ghosted on him. The mirror reflected his image so cleanly he wondered what could have caused her to leave just like that. Grandmother or no, this mirror had both immense monetary and aesthetic value There was no logical explanation forthcoming for why she would abandon it. He had only been gone three minutes. ‘Maybe she was a ghost’ he thought to himself and then laughed at the silliness. Making up his mind to look for the girl again the next day, he set the mirror down on his bedside dresser and closed his eyes to sleep. And then it began.
Paul didn’t actually wake up from his sleep, at least he didn’t remember waking up. It just felt like a whirlwind was whisking him away from his bed. He tried to open his eyes but he couldn’t. Round and round and round he spun till his feet landed on something solid. Only then could he open his eyes. He found himself in a long hallway which was lit with dull fluctuating fluorescents. The walls looked charred as though they had barely survived a raging inferno. There was something brown on some parts which looked like dried blood although some other parts of the wall were freshly red.
A very loud and terrifying scream reached his ears. It seemed to be coming from the far end of the corridor which ended in an old wooden door. It didn’t look alluring enough so Paul tried turned back, desperate to be out of this eery place but alas there was no pathway or passage behind him. He looked up but the ceiling was closed, dripping something green and wet. It puzzled him how he got there and puzzled him even more on how he was supposed to get out. The scream echoed again, this time more pleaful than fearful. He couldn’t tell how he could discern the two, but he just could. The sound motivated him and he ran away from it. At the wall, he touched different parts hoping there was a secret cache that will let the blackened brick wall that blocked his path, slide open. There was none.
The only exit or entrance into the hallway was the ominous looking wooden door. Paul swallowed hard and began walking to it. Along the way, he could see claw marks on the walls. Some looked human-made as he came across a nail stuck at the end of one zig-zag looking mark and the others, well, they looked like the marks of beasts. He continued walking, his feet trembling more and more with every step. The air was extremely cold making it hard for him to breathe which made no sense because there was no form of ventilation anywhere.
He got to the door and took a deep breath before grabbing the rusty door knob. It felt so cold it burnt his hand but he didn’t relent. He grit his teeth and pushed the door open.
The girl was there. How she was there, he did not know. Why she was there, he did not know either. Those questions did not matter as there were more pressing questions to be asked. Why was she strung up from the ceiling by heavy duty chains in an extremely dark room? Why was she bleeding, crying and sweating? The chains held her hands together above her head and suspended her many inches from the ground. She spun slowly as though the chains were bored of holding her. The turning momentum allowed her to face him. Her tired eyes opened slowly at first and when she saw him, they flung open.
“He’s here! He’s here! I told you he would come!” she shouted and began shedding more tears but this time, it was more like tears of joy.
‘What was going on?’ Paul wondered to himself. Was this some sort of prank?
“He’s here. I promised you he would be!” she screamed desperately to no one in particular.
“Indeed you did.” a thunderous voice boomed from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Out of the darkness of the room, a large figure emerged. Covered in a dark coat, the figure stood at least six feet tall. There wasn’t much to see from it’s appearance because of the poor lighting and the fact that there seemed to be darkness surrounding his very essence. It moved as though it had no feet, gliding towards the girl.
“A deal’s a deal.” he continued.
“Thank you. Oh thank you so much” she said, crying even more happily.
Halfway towards her, it turned to face Paul. There were a few more noticeable things about the figure. Beneath the hood was nothing but a red ball, which reminded him of a clown’s nose. From the sleeves where hands should have emerged where long sharp and shiny blades that gleaned even in the dark.
“Good day kind sir. Here is the situation,” it moved extremely close to Paul. “I am your worst nightmare.”
It circled around Paul, sending more chills down his spine. “You looked in my mirror for too long while you were awake and now I get to torture you while you sleep.” It continued his movement around him. “Only way you can escape this, is if another person looks at the mirror voluntarily. Then you would be free from our little nightly games”.
The figure floated towards the girl and with a single wave of its blade, cut the chain clean in half. She crumpled to the ground and began to evaporate. It was as though her very being was fading out of this existence. The figure turned sharply at Paul.
“I would start running if I were you” It said with a smile.
And then Paul began to run