Jollyjoie Serad Pepito

My Horrible Reflection Jj Serad I was all alone in my room. The night was eerily quiet. No noise could be heard from the outside --- time check: 7PM. I looked up the ceiling, the fan suddenly turned fast even if it was unplugged, so I took a peep in the window and opened it. No air, not windy at all. My hairs in the arms and legs started to rise, seems like I was having goosebumps and my notebook’s pages began to flap, flap, flap… I ran down the stairs and saw my mom watching a comedy show. I hugged her tight. “Jane, are you okay? You looked so pale”, she calmly asked. “I… I… do-----n’t know mom… my notebook kept flapping in my table upstairs, and no sign of wind at all!” I screamed. “It’s alright. Don’t be afraid. It is all your imagination.” “No mom, I’m not imagining! It’s true!” My mom accompanied me to my room and see to it that I would be asleep before she would leave. It was just three days ago when I and mom transferred here. She said, my ceased father left this house for us. He owned it and he used to stay here after he and mom had a terrible conflict twelve years ago. I did not even get to see him and he did not see me either, how his 12-year old daughter grew in a boyish type. Ceased? I don’t really know the reason why. My mom didn’t tell me no matter how much I asked about it. “Mom, I could not really imagine that feeling I had last night…it was horrible!” “Jane, stop talking about it. Come here and eat your breakfast”. It was Saturday and time for leisure, but mom went to work. Still alone, I was in my room watching my favorite TV show Tom and Jerry. I got my hair brush from my bag and slowly combed my hair. Ooh, that stupid air conditioner needs fixing, so I have to tie my frivolous hair. I stood up, saw myself in that whole-bodied, oblate, black, old mirror and started tying it. I wasn’t smiling, but my reflection in the mirror did! Oh my! I hurriedly ran downstairs and went out of the house. I sighed in relief. I hate it. Second time around, tsk.. I immediately called my mom’s mobile number. “Mom, what took you so long? It’s already 6:15PM, but you’re still not around”. “I’m coming dear. I bought food for our dinner. I’m on my way, I’m near. Are you alright there? You sound frightened”. “No mom, not really! That’s why you need to be here. I have to share you a story”. “Okay, okay. Stay calm. In 10 minutes I’ll be home”. I just waited for mom in the balcony. I never did get inside again. Then, she arrived. “Jane, what brought you here outside?” and she hugged me. “Mom, my reflection…there’s something wrong. It smiled at me when in fact I never did!” “Sush! Sush! Let’s go to your room and I’ll dress up”. When we get inside, my mom saw herself in the mirror and she force me to see myself, too. “Jane, look. I’m okay. See? Look at me at the mirror, nothing’s wrong. Now, try it again. Maybe you’re just having illusions awhile ago”. I tiptoed upon going near it. I peeped. Then back again. Mom grabbed my arm and positioned me there in front. “Mom, look”. “What? See, nothing’s changed in you”. “Why? I wasn’t mistaken mom. It wasn’t an illusion”. “Oh com’on child, let’s go down and eat our dinner. I’m already hungry”. I wasn’t really comfortable. I kept thinking about it. It was such fearful seeing your own reflection different from what you acted. Monday came and I woke up so late. My mom nagged because I might get late in school. So right after that long bath, I wore my uniform, saw myself in the mirror as I wore it and hurriedly left. But lo! In my peripheral view, that Jane’s reflection never left the mirror, she was still there!!! I ran outside, shouted and mom went to my room. She peeped just near the door and was even surprised when she also saw that horrible reflection I have, wearing the same uniform with mine inside the mirror! We both screamed and ran down the stairs! The things in the house started to fall, break and the lights turn on and off. We didn’t know what to do, we just kept running, held each other’s hand while our eyes closed. When everything seemed to have been covered with silence, we slowly opened our eyes and saw ourselves sitting on the balcony floor. “Mom, what happened?” and I cried hard. “I don’t know, but I knew a story that caused it”, she responded softly. “What story?” She did not answer as she looked at the door swaying to and fro. It was totally creepy and we were a total freak. We decided then to leave the house and went to my aunt nearby to have a short stay. For almost a week of abandoning the place, mom did not say anything about the happening. She just told me to go back there and bring investigators to examine the area. And we did. The investigators brought that ancient mirror outside and continued investigating the rest upstairs. I tried to see myself again in the mirror, and this time, I was being brave. It’s like facing it, whatever it takes. Come what may, so I have to get answers from my unanswered questions. I placed my whole self in front of it. And I wasn’t mistaken, that horrible reflection showed up! How did I know? Well, I was not the type of having ribbons in my hair and my lips aren’t red. I don’t even have that birthmark in my nose! Yet the Jane in the mirror has these! I was still trying to be brave even if I was already feeling so tensed and sweating. I was all along closer to shouting when I gazed my eyes in her entire appearance from head to foot and saw her left hand holding a blooded knife! I did not take it any longer. The next thing I remembered was, I was already lying in the couch with my aunt fanning me. I fainted. And mom started to talk. “Jane… it was since your birth when I pleaded to your dad to leave your twin sister with me. He said I cannot support you both, that’s why he is going to get Janna and settle another life with the woman she married. Unfortunately, your dad’s woman was a lie, they divorced and she left your dad and Janna in the house where we stayed now. Because your dad wasn’t going any way, every time he got drunk, he used Janna for his fancies and sexually abused her. Two years ago, I visited them in the house, saw Janna so beautiful, white and that having a lady look. But she never mentioned about how she was abused and threatened not to tell anybody. One day, she contacted me to visit her because your dad wasn’t home, there she told me everything she had gone through when all the while, your dad suddenly arrived so silently, heard our conversation and the commotion began. Your dad was hysterical, Janna was punished and I kept crying while trying to stop him. Dad let go of Janna, faced me and did the same punishment. Janna, having given the chance to rebel, got a knife from the kitchen, stabbed your dad once at the side but he grabbed Janna’s hand, snatched the knife and stabbed her many times. Shocked of what I saw, I tried to get back the knife, because I know he was already weak. I was able to win it, and I stabbed him to give vengeance for Janna. You know, it had been a big mistake of entrusting her to your dad and t’was too late”. “Mom, can’t blame you for that. How I wish I got the chance to see Janna, my twin sister. That’s why she looked almost exactly as I am”. “She used to see herself in that mirror. Her likes were totally opposite from yours, she was so feminine”. From then, we abandoned the house for good and never get frightened again. She never showed up, maybe she just wanted to let me know I’ve got a pretty twin sis that mom used to hide from me. The girl in my mirror was me, yet not the exact personality as I am. That horrible reflection revealed the true story of my life and it did answer my long lost queries about the things I haven’t discovered at all.