Chapter 3. Ghost in the Mirror
1325 Words
Ghost in the Mirror
Ava's POV
"Mom, why don’t we have any baby pictures?"
Like a stone through glass, Liam's voice shattered the morning silence.
My heart thumping, I turned away from the sink. As he stood in the doorway, Lily, his twin sister, peered over his shoulder.
"What do you mean?" With a forced smile, I asked.
"Everyone brought pictures of their babies to school for the family tree project. We don't have any.
While kneeling at their level, I dried my hands. Keep in mind that when you were younger, we moved around a lot. Some items were misplaced.
Lily grimaced. "But nothing exists? Not a single one?
I nodded after hesitating. "I’m sorry, sweethearts."
They looked at each other and then shrugged. After Liam said, "Okay," they took off running.
The burden of the past weighed heavily on me as I stood slowly. It was too risky to tell the truth.
I sat by myself and gazed at the antique mirror in the hallway that evening. Despite its dull surface, I could see my reflection weary eyes with lines from years of fear.
The lights suddenly flickered. I briefly saw him as the surface of the mirror shimmered.
Charles.
I stepped back, gasping. It disappeared.
Was it for real? Or may I simply be haunted by a memory?
I couldn't be certain.
There was a letter the following day. There is no return address.
One sentence in all: "You can’t hide forever."
My hands shook. We were located by him.
The twins needed to be protected. But how?
I glanced at the mirror once more, its surface now serene. The ghost in the mirror, however, was real, and I knew it.
He was on his way.
I tore up the letter and threw it away. After that, I packed the necessities in a small bag. The twins were asleep and did not realize that danger was approaching.
Detective Maya and I met the following morning at a little café outside of town. Although I didn't want to, I was forced to involve her once more.
She had an older appearance. I'm exhausted. However, her eyes grew piercing as I explained the letter to her.
She remarked, "You were right to call me," It's more than just paranoia. He's attempting to move."
I held onto my cup of coffee. "What do I do?"
"Be vigilant. Additionally, call me if you notice anything odd. I'll watch you closely. quietly.
Despite my fear, I nodded.
Upon arriving home, I double-checked the locks. Nevertheless, something felt off.
I was unable to sleep that night. The mirror kept coming to mind. Regarding his eyes peering through it. looking on.
The twins' room was then the source of a crash.
My heart was racing as I ran.
The window was open. The curtains are flapping. Liam cried as he sat on the ground.
He muttered, "There was a man," about it. "Go outside. observing us.
I almost had a heart attack.
I gathered him up in my embrace. Lily stood motionless by her bed.
"We're leaving," I declared as I started to get their bags out. "Now."
I turned to look behind us as we left the house.
There was a shadow in the mirror.
Not moving. With a smile.
Gazing
I continued to drive until the gas light turned on.
With their little backpacks curled up like they were on a road trip, the children had dozed off in the backseat. However, I was unsure of our destination. I simply required space. out of the house. through the mirror. from that shadow.
It was raining again. It was steady, almost soothing, tapping against the windshield like soft fingers. My hands, however, continued to shake. My forehead pressed against the wheel as I parked under a flickering light and pulled into a rest stop.
I didn't cry. I wanted to. But I was unable to pay for it.
We were located by him.
Despite everything I had done to make myself disappear over the years, he managed to slink through the gaps in my new life.
Reaching for my phone, I texted Maya, "We went." I'm not sure yet where.
She didn't answer for five minutes: Keep going. I'm tracking down the letter's source. Have no faith in anyone.
Hovering over the screen were my fingers. I wanted to question her about how he could have known where to look for us once more. But I already knew, deep down.
I knew someone who had aided him.
A person I trusted.
I looked at myself in the rearview mirror. It was me, not the road behind me. Eye fatigue. facial hollowness. I was not the woman I had become. She had changed from being Ava Montgomery. She didn't exist. shell.
Furthermore, that mirror continued to haunt me.
Nestled between rows of pine trees, the next town was small and quiet. There were no questions at the front desk and the motel's paint was peeling. Before dawn, we sneaked in and remained low.
Quietly, the twins observed me, attempting to read my anxiety. I detested their ability to sense it. I detested the fact that I was no longer able to protect them.
Lily took a seat on the bed, cross-legged. Was that a father figure?
I blinked. “What?”
"That guy in the window," she muttered. "He saw what you saw. However, it is darker.
I got goosebumps all over my arms.
Liam gave her the look of someone who was sharing a secret. "He reminded me of myself," he said. "Such as when I'm angry." I froze.
No way they could know that. They must not. I had kept Charles a secret from them. Before they were born, they thought he had passed away. I had told the same story a hundred times.
However, now...?
He was in their minds now. within their lineage.
With a swallow of the bile rising in my throat, I turned away. This surpassed fear. Darker things were coming to light. Something atypical.
And I required clarification.
I saw Maya again. in a park close to the town's edge two days later. It appeared as though she had not slept for days because she was so pale.
"He's taking advantage of someone," she said quietly. "The digital trail does not exist. Not a camera. But this wasn't a coincidence. The city from which the letter was mailed was only four hours away from your previous residence. He is getting closer.
I gazed at my children sitting in the playground, acting like they were normal. He's doing more than observing us. He is present in their dreams.
She tensed. “What?”
Then I whispered, "They see him." "They sense him." despite never having met him.
A line formed in her mouth. "It's not feasible."
I looked her in the eye. "Is it not?"
Her gaze averted.
That silence told me everything.
She was omitting more information.
I wasn't certain that I wanted to know either.
After the twins had gone to sleep that night, I discovered a folder hidden under the door of my motel. No message. Not a word.
Photographs are inside.
Both black and white. gritted. Of us in the house, the twins and I. in the garden. at the shop.
taken not long ago.
One of us was in the mirror.
His face was also reflected behind me.
His smile.
My heart was pounding when I dropped the picture. I gasped for air and looked up. The silence in the room was too great. It's too quiet.
The wall-mounted mirror shook.
With clenched fingers at my sides, I took a step in its direction.
His voice reached my ear, soft as a breath.
You can run once more, Ava. But I'll be holding your hand the next time.
I didn't yell. I stayed put.
I simply gazed.
And saw the crack run down the middle of the glass.
- Writer
