Mirror

Interrupted bath naps

A throat clearing wakes me from my sleep. I wipe my eyes and realize I am still in the tub and the water is much colder now. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my chest as I look towards the noise. No one is at the door but I know I heard something.

“Sadie,” Mason says, " I am home and I just wanted to let you know so I won’t frighten you.”

Oh my God. I knew I should’ve closed the damned door!

“Uh okay Mason. I’m getting out anyway. Thank you for letting me know.”

I frantically get out of the tub and dry myself off. I go to the chair and grab the shirt. I slide it over my head and drape the towel over the back of the chair to dry. I really hope he didn’t see me naked. I'll die.

I leave the bathroom and head down the hall towards the living area. I am glad this shirt is so big, it goes right down to my knees so I am completely covered. Mason is sitting in one of the chairs when I come into view. He looks me up and down and coughs into his fist.

“Um Sadie, is that my shirt?”

“Oh, yes sorry I needed something to wear after my bath and I wasn’t expecting you…” realizing after I said it that I totally snooped through his things.

My face blushes and I start to feel butterflies.

“Oh no, Mason, I am so sorry I shouldn’t have gone through your things. I only went through the dresser to find this. Thats all!”

“It's okay Sadie, I don’t care if you go through my stuff. I am just surprised to see you like this is all.” He gets up and turns away to his bag at the table. He pulls out some clothing and hands it to me.

“I think you will find everything you need here,” he says.

“Um thank you,” I say shyly.

I turn around quickly and walk fast down the hall to the bedroom and shut the door. I put my back on the door and slide down and put my face in my hands. Oh my God, he probably thinks I'm such a creep. Who bathes in a stranger's house and wears his clothes? Ughhhhh. Please kill me.

I get up and take off the shirt and try to figure out the order these new clothes go on. Okay, there are some weird frilly short pants things? Let's assume these are panties… I guess they go first. I slide them on and my assumptions must be correct. They don’t cover a whole lot but they are soft! I notice there is no bra. Perfect… There is a white blouse and a skirt and a corset-looking thing. Okay, shirt is next, then a skirt. I tuck the shirt into the skirt and twist my hips to see that it flows. Looks good. Now the corset. I slide my arms through the holes and make sure the laces go at the front. I pull them tight and then bow them at the top. I hope I did this right. I am not sure if Mason could help me put this on.

I walk back out to the living area and he isn’t there.

“Mason?” I call.

“I’m outside grabbing firewood.” he replies.

Oh good, now he can see I tried. I hope that I helped a bit. I plop into the seat and curl my toes into the rug in front of the fireplace. Mason comes back inside and places his stack onto the stock pile. He sits at the chair next to me and removes his boots. I must have been in that bath for a long time. It is pretty dark outside. The side of his face is lit up by the reflection of the flames. He's so handsome. Sadie stop. You have questions to ask him!

“Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions please?”

He looks over at me quickly and then nods before turning back to face the fire.

“Okay, so what year is it? Or time period? Sorry, I'm not sure what or how to ask it regarding time here.”

“No apologies necessary,” he started, “Time is different here. From what was explained to me by the keeper of the mirror, it is the past of your time.”

“What?”

He turns his body in his chair to face me. I see his gaze drop down to my dress. His look lingers and I see color pop on his cheeks. Did I put this dress on wrong? Oh no. He looks back up at my face and we lock eyes. I look away first. I rub my palms anxiously on my skirt.

“Did I put this dress on the wrong way? I wasn’t sure how to.”

“No, its right.” He says and leans back facing the fire again.

“Okay,” I say, slightly embarrassed.

“I know this will be hard to absorb. I will be here to answer all and any of your questions. I am going to send word to Clara. She is the owner of the mirror and will be able to offer more insight into the situation. Also, possibly how to fix it.”

“Yea, I think I’d like to speak with her,” I start, “Hopefully she can help figure this out. I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Yes, of course. I will make a bed out here on the rug. Let me know if you need anything at all.”

“Okay.”

I make my way down the hall and jump into the cot. I cant help but cry into the pillows. The knowledge of my situation is heavy and I sob to relieve the pressure.