Reflections

Having lost both my parents at an early age, my grandmother was my world growing up. She taught me so much about school and life, and always made sure that I had everything I needed. I was spoiled, even in my teens. I never moved out after finishing school, even though I got a scholarship to a university; I decided to stay with Grandma and work at a local shop.

A few years passed, and Grandma began to say strange things, as if she knew she was going to pass on within a month. I paid little attention to those words because of her age, but I regretted not taking her seriously when one day, I woke up to find that she had passed in her sleep. I took two weeks off work to be alone after the funeral, and while going through old memories, I came across something I had forgotten about: it was a mirror that was a family heirloom.

I remembered asking Grandma about it when I was around six; her answers were rather short and vague. I wiped the dust off the mirror and looked in, and to my surprise, I found that it gave no reflection of me, just my surroundings.

“What’s going on?” I turned the mirror to the furniture in the room; everything was normal except me.

I sat down in confusion and inspected the frame closely, hoping to pick apart what I thought was an illusion, but it was then that I heard a familiar voice echo from within the mirror: “Don’t worry, child, it’s meant to be this way.” It was Grandma’s voice.

I looked in the mirror immediately and found Grandma and my parents, all together inside. I clutched it and leaned in to ask some questions, but Grandma spoke before I could say anything. “I know, I know… I made this mirror just before your parents were killed; this was a backup plan because of what has been hunting us for three generations.”

“Three generations? What’s hunting us, and why?” I asked.

“A demon. It wants our powers.” That is when Grandma revealed a secret she had kept all these years. “We’re witches. I sealed your powers within this mirror so you could inherit them at the right time. You’ll see your reflection once we transfer your powers back.” It was then that the entire house began to tremble. 

“It’s here…”  Grandma said. “Do exactly as we say,”

Grandma and Mom told me to head to the living room and hold the mirror at the demon. There was no time to transfer my powers to me, so we had to improvise. I rushed into the living room and came across what looked like an ordinary man, but his eyes suddenly glowed red as he began to approach me. Grandma and Mom then chanted a spell, and the mirror soon emitted a purple light that quickly consumed the room. My hands were shaking, but I gripped the mirror tightly while it pulsed with magic.

The demon pushed back with magic of its own, but after seconds of struggle, Grandma and Mom were victorious: their magic consumed the demon and reduced it to ashes, and as the demon was vanquished, that same magic spiralled around the room before sinking into me. I felt sparks racing under my skin as the energy began to flow through the very fabric of my being. I felt the presence of both Grandma and Mom within me, as if an afterglow of their lives were now a part of me.

“What… What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s your power, and also ours,” Mom said. “This was your grandma’s idea: demons like that one are far too powerful to take on alone, so this mirror was made to be a catalyst to empower you with our combined powers.”

“We’ll remain here, tethered, always ready to support you,” Grandma said.

My eyes welled with tears when I heard those words, and they began to stream the moment I finally saw my reflection appear in the mirror. “Thank you,” I said.