WHISPERS

I woke up because someone whispered my name. At first, I thought it was part of a dream. I lay still beneath my blanket, staring into the darkness of my room. The clock on my bedside table read 2:17 a.m. Then I heard it again. My name. I slowly sat up. “Hello?” Silence. My room looked exactly the way I had left it before going to sleep. My books were scattered across my desk. My clothes were hanging from the back of a chair. The curtains barely moved against the closed window. Nothing was there. I rubbed my eyes and reached for my phone. The screen lit up my face. No messages. No missed calls. I sighed and placed it back on the table. That was when I noticed the mirror. It stood against the wall opposite my bed, reflecting the faint light from my phone. And somehow, I didn’t like what I saw. I looked tired. Ugly, even. I had never liked mirrors.... They made every insecurity feel louder. I got out of bed and walked toward it. I wanted to look away. Instead, I stared. My reflection stared back. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then I blinked. My reflection didn’t. I froze. Slowly, I raised my hand. She raised hers too. I lowered mine. She didn't. My heart began pounding. I stepped backward. My reflection remained perfectly still. Then she smiled. I didn't. I stumbled away from the mirror and hit the edge of my bed. The room suddenly felt colder. And from inside the mirror, I heard a voice. “You don't have to be ugly anymore.” I couldn't move. Because the voice wasn't mine. And it wasn't coming from me. It was coming from whatever was standing behind my reflection. I couldn't move. My eyes stayed fixed on the mirror. Whatever was behind my reflection was still there. I wanted to run. Every part of me screamed at me to leave the room, but my legs refused to cooperate. “Who are you?” I whispered. The reflection tilted her head. I didn't. A smile slowly spread across her face. “You called me.” “I didn't.” “You did.” The voice sounded closer this time. I glanced around the room. Nothing. When I looked back at the mirror, my reflection was standing closer to the glass. Too close. Her face was almost pressed against it. “What do you want?” She raised one finger and pointed at me. “I know what you want.” My throat tightened. “No, you don't.” The reflection smiled again. “You want to be beautiful.” I stared at her. Those words hurt more than they should have. Because she was right. I had spent years wishing I could wake up as someone else. Someone people noticed for the right reasons. Someone who didn't avoid mirrors or photographs. Someone beautiful. But I had never told anyone how badly I wanted it. Not even myself. “What are you?” I whispered. The reflection leaned closer. “I can give you what you want.” A cold shiver ran through me. “And what do you want from me?” For the first time, her smile disappeared. “Nothing.” The word should have comforted me. Instead, it frightened me even more. Because nothing that strange ever came without a price. I took another step backward. “I don't want anything from you.” The reflection stared at me. Then she whispered, “You will.” The lights went out. I screamed. And when they came back on seconds later, the mirror was empty. No reflection. Just darkness staring back at me. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. When I woke up, sunlight was spilling through my curtains. For a moment, I forgot everything that had happened the night before. The mirror. My reflection. The voice. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes. Then I reached for my phone. The moment I looked at the screen, I froze. My reflection was staring back at me. But something was different. I touched my face. She did the same. I slowly got out of bed and walked toward the mirror. My heart raced. I stopped in front of it. It was me. But it wasn't the me I knew. I stared at my face, barely recognizing the girl looking back at me. I looked... beautiful. Not the kind of beautiful I had imagined in my dreams. The kind that made me forget to breathe. I touched my cheeks. My lips. My hair. Everything looked different. I stepped closer to the mirror. “How...?” I whispered. There was no answer. Only my reflection. Smiling back at me. And for the first time in my life, I smiled at my reflection too. I didn't know it then, but that was the moment everything changed. By the time I got to school, I could barely recognize my own life. People looked at me differently. Girls who had never spoken to me suddenly smiled as I walked past. Boys whispered to each other. Even some of my teachers seemed to notice me more than usual. But there was only one person I was looking for. Daniel. My crush. I had liked him for years, but he had never really noticed me. Until that morning. I was walking down the hallway when I heard someone call my name. I turned. Daniel was standing there. Looking directly at me. “Hey,” he said. I almost forgot how to speak. “Hi.” He smiled. “Are you new here?” I laughed nervously. “No. It's me.” He stared at me for a second. Then his eyes widened. “Wait... you?” I nodded. He smiled again. “I didn't recognize you.” For the first time, I felt like the girl I had always wished I could be. Daniel started walking beside me. He asked about my classes. He made me laugh. He even asked for my number. I couldn't believe it. The girl who had spent years being invisible was suddenly being noticed. That evening, I stood in front of my mirror, smiling. “I finally....” The lights flickered. My smile disappeared. The room became freezing cold. And there she was. My reflection. But this time, she wasn't copying me. She was standing perfectly still. “You're enjoying your new life,” she whispered. I stepped away from the mirror. “What do you want?” Her eyes darkened. “I gave you what you asked for.” I swallowed. “And now?” She smiled. “Now there's only one condition.” I waited. “You must never say the word ‘love.’” I frowned. “Why?” “Because the moment you say it…” She leaned closer to the glass. “…the wish ends and you'll be ruined forever!!!” Then the lights came back on. And my reflection was normal again. But I couldn't stop thinking about one thing. Why would a single word be powerful enough to take everything away?