The Shadow That Wears My Face

Many people are afraid of ghosts hiding under the bed. But actually the scariest monster is the thing we look at every morning while brushing our teeth.

My name is Arthur. I live in a modern apartment in the middle of London. I lived a happy life with my wife named Clara. My life was perfect until last Tuesday.

It all started in the bathroom. It was 3 AM. I woke up because I was thirsty. I went into the bathroom and washed my face with cold water. When I lifted my face to look at the mirror I froze.

My reflection in the mirror was blinking.

The problem was my eyes were wide open.

I stared at the glass for a long time. The man in the mirror looked exactly like me. He had my blue eyes. He had my messy brown hair. But his expression was wrong. I was scared but his face looked calm.

Suddenly he smiled. A smile that was very cold and slow.

I rubbed my eyes quickly. When I looked again the dark reflection was gone. My face in the mirror looked scared just like me.

I thought I was crazy. I thought maybe I worked too hard and got stressed. I did not know this was the start of a terrible tragedy that would destroy my life. This was the start of an invasion from the mirror world.

The Office Incident

The next morning I went to work at the architecture firm as usual. But my heart felt uneasy. I felt like someone was walking right behind me.

When I entered the office lobby the security guard named Ben greeted me.

"Good morning Arthur. You are back early," Ben said.

I was confused.

"What do you mean back? I just arrived," I answered.

Ben looked puzzled.

"Impossible. I saw you walk out ten minutes ago. You said you forgot your house keys. You were even whistling a happy song."

My blood felt like it stopped flowing. I have never whistled in my entire life.

I ran into the CCTV room. I asked Ben to show the camera footage.

On the screen I saw myself. Or at least it looked like me. The man was wearing my grey suit. He walked with a confidence I never had. He looked at the CCTV camera and he winked.

That was the shadow figure from the mirror yesterday. He was out. He was walking in the real world.

Message From Home

My phone vibrated in my pocket. A message came in from Clara.

Honey thank you for cooking dinner tonight. I did not know you came home early. You are the best husband.

My hands started shaking holding the phone. I was still at the office. Who was cooking dinner at my house?

I ran to my car. I drove like a madman through the heavy London rain. The rain hit my windshield like bullets. my stomach felt sick because I was too scared.

I knew what was happening. The thing from the mirror world wanted to steal my life. He wanted my wife.

The Clash of Two Faces

I parked the car a bit far from the house so he would not hear the engine. I walked through the heavy rain towards the house. Through the kitchen window I saw a warm yellow light.

I peeked inside.

It was the most horrifying scene I have ever seen.

Clara was sitting at the dining table laughing. She looked so happy.

Standing by the cooking stove was me.

The other Arthur was cooking pasta. His movements were smooth and neat. He poured red wine into a glass. He kissed Clara on the forehead.

I felt a rage boiling inside me. That was my life. That was my wife. That dark reflection had no right over my life.

I grabbed a big stone from the garden. I threw it at the glass back door. Crash!

The glass shattered. I jumped into the kitchen.

"Get away from my wife!" I screamed as loud as I could.

Clara screamed and hid under the table.

The fake Arthur turned around slowly. He did not look surprised. He did not look scared. He just looked disappointed.

"Who are you?" Clara yelled at me. She looked at me then she looked at the fake Arthur. We looked identical.

"Clara it is me! The real Arthur!" I shouted. "This thing is a liar! He comes from the mirror world!"

The Fight

I ran towards the fake Arthur. I wanted to punch his face.

But he was very fast. His speed was not like a normal human.

He caught my punch with one hand. His grip was strong like steel. He twisted my arm and threw me against the wall.

My head hit the frame of a decorative mirror in the hallway. I fell down. My vision became blurry.

"Clara call the police!" the fake Arthur shouted. His voice sounded exactly like mine. "This man is crazy! He is an intruder!"

Clara grabbed her phone. She dialed the emergency number. She looked at me with a scared face. She thought I was the bad guy.

"No Clara please listen," I whispered. I tried to stand up.

The fake Arthur walked towards me. He squatted in front of me. He blocked Clara's view so Clara could not see his face.

His face changed. His eyes became completely black without any white parts. His mouth opened wide reaching his ears. It was not a human face. That was the true face of the shadow figure.

He whispered into my ear.

"You have had your turn Arthur. You were always sad. You were ungrateful. You wasted this life. Now it is my turn."

The Biggest Surprise

He grabbed my collar and lifted me high. He pushed me hard.

But he did not push me to the wall.

He pushed me into the mirror.

The mirror glass did not break. The surface felt like cold water. I fell backwards into the mirror.

I landed on a cold hard floor. The world here was grey. Everything was silent.

I looked up. I was on the other side of the glass.

I saw my kitchen. But I was looking at it from inside the mirror.

I saw the fake Arthur fix his tie. He turned to Clara and hugged my wife.

"It is okay honey. He ran away," the fake Arthur said.

I screamed. I punched the glass surface from inside.

"I am here! Clara look here!"

But they could not hear my voice. This mirror world was soundproof.

Clara looked towards the mirror. She looked right into my eyes.

But she did not see Arthur. She only saw her own reflection.

The New Reality

I finally realized my bad luck.

In the real world a mirror shows a reflection. But in this world a mirror is a window.

I am now trapped in the dimension of the dark reflection.

I watched them eat dinner. I watched them laugh. I watched the shadow figure live my life better than I ever did.

And then I saw one thing that crushed my spirit completely.

The fake Arthur walked to the mirror to brush his teeth before sleeping.

He looked at me trapped inside the glass.

He winked.

After that he reached out his hand and turned off the bathroom light.

My world became pitch black.

I am still here waiting for anyone to turn on the light. So next time if you look at the mirror and see your reflection blink, run.

Run as fast as you can before the dark reflection decides he wants to steal your life too.