Darkness.

That was all Lena could see.

She couldn’t feel the floor beneath her.

Couldn’t hear the rain.

Couldn’t hear Nora.

Nothing.

Then—

a hand grabbed hers.

“Lena!”

Nora.

Lena opened her eyes.

She was lying on the floor of her apartment.

The mirror stood across the room.

Perfectly normal.

No cracks.

No doorway.

No strange girl.

No Nora.

Lena sat up.

“Nora?”

Silence.

Her heart sank.

She looked at the clock.

2:13 a.m.

Exactly the same time.

She ran toward the mirror.

Her reflection stared back.

Only one reflection.

Hers.

Lena touched the glass.

“Nora?”

Nothing.

She stepped away.

Maybe it had all been a dream.

Maybe grief had finally broken something inside her.

Then she noticed something on the floor.

A small white shoe.

A child’s shoe.

Lena picked it up.

It was wet.

And on the inside, written in faded ink, was a name:

NORA.

Lena’s breath caught.

“This wasn’t a dream.”

A knock came from the front door.

Three slow knocks.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Lena froze.

She walked toward the door.

“Who is it?”

A familiar voice answered.

“Lena?”

Her blood turned cold.

It was her mother’s voice.

But her mother had been dead for six years.

“Open the door, sweetheart.”

Lena stepped backward.

“No.”

The voice became softer.

“Please.”

Lena covered her mouth.

Tears filled her eyes.

“Mom?”

“Yes.”

The door handle moved.

“Let me in.”

Lena shook her head.

“You’re not my mother.”

Silence.

Then the voice changed.

It became Nora’s.

“Lena?”

Lena closed her eyes.

“No…”

“Please let me in.”

She backed away.

The voice became angry.

“You always leave me.”

The door shook.

BANG.

Lena screamed.

The lights flickered.

Then everything became silent.

She looked toward the mirror.

The girl was standing behind her reflection.

Nora.

But Nora was crying.

She pressed both hands against the glass.

Her lips moved.

Lena couldn’t hear her.

She stepped closer.

“What?”

Nora mouthed the words again.

“Don’t open the door.”

Lena nodded.

The mirror suddenly went black.

---

Morning came without explanation.

The front door was still locked.

There were scratches on the outside.

Deep scratches.

Four long marks running from the bottom to the top.

Lena called the police.

Two officers arrived.

They examined the door.

One of them frowned.

“Animal?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

The officer looked at her.

“Were you alone last night?”

Lena hesitated.

“Yes.”

She couldn’t explain the mirror.

She couldn’t explain Nora.

She couldn’t explain the voice.

So she said nothing.

After the officers left, Lena searched through her old family photographs.

She found a picture from the summer before Nora disappeared.

Four people stood in front of their old house.

Her father.

Her mother.

Lena.

Nora.

She stared at it.

Then she noticed something.

Behind them stood a mirror.

The same black frame.

The same silver flowers.

The same mirror now sitting in her apartment.

Lena’s hands began trembling.

She turned the photograph over.

There was writing on the back.

We should never have brought it home.

Lena’s heart raced.

She searched through old boxes.

Letters.

Newspapers.

School papers.

Then she found a diary.

Her mother’s diary.

The first pages were ordinary.

Grocery lists.

Appointments.

Family notes.

Then the entries changed.

---

October 12

The mirror arrived today.

October 18

Nora says she sees someone inside it.

October 21

Lena says she hears knocking.

October 24

I told them both not to look.

October 31

It knows their names.

Lena turned the page.

The next entry was written in shaky handwriting.

November 2

It wants one of my daughters.

Lena stopped breathing.

She turned another page.

November 3

I tried to destroy the mirror.

November 4

It wouldn’t break.

Another page.

November 5

It told me that one daughter must remain.

Then—

nothing.

The next page had been torn out.

Lena searched frantically.

The missing page wasn’t in the diary.

But something fell from between the pages.

A small photograph.

Lena picked it up.

It showed two little girls standing in front of the mirror.

Nora was smiling.

Lena wasn’t.

On the back were four words:

THE WRONG GIRL STAYED.

Lena stared at the photograph.

Her mind began racing.

What had Nora said?

The girl who disappeared wasn’t me.

It was you.

Lena looked at her reflection.

“What are you?”

The reflection smiled.

Lena didn’t.

Her blood ran cold.

The reflection slowly lifted its hand.

Then pointed toward the bedroom.

Lena turned.

Nothing.

She looked back.

The reflection was normal again.

Then her phone rang.

Unknown number.

She answered.

“Hello?”

Silence.

Then a whisper.

“Lena…”

She recognized the voice.

Nora.

“Where are you?”

“Behind you.”

Lena slowly turned.

Nothing.

She looked back at the mirror.

Nora stood inside it.

But this time, another figure stood behind her.

The other Lena.

Nora looked terrified.

“Lena, listen carefully.”

“I’m listening.”

“You have until midnight.”

“Until midnight for what?”

Nora’s voice trembled.

“Before she takes your place.”

The call suddenly ended.

Lena stared at the mirror.

“What happens at midnight?”

Her reflection answered.

But Lena hadn’t spoken.

“You die.”

The lights went out.

Lena screamed.

When they came back on—

the mirror was empty.

No reflection.

No Nora.

Nothing.

Lena stepped toward it.

Then she heard footsteps behind her.

She slowly turned.

Someone was standing in the hallway.

A woman.

Long black hair.

White dress.

Pale skin.

Lena recognized her immediately.

Her mother.

But her eyes were completely black.

She smiled.

“You finally remembered.”

Lena couldn’t move.

Her mother raised one hand.

Behind her appeared dozens of reflections.

Dozens of Lenas.

All staring.

All smiling.

Then her mother whispered:

“You were never trapped in the mirror, Lena.”

She stepped closer.

“The mirror was trapped inside you.”

The clock began ticking.

11:47 p.m.

Thirteen minutes remained.

To Be Continued…