The Mirror

    I had thought that it was just an innocent object.  I had thought that it was just a pretty mirror, a beautiful decoration.  I had thought wrong.  And now, looking upon this thing that had caused so much misery, I thought some more.  Taispeáin mé an fhírinne.  That was what the engraving atop the mirror said.  I show the truth.  Words in Gaelige, the language of my ancestors.  I was Irish, even if I did not look it.  I had dark brown hair and eyes of the same color.  Many people had mistaken me for my mother.  I smiled when I thought of her.  She had been so wonderful, until the mirror had claimed her an taken her away forever.  That is where this story begins.  It was five years ago when we found the Mirror of Souls in an antiques shop.  My mum loved to explore these stores, she said it made her feel like she was discovering the past.  We had been through hundreds of these stores, but this one in a small Irish town was the one that would change our lives forever.   As we opened the door, the little silver bells jingled and sparkled.  We walked past the counter, but no one was behind it.  A glint of silver caught my mothers eye.  “Alana, come here!” she said as she ran through the all piles of dusty junk.  “What is it?” I called back.  “A mirror.  It’s beautiful!” she whispered, but it the silent shop she might as well have shouted.  As I moved toward the mirror, I noticed something strange.  The reflection of my mother wasn’t normal.  It seemed to glow, and it looked almost as if she had flecks of gold in her eyes.  For just one second, I saw  crown on her head, but then I blinked and it was gone.  “What was that?” I was bewildered.  “What was what?” she asked.  “Nothing,” I said quickly.  Mum scared easily, I didn’t want to frighten her.  I rotated myself so that I could see my reflection in the mirror.  I was terrified by what I saw.  My eyes glowed bright gold, and I had golden braids in my hair.  In the mirror I was wearing a gold and green dress, and a golden crown studded with emeralds.  I blinked to try and make the image go away, but when I opened my eyes it was still there.  Then I saw something that made my blood run cold.  A strange creature with black skin and red eyes. And it was moving towards us.