The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

Lillyanna closed her black umbrella as she shouldered through the café door. The small ding of the bell made the cook lean out of the kitchen to check who was coming in. Lillyanna waved at him half-heartedly.

“Hey Peaches.”

He smiled enthusiastically then ducked back into the kitchen to resume his prep. She took a calming breath, then wove through the empty tables into the hallway past the kitchen. When she punched in, she noticed that management had taped a note above the schedule offering overtime for the weekend. Lillyanna’s shoulders dropped with a resigned sigh. She desperately needed the money, so she pulled a pencil from her bun and wrote her name down. If she worked after her morning class on Friday and double shifts over the weekend, she might be able to pay rent and get her prescription. She shrugged her backpack off her shoulder, slipped her little black notebook out of the pocket and added another row to the running total. Adding the extra hours she had just signed up for on one page; then on the opposite page she subtracted the lost hours of sleep and study time. She rolled her neck, trying to release the tension building in her head as she reviewed the figures. She wouldn’t be able to sleep much but she tried to tell herself it would be worth it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try to get extra in tips. Things would be tight; that was just life lately.

Lillyanna reminded herself again of “The Plan.” A few more years slogging through until she finished her degree and started illustrating children’s books. She refused to consider the alternative; life as a corporate cog trapped in the advertisement industry. She couldn’t imagine spending years tricking people into buying products by subconsciously selling them happiness and companionship. That was everything she got into the arts to escape. With a determined shake of her head she cast off her melancholy thoughts, snapped the elastic band back over her notebook and slipped it into her pack.

Lillyanna pulled out her uniform and dug through her bag for her makeup case as she ambled over to the lockers to secure her bag. Then with a glance to make sure Peaches wasn’t ready to open she slipped into the employees-only bathroom to put on her war-paint. The motion detector lights brightened the room and sparkled off the flowering vines etched into the glass around the outside edge of the full-length mirror over the sink. The antique mirror had been installed by the original owner, if it hadn’t been too big to get out the doorway management would have pawned it years ago. Lillyanna locked the door, flipped the occupied switch, and clicked the manual light switch to illuminate the second row of lights above the sink. Lillyanna unwrapped her long black hair from its bun and put it up in a high ponytail. Then rummaged through her makeup case for her favorite eyeliner pen and smudged the waterproof eyeliner into her lashes to frame her gray-green eyes. As she leaned in close to the mirror, she saw it happen.

Her reflection blinked. Lillyanna froze with her face inches from the glass. She hadn’t felt herself blink. Confused, she put down the pen and deliberately closed one eye, then the other. Her reflection followed her motions as normal. She slowly blinked while watching her reflection intently. She saw the flicker of her eyelids in the mirror and shrugged, trying to convince herself that her mind was playing tricks on her again. She fumbled for lip-gloss in her makeup case, not daring to glance away from her reflection until she finished. As she clasped and locked her case, she glanced down at her hands then quickly looked back up to see the top of her own head as the reflection stared down at her hands. Lillyanna watched with horror growing as the reflection lifted its head, an eerie grin stretched across its face, it winked at her.

Lillyanna jumped back, fumbling for the doorknob with one hand and her makeup case clutched to her chest with the other. The reflection smiled inhumanly wider as she fled.

She slammed the door closed, remembering at the last moment the lights over the sink were still on. She watched with wide eyes as the lights went dark. Laughter echoed through the door, with a shiver she backed away until she rounded the corner.

For the whole day Lillyanna endeavored to forget the terrifying experience. That was her only excuse for going back into the bathroom at the end of the night to change the garbage. She was only thinking about getting home when she let the door shut behind her. As she pulled the bag out of the can she heard the click of the lock behind her. She turned and lept to unlock the door. A terrible screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard came from behind her. In panic she realized she had her back to the mirror. Lillyanna couldn’t breathe as she turned back around, one hand still struggling with the lock that refused to turn. She couldn’t see her reflection, but as she watched letters carved themselves onto the mirror. With every line of text that appeared her heart thudded harder.

“Sleep. Dream. LET ME IN.”

When the last line carved itself into shining existence Lillyanna felt the lock click under her fingers. She flung the door open and raced away pausing only snatch up her backpack and lock the front door.

She sat up all night shaking and trying not to think about what happened.

Her mood rose with the sun. Nothing seemed as bleak that morning, so she slipped her little black notebook into her backpack and splashed across town to her grandparent’s house. The puddles from yesterday’s rain cast rainbows in the dawn light. Lillyanna winced at the squeak of the screen door and promised herself she would oil the hinges like Poppy used to.

“Nana? Are you home?” Lillyanna called out as she knocked. When there was no response, she poked her head in and called out again. “Nana?”

Her grandmother bustled around the corner with a smile.

“Morning! Come give me a hug Lilly-child.” She cheerfully demanded. Lillyanna folded her arms around her plump grandmother and breathed in the faint scent of roses and coffee.

“You have impeccable timing dear.” Nana said as they broke apart.

“How so?” Lillyanna asked.

“There’s a lawyer coming by to talk to you.” Outside Lillyanna heard a vehicle pull up. “That must be him now. Be a dear and fetch the tea cookies? You know where they are.” Lillyanna nodded and did as she was bid. Nana always had a strange knack for knowing when people would come calling. It drove Lillyanna crazy that she set up meetings without talking to anyone and still had everything work out. Lillyanna set her backpack on a chair as she passed through the dining room into the kitchen. Hidden in the pantry were tins of homemade cookies. Nana and her best friend Ruby baked every week for their book club, it made her heart ache that Nana still hid the cookies on the top shelf of the pantry as though Poppy was still around to steal them. Lillyanna shook her head to escape the nostalgia. With arms full she carried her bounty to the counter and set up the tray. She could hear Nana chattering at the visitor on the porch. Lillyanna turned at the sound of the door opening.

“Do you need a hand?” Her grandmother asked as she propped open the door so Lillyanna could bring the tray out onto the porch.

“No. Thank you, Nana.” Lillyanna said as she carefully passed with the full tray. From the corner of her eye she watched the stranger as she set down the tray on the low table. She glanced up with a polite smile. The stranger gave an empty smile in response. His brown eyes stayed hard and flat even when he smiled. Lillyanna tried not to meet his gaze. Her grandmother saved her by bustling and playing hostess. She got everyone tea and bullied the man into taking a cookie. He sat there with his long fingers wrapped around a sugar cookie as though he expected it to bite him and watched Lillyanna with cold eyes.

“Your grandfather was owed a great debt by my employer.” He growled.

Lillyanna glanced at her grandmother for confirmation.

“You know your grandfather was always a people person.” Nana said as she nodded.

“I’ve come to fulfill a bargain to pay off that debt. There were contracts regarding-.” He started.

“What contracts?” Lillyanna interrupted.

“It’s okay dear.” Nana patted her hand. “Nothing bad is happening, just sign whatever he needs.”

Lillyanna frowned but nodded for him to continue.

“You will get an investment from my employer; in exchange you will be expected to produce works for our galleries.”

“Okay.” Lillyanna said hesitantly.

“Delightful.” He said in a deadpan voice as he whipped out a stack of papers and produced a pen, marking each spot she needed to sign. As she went through the contract and signed beside her grandfather’s signature, she couldn’t hold back a shiver as the smell of his pipe seemed to waft up from the pages. When she was done the man handed her an envelope and a copy of the contract. Then he took one step out the screen door, pausing with one foot still inside, he turned around to capture Lillyanna’s gaze.

“May this bring you prosperity.” He said, his eyes flashed gold as he turned away and vanished into the rainbow laced sunshine.

Lillyanna looked around with a dazed feeling. Nana just patted her shoulder and gathered up the tea. When she had gone inside Lillyanna upended the envelope. Two thick stacks of bills fell into her lap. She counted $20,000 with shaking hands. Shocked, she sat there staring down at the wealth before her. Then it hit her how much money was in her possession. She jerked her head around to see if anyone was watching and hurriedly stuffed the bills back into the envelope. As she did her fingers brushed something stuck inside the envelope. She struggled with the small coin-shaped object trapped inside the corner of the envelope until it fell into the light. One side of the round crystal was opaque murky silver, the other side was perfectly reflective like a drop of water. As she flipped it, she saw a flash of her grandfather’s gray eyes in the flat stone. She shook her head and slipped it back into the envelope. Glancing around again she stuffed the bundle into her pocket. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. At that moment her Nana burst through the door, startling her out of her skin.

“Come along.” She said as she gathered up the tea tray. “I know you came to visit for another reason.”

“Something strange happened to me at work today.” Lillyanna began. As they sat in the morning light, she explained the terrifying experience with her reflection. By the end Nana was shaking her head.

“Lilly-child you know mirrors are doors for them that know how to use them. I taught you better. Don’t you go letting demons walk through your reflection honey-child.” Nana said in a no-nonsense tone.

Lillyanna groaned and let her head fall onto the table.

“Yes Nana.” She mumbled. Nana patted her sympathetically again and bustled away. Slowly Lillyanna let the past half-hour soak into her. No matter what, nothing was going to be the same she mused. For the first time in months she could breathe without feeling anxiety like an iron band around her chest. She raised her head, looking at morning with fresh eyes, and pulled out her black notebook to cross out all her calculations with a smile. As she looked out the window, she saw her reflection wink.