CHAPTER ONE
JOURNEY THROUGH THE MIRROR
Cat Shepard opened the boxes in her room. She wasn't thrilled to move in with her grandmother but she had no other choice. Her parents had died in a car accident.
"If only I hadn't run away, they'd still be alive," she whispered to herself in shame. The authorities and her friends assured her it was a defect of the car. The brakes became loose and stopped working.
Too bad you can't go back in time and change the future she thought. Browsing through a box on her bed, memories of her parents resurfaced in her mind. Overwhelming feelings of nostalgia flooded her as she looked at the picture albums and portraits. She clutched the portraits close to her heart and closed her eyes. She imagined the portraits hanging in the hallway of her old house. She opened her eyes and searched around to find the right place for them.
As she examined the room, her eyes caught a glimpse of her reflection in an old bronze antique mirror pinned to the wall. It was as tall as her and reflected all of her figure. Her long brown and greasy hair was tied in two pig tails on each side of her head. Her face was pale and tired from all the emotions and stress of the accident. Her eyes, glittering grey, were changing to a warm hazelnut color. Her lime green dress flowed as a small breeze blew through the room.
She approached the mirror, passing her hand on the glass. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered being afraid of it. She used to cry at nights, begging her grandmother to hide it. She could not remember why though. Perhaps, since it faced the bed, it caused her to have nightmares. She read somewhere it was unhealthy to wake up and see yourself reflecting back. Cat started to believe it more as she thought about it.
Recently, she had a lot of vivid nightmares. It could be stress from the tragic turn her life had taken. For some reason, they seemed real as though they were memories. Cat pushed that ridiculous idea out of her mind. Last night, she dreamed she was in a castle and dressed like a princess. She played in the garden with a little boy. A big explosion resonated in the castle and an old man grabbed her. She woke up before she could see the rest.
If that was a memory, it was not from this lifetime. She shook off the shivers in her body. The floor cracked and the soft touch of her grandmother's hand on her shoulder startled her.
"Are you alright dear? I called you but you didn't answer," Cat's grandmother asked before she cleared her throat.
Cat shook her head giving her a warm smile.
"I'm sorry, grandma. I was caught in old memories. Like this mirror for example." Cat said while pointing at the old antique.
Her grandmother walked over and caressed it. An amused smile appeared on her face as she became pensive.
"Oh yes, you were petrified of this mirror. You were convinced it was a door to some fairyland and an evil man wanted to take you away. You had awful nightmares about him."
Cat leaned on the bed to be more comfortable.
"Really? I don't remember. I guess that was a long time ago."
Her grandmother agreed as she turned away from it. "You're not still afraid of the mirror are you?"
Cat stood up and sighed. "Oh, no. It's just an old mirror. Besides, I have other things to worry about. I have to prepare myself for school exams."
Her grandmother gave her a big hug. "Do you really have to go to school this week? Maybe you should take a break and rest."
Cat shook her head. She tried to look certain. "I want to go. I need to occupy my mind. I'll just take it one day at a time," Cat said unsure of what that meant.
Her grandmother nodded. She placed both her hands on each of Cat's cheeks in a comforting manner. "Take your time. There is no need to rush things. You are destined for great things. You will make the right choices. Now, why don't we go down to the kitchen and get something to eat?"
"I'll be right there, grandma." They hugged each other and the elderly woman headed down stairs.
Cat looked at the mirror again. How could she have been so scared of an object? The worst thing it could do was break, giving her seven years of bad luck. At this point, she could care less. She opened some of her other boxes and placed their contents in her drawers and cupboard.
She put on a nice pink dress with a white knitted shawl. She combed her hair and pinned a little white flower on the side of her head. She liked to look great when she did not feel good inside. Somehow, it made her feel better. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and was pleased by what she saw. She heard her grandmother calling her again. She paused, took a couple deep breaths, and finally went down stairs.
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