The Reflection

Elena had always been proud of her appearance. She spent hours in front of the mirror, adjusting her makeup and perfecting her hair. But one evening, as she was getting ready for a party, she noticed something strange in the reflection.

Her reflection didn’t mirror her movements exactly. It was subtle at first—her hand lifting to adjust her hair, only for the reflection to stay still for a fraction of a second before it moved. She brushed it off as tiredness, but the feeling of unease lingered.

The next morning, the reflection was worse. It began to act independently of her. When Elena smiled, her reflection didn’t follow her lead. Instead, it frowned, its eyes filled with a dark, malevolent intent. She stood frozen, staring at the mirror, as her reflection began to smile in a way that was too wide, too sinister.

Terrified, Elena backed away from the mirror, but it felt like the reflection was watching her, waiting. The strange occurrences continued. When she went out in public, people began to stare at her strangely. They would look at her, then look at her reflection in windows and glass doors with shock, as if they saw something different in the reflection than what was in front of them.

Desperate to understand what was happening, Elena tried to cover all the mirrors in her house, but it didn’t help. Every reflective surface—windows, glass, even spoons—showed her reflection. It followed her every move, but it no longer resembled her. It had become something else, something darker, more sinister.

One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She confronted the reflection in her bedroom mirror, demanding to know what it wanted. The reflection smiled wider, its eyes glowing an unnatural shade of red. Then, it spoke, its voice low and threatening: “I want your life.”

The reflection lunged forward, and before Elena could react, she was pulled into the glass, trapped in the reflection. The last thing she saw before the world went black was her own smiling face staring back at her, free to live her life.