Reflections of Tomorrow

Nathan Thompson had always been drawn to antiques. The sense of history, the idea that each item carried with it a story, intrigued him. So when he stumbled upon an old, ornate mirror at a small antique shop on the outskirts of town, he didn’t hesitate to make the purchase. The mirror was framed with intricate silver designs, and though it had clearly aged, there was something mesmerizing about it. It was as if it had been waiting for him.

He brought it home and set it up in his living room, admiring how the soft light of the room reflected off its surface. At first, it seemed like any other mirror—just a simple reflection of the space around him. But then, something strange happened.

The first time he looked into it, he saw himself standing in his own reflection. Nothing out of the ordinary—just Nathan, dressed casually, his hair a little messier than usual. But as he continued to gaze at his reflection, he noticed something odd: the mirror’s version of him seemed slightly… ahead. His reflection didn’t exactly match his current movements. It was as though he was looking at a future version of himself.

Curious, Nathan stood perfectly still, trying to catch his reflection doing the same. And it did—at first. But then, his reflection began to move on its own, performing actions he hadn’t done yet. He watched in silent shock as the mirror version of himself lifted a coffee mug that was still sitting on the counter, took a sip, and placed it down. A moment later, Nathan followed suit, doing the same actions his reflection had just done.

The oddity left him shaken, but he brushed it off, attributing it to his imagination. It wasn’t until the next morning that the mirror showed him something far more unsettling.

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Nathan had woken up early, feeling groggy as he stumbled into the bathroom. When he glanced into the mirror, he was taken aback. His reflection wasn’t just moving ahead of him—it was showing him a series of events he hadn’t yet experienced.

His reflection was smiling, holding a phone in his hand, and then, it spoke. “It’s time,” the reflection said, its lips moving perfectly in sync with Nathan’s voice, but with an eerie, knowing tone that was unmistakably not his own.

“Time for what?” Nathan murmured aloud, but his reflection didn’t answer. Instead, it simply smiled, an unsettling look in its eyes.

Nathan backed away from the mirror, his heart pounding. He didn’t know what was happening. He turned around to look at the clock on the wall, noting the time, and then glanced back at the mirror. His reflection showed the exact same moment, but this time, he was sitting at the kitchen table, writing something down in a notebook.

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The next few days were a blur of confusion and disbelief. Nathan became obsessed with the mirror. Every time he looked into it, his future seemed to unfold before his eyes—small details at first, like his movements, the things he said, the way he looked. But soon, the reflections began showing him more specific moments: a conversation with a colleague at work, a heated argument with a friend, a phone call from his mother he had yet to receive.

Each time, the reflection would show him a version of himself reacting in ways he hadn’t yet thought about. The mirror was showing him things he hadn’t done yet, and every moment was becoming more and more vivid.

He began to feel trapped, like he was no longer in control of his own life. The mirror was no longer just a window to the future—it was dictating it.

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One evening, as he sat in front of the mirror, his reflection suddenly changed. The familiar scene of him sitting there, lost in thought, was replaced by a version of himself lying motionless on the floor, blood pooling around his head. It was a terrifying image, and Nathan felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He rushed to the door to check, only to find that everything in the room was perfectly normal.

The following day, the mirror showed him the same image. This time, his reflection had a message for him: “Stop looking. Stop knowing.”

He didn’t know what to do. Was the mirror showing him a future he couldn’t avoid? Or was it something darker, pushing him toward a fate he wasn’t meant to have?

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In a moment of desperation, Nathan decided to get rid of the mirror. He carried it outside and tried to throw it away, but something strange happened. The moment he let go of the mirror, it seemed to vanish into thin air, reappearing back in its spot in the living room.

Nathan could feel his grip on reality slipping. It was as though the mirror was tied to him in a way he couldn’t explain. Every time he tried to remove it from his life, it came back, showing him more and more of a future he wasn’t prepared for.

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The story ends with Nathan standing before the mirror one last time, watching his reflection move with him—until it begins to show him something different: a version of himself looking back at him with a knowing smile, a look that said, “You can’t escape.”

The mirror held the power to reveal the future, but in the end, it was Nathan who would decide if he wanted to live it.

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