surface

      Cora couldn't believe what she was seeing. Furthermore, she couldn't believe she hasn't seen it before. How many times had she passed by, casting admiring glances in its' direction? Ot walked up and began tracing the intricate design engraved into the silver framing? Innumerable. For someone who had been making visits to her aunt's house since she was five years old, the fact that she was now just noticing this odd occurence, thirteen years later, made her seriously start to doubt her level of perception.
        Her visits first began when her parents entered a rough patch in their marriage and were constantly fighting with one another. Elizabeth, Cora's mom, came to the conclusion that it was an unhealthy atmosphere for her and thus, sent her away to Aunt Emma's. Emma and her developed an inexplicable connection during her first visit that, to this day, remains. She understood her, which Cora greatly appreciated at that age when she felt no one else did.
        Even though Aunt Em offered a certain amount of comfort and friendship Cora was almost immediately drawn to the unkempt attic. It held a sort of fascination. Most children at the age of five would have been terrified of it, considering it was poorly lit, allowing shadows to sneak around the room, but not Cora. Wooden boards lined the floor and made an eerie creak every time they were stepped upon. Against all four walls dust-covered cardboard boxes filled with unusual objects sat quietly, waiting to be opened and explored.
        The contents of the boxes were all the entertainment she needed. With them she'd create her own little fantasy world and hide herself away for her entire stay, only coming down to sleep or eat. Often times Emma would come up and join her. those visits were the only time she could forget her troubles at home and let her fantasy world become reality. If anything, Cora owed her creative, if not over-active imagination to her aunt.
        Now, here she stood looking intently at the image that appeared before her within the confines of the antique, full length, silver-framed mirror leaning against the attics far wall. What was surprising was the image she saw was not her own. What she saw was a girl who, besides appearing to be around the same as her, looked completely different. Cora's gaze was held by two, unnaturally pale blue eyes. They stood there for quite some time, for what Cora thought must have been hours but were really only minutes, staring at one another. Neither one so much as daring to blink for fear that in that instant the other would either disappear or jump out and commit some act of horrific violence.
        At first Cora had thought, had hoped, that it was all a trick of the light. If I star long enough maybe it'll just go away. But the blue eyes never faded into her dark brown and they definately didn't possess the fear that was building up in hers. No, these eyes were hungry for something. For what, Cora hadn't the vaguest idea and she wasn't quite sure if she could swallow her fear long enough to find out.
        When the burning sensation in her eyes became too intense and unbearable, she was left with no choice but to take a risk. She blinked. Still there. And insane idea leapt to her mind to say something. However, after a moment's thought reality sunk in and it took all her strength to suppress the laughter that was rising in her throat. Great, now I've resorted to talking to imaginary images in a mirror. My mental health has seriously god to be at risk.
        Still, she decided to give it a shot. Things really couldn't get much worse. She was already seeing things, she might as well be hearing them.
        "I..." was as far as she got. Aunt Emma loudly thrust open the attic door at the bottom of the hallway. Startled and caught off guard, Cora cast a glance towards the stairs for a second then immediately returned her attention to the mirror, only to find her own brown eyes staring back with more than just a tint of confusion lying within them.
        "Cor, could you drag yourself away from Happy Land for a sec and help me bring the groceries in?" Aunt Emma had long since climbed to the top of the steps and was now looking at her expectantly. "What's the matter?" she asked, sounding a little concerned.
        "Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm...fine. Yeah. What was it you wanted?" To say that she was flustered at the moment would be the understatement of the century.
        "Groceries...Help...Downstairs...Please," quirked Em with an amused expression covering her face. "You know, I know you enjoy living in your head most of the time, Cor, but you might want to consider, maybe, joining us in the real world every now and then, too. It's really not as bad as you think. Hey, I'm here."
        "Yeah, and that's just...such a highlight," she quipped sarcastically. Em punched her affectionately and turned to go downstairs. She followed, but not before risking a glance back at the mirror. It was empty.

        The problem with Aunt Emma going shopping for groceries was she had a compulsive need to always buy things in bulk. It wasn't just that. She would buy things she never even bought before simply because they were in bulk and on special. Cora shoved the last of the items she was assigned to put away into the pantry; three trash bag-sized bags full of generic cereal. Emma was getting started on the impossible task of making room in the refrigerator for the two giant jars of apple-sauce.
        The events in the attic were tugging at the back of Cora's mind. If occured to her that now might be the perfect time to ask Aunt Em if she herself had perhaps noticed anything unusual about the mirror. "Em, this may sound severly unhinged, what with the fact that even now you think I'm crazy, but you know, you should talk. What's up with this bulk-buying thing?" Emma shot her a playful "Hey, don't mess with my idiosyncrasies" kind of look and motioned for her to continue.
        "Anyway, have you noticed anything...strange about the mirror up in the attic?" She said it tentatively, still unsure if it was a good idea to even bring it up.
        "What mirror? Sorry Cor, I usually don't go up there alone. Too afraid of the dark. I was thinking of hiring an electrician to wire it so there'd actually be light up there, instead of that little skylight in the roof. But then I thought, 'No, that's not a good idea.' Then I'd have no excuse not to go up there and I'd have to clean it," she dead-panned.
        Cora burst out laughing. It was so typical of Aunt Em to have a reason that weird. However, it made sense. Em hated to clean. When she recovered from her fits of giggles, her aunt went on, "The Holy Grail itself could be up there, for all I know. Why would I think you insane for inquiring about a mirror, though?"
        The good-natured smile faded from Cor's lips and her face took on a serious expression. "I can't be sure, but I think when I was up there, I think I saw something inside of it."
        "That's right, Cor. It's called a reflection. You get a gold-star." Em said, jokingly.
        "Yeah, but it wasn't *my* reflection." A moment of silence passed between them until Em abruptly turned away from the fridge and headed for the telephone on the wall. "What are you doing?"
        "Oh, nothing. Just calling the nearest mental institute to have you committed," she told her, humor dripping from her voice. Aunt Emma obviously wasn't taking her seriously.
        "Aunt Em, I'm not making this up. There seriously is something wrong with that mirror. Believe me, I did everything I could to convince myself otherwise. It didn't work. There was this girl..." They settled down at the kitched table as Cora began to tell of her encounter with the girl and Emma tried to listen with an open-mind.

        Cora sat back and braced herself for the lecture she was sure to come. To her suprise her aunt simply sat there with a stoic expression masking her face. She wasn't sure what she dreaded most, Emma accusing her of being a complete lunatic at the top of her lungs or her simply sitting there and not saying anything at all. The silence was becoming unhealthy. Still, she decided not to break it, it was best to leave that up to her aunt when she was ready. Besides, she was probably still absorbing all that she had said. The only question that was really on her mind was, did her aunt believe her? No, she's probably in deep thought trying to remember the phone number of that mental institute she mentioned. Ah, see, she's even positioning herself so she's facing the phone. Porbably going to try and make a mad dash toward it.
        However, if this was her intention, she didn't act on it. Instead, Emma finally decided to speak. "Hon, I realize you think you saw something, but you do understand why I can't believe you. It's completely unrealistic. That mirror, it's just another mirror. What you saw, it wasn't really there." She said it in the most comforting and clam tone she possibly could at the moment, as though she were talking to a scared animal. It's not that she was angry with her niece, but she was confused as to what she was trying to accomplish. And even if she had been playing a trick, she would have ended it by now. The only possibilities left were that she had an insane niece on her hands or Cor really had come in contact with some supernatural being. Both options weren't exactly a cause for joy.
        Cora sat there motionless looking as helpless and depressed as ever. Such a drastic change from just a few minutes ago. Since there really wasn't much else to be said, Emma walked over to her niece, gaver her an encouraging hug, as if to say "Don't worry, I'll love you even if you turn out to be insane," and walked out of the room. She didn't know why she was so disappointed. It's not like she actually expected Em to believe her. But still...there had been a small tinge of hope in the back of her mind that somehow managed to creep forward at the last instant and devour the idea of a realistic outcome.

        The surface of the mirror was wounded with scratches from years passed, before it had been left and forgotten in the attic. Now, Cora stood in front of it again, silently willing the visitor with the livid eyes to come again. Much to her disappointment, the image never showed. For the last few days she had practically lived in the attic, only coming down occasionally to let her aunt know she was still alive and breathing. They were on speaking terms but it wasn't quite teh same as it had been before. The conversation was now forced and uncomfortable.
        Tired of looking at her own featurs she hastily turned away from the reflective surface. Around an hour ago she had decided that the girl really had been a figment of her imagination and that her aunt really did have cause to worry. With this understanding she had officially ended her search for the image. Yet, here she sat, still hoping something would happen.
        That's it, I'm getting out of here. She gathered her pillows and blankets and turned to head downstairs. Just at that moment, as if by fate, something caught her eye. Turning on her heels to face the mirror, she was met by the same eyes that had been haunting her for the past two days. Now that the moment had come, Cora realized she had absolutely no idea as to what she was going to say. Words scattered from her, leaving her speechless and completely unprepared. Clenching the blankets tightly in an attempt to alleviate some of her nervousness, she began to inch her way closer to the mirror.
        After awhile, the fear began to dissipate enough that Cora now took the time to take in some of the girls other features, besides her eyes. Long brown hair hung wildly around her face and her garment was a brown that looked heavy and confining, as though it came from sometime near the colonial period. Opening her mouth to speak, she was cut off abruptly by an unexpected source. The girl herself.
        "Have they finally sent you to me?" the stranger asked inquisitively.