"Reflections of the Unseen"

Nina awoke to the soft light of dawn filtering through her bedroom curtains. The morning seemed ordinary enough—birds chirping outside, the faint hum of traffic in the distance—but there was a strange heaviness in the air that she couldn’t quite place. Shaking off the remnants of sleep, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded over to the bathroom.

As she flicked on the light and glanced at the mirror, Nina froze. The reflection staring back at her wasn’t hers.

It was subtle at first—an almost imperceptible difference in the eyes, a slight variation in the curve of the lips. But the longer she stared, the more apparent it became. The woman in the mirror had a cold, calculating look in her eyes, her mouth twisted into a faint, mocking smile.

She blinked, hoping it was just a trick of the light or her imagination playing games, but the reflection remained wrong—unfamiliar. Her breath hitched as she realized the woman in the mirror was studying her, as if she were the intruder, the one who didn’t belong.

Panicking, Nina stepped back from the mirror, but the reflection didn’t mimic her retreat. It stayed where it was, hands resting on the countertop, eyes locked onto Nina’s with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine.

“This isn’t real,” Nina whispered to herself, her voice trembling. She squeezed her eyes shut, counting to ten, hoping that when she opened them, everything would be back to normal.

“What do you want?” Nina managed to choke out, her voice barely audible.

The reflection’s lips moved, forming words that Nina couldn’t hear, but she understood them all the same: *I want what’s mine.*

A surge of fear coursed through Nina as she realized what the woman meant. This wasn’t just some strange optical illusion or dream—this was something far more sinister.

Nina stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the edge of the bathmat. She had to get out of there, away from the mirror, away from whatever this was. But as she turned to flee, she felt an icy grip on her wrist. Her head snapped back to the mirror, and her stomach dropped.

The reflection’s hand was wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place. It wasn’t just an image anymore—it had crossed the barrier between the mirror and reality.

Nina struggled, pulling against the grip with all her might, but it was like trying to escape from iron shackles. The woman in the mirror grinned, a sinister gleam in her eyes as she began to pull Nina closer to the glass. The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and Nina’s reflection began to blur, her features distorting as she was dragged closer.

“No!” Nina screamed, digging her nails into her own skin, trying to break free. But it was no use. The woman in the mirror was stronger, her determination unwavering.

With a final, desperate yank, the woman pulled Nina through the mirror’s surface. Cold, dark water enveloped her, stealing her breath as she was sucked into the void. The last thing she saw before everything went black was the woman’s face—her face—smiling triumphantly as she stepped out of the mirror and into the world.

Nina’s scream was silenced as the darkness consumed her. On the other side of the mirror, the woman smoothed down her hair and adjusted her expression to match Nina’s. She glanced around the room with satisfaction, breathing in the air of a life now hers.

To anyone who saw her, she was Nina. But inside, she was something else entirely. And she was free.