Midnight Dreams & Nightmares ~ A short story collection

The Mirror Game

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon; my parents had left me home alone as they went to visit some friends. I rather enjoyed being alone and when I was certain that my parents were gone I slipped into the bathroom. I carefully took the circular mirror off the wall and stared at its reflective surface. It was an old mirror—the white frame long since yellowish—but it was the perfect size for a game I had invented.

Holding the mirror horizontally in front of me I walked out of the bathroom. The reflective surface showed me the ceiling and instead of watching where I was going, I stared into the depths of the mirror.

It felt like I was walking on the ceiling.

And basically, that was the entire game.

I walked through the house while only looking into the mirror, imagining myself on the ceiling. It was a lot of fun for me and I had long since memorised which parts of the ceiling were okay to walk on—meaning I knew precisely where the tables and chairs hid.

I could easily spend an hour wandering through the house without taking my eyes off the mirror. That Saturday though I spent more than just the usual one hour gazing into that mirror.

The only reason why I finally looked away was because I had to pee. I carefully placed the mirror on the floor after making my way to the toilet. Slightly disorientated I sat down and looked around as my mind warped back to reality—where up is up and down is down.

When I was finished I picked up the mirror, took it under my arm and walked normally towards the kitchen to get a drink. It was then that I noticed the time: I had been playing for nearly three hours straight. Still, I wasn't bored of it yet. Besides, I figured that I could still hang the mirror back in time when I'd hear the car of my parents turn into the driveway. So I took the mirror, levelled it horizontally again and continued to walk around the house.

I loved playing it for so long; I was actually getting the feeling that I was being dragged into the mirror-world. This became even more evident when I stumbled and nearly fell upon entering a different room where the ceiling was slightly higher.

I recovered myself, but while doing so my eyes slipped from the mirror and into the room. This made me rather dizzy and I quickly returned my gaze. Something felt off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I continued my way and it took me a room or two before I realised what was wrong. I came to a halt and tilted the mirror a bit further so I could see myself properly.

Yet I couldn't.

My face was slightly blurred and I walked over to a table to place the mirror down. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

I could see myself, but hazy. I figured I must have been playing the game for too long, that my eyes were strained. I took the mirror under my arm and returned it to its place in the bathroom. Just as I was about to walk out I heard the car of my parents pull up and I hastily made my way to my room.