1951 The mirror sat in the corner below the loft, wrapped in old butcher paper and bound with twine. It had arrived that morning, just before Joseph began his shift, and now it waited, gleaming beneath the amber slant of the setting sun piercing through the window. He paused before peeling back the paper. His fingers traced the rough twine, momentarily caught in the space between hesitation and action. He knew what lay beneath - it had occupied his thoughts for weeks now, a quiet, nagging presence at the edge of his mind. But still, he drew in a breath, steadying himself before finally pulling the string loose. The paper unfurled like shedding skin. A tall standing mirror emerged, its dark wooden frame carved in elaborate spirals - vines that curled and wove themselves in and out of each other like grasping fingers. The glass was smooth as still water and reflected only the dim light of the room, though Joseph swore it felt different now within these walls. Like something had changed. He swallowed and lifted the mirror carefully, moving it toward the center of the large room where the old one had once stood. That one - Heather’s mirror - had been damaged beyond repair. A terrible shame really, though in truth, he hadn’t been entirely honest when he told her it was an accident. He pushed the thought away. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. At least, not in the way that mattered. Joseph stepped back to admire his work. The new mirror fit perfectly in its place, its height just right, its commanding presence somehow unobtrusive. He imagined Heather standing in front of it, adjusting the collar of her dress, running a hand through her dark hair. The thought sent something warm through him. He remembered their days as high school sweethearts - the secret smiles, the tender moments that seemed to promise forever.  Joseph turned his attention back to the mirror itself. She would love it. Of course, she wouldn’t know where it came from. He had considered telling her the truth - that he had gone out of his way to find it, that he had spent hours searching for the right one, for a perfect replacement, a gift just for her - but something stopped him. No, it was better if she didn’t know. She would see it and assume it had always been there, or at least that it had come from someone else. And that was fine. That was how it had to be. Joseph reached out and pressed a hand lightly to the glass. It was cool beneath his fingertips, unnervingly so, as if the surface had yet to absorb the warmth of the room. For a brief moment, he thought he saw a flicker - some kind of ripple in the reflection, but when he blinked, it was gone. A trick of the light. He exhaled, shaking his head at himself. Heather would be home soon. Joseph glanced toward the window, where the last traces of daylight stretched thin against the rooftops of Peril. He had done what he set out to do. The mirror was in its place. And yet, he lingered. Something about it held him there, keeping him standing in the dimming light long after he should have gone. It was as if a silent presence tugged at him from just beneath its smooth surface.  He tore away his gaze and grabbed his coat. As he stepped past the spiral staircase that led to the high loft, he had to force himself not to glance back.  Outside, the wind curled around him as he walked home, carrying the scent of damp leaves and distant chimney smoke. The streets of Peril lay quiet at this hour, the golden glow of street lamps casting long shadows across the pavement. Joseph’s thoughts churned. Would she sense it? Would she feel something different when she looked into it? The possibility sent a coursing thrill through him. As he turned onto his street, his gaze flicked to his own reflection in the darkened windows of the shopfronts. For a moment, just a moment, he thought he saw something move behind his eyes - something unfamiliar. The twin mirror sat waiting in his apartment. Maybe tonight, he’d test it again. --- Complete story synopsis: Joseph, a newly hired maintenance man at the Dolan estate, installs a new standing mirror in front of the spiral staircase that leads up to the high loft in Heather Dolan’s (lady of the house) bedroom - one he tells himself is a perfect replacement for her damaged original. He returns home and watches Heather through the identical twin mirror he keeps in his apartment, which shows her mirror’s reflection in real time. It’s the first time he’s seen her up close like this in years. (Backstory we learn through Joseph’s inner monologues throughout the story: They were previously high school sweethearts, but she left him at the end of their senior year for Peter, the son of the richest man in Peril. Now, a decade later, Peter has since inherited his father’s estate, where Joseph has recently taken a job.) Over the next few days, Joseph observes Heather and Peter throughout his workday. Peter is arrogant and dismissive, barely acknowledging his wife. Heather appears distant, hollowed, far from the joyful girl Joseph remembers from high school. He notices she perks up slightly when admiring herself in the new mirror. A brief hallway encounter with Heather leaves Joseph convinced she recognizes him, remembers him. Though, she says nothing. As Joseph watches Heather through the mirror, she begins to mention seeing strange movements and shadows in her periphery. She confides in Peter, who tells her to get rid of it, but she refuses, saying it’s the only one that makes her feel beautiful. One night, Joseph watches Peter pressure Heather into sex. She initially resists, likely because she has grown emotionally distant from him over years of feeling like anything less than a priority, but eventually relents. Joseph is devastated and covers the mirror, unable to watch. Joseph leaves a note on the stairs to Heather’s loft: “Do you remember me?” That night, she finds it, but reacts with mild confusion and quickly discards it. The next day, Joseph sees her across the hall. She briefly looks at him and nods. He takes it as confirmation that she remembers him. Days later, Joseph and Heather find themselves alone in the kitchen. Their conversation begins awkwardly but builds in intimacy. Heather confesses that she feels like a ghost in her own life, trapped in a world built for someone else. They kiss. A woman’s voice is heard approaching, and they separate quickly, both exiting the room through separate doors before the woman enters. Throughout the week, they continue exchanging furtive glances across rooms. Joseph leaves additional notes for Heather. He watches her nightly through the mirror, more drawn to her than ever. Peter becomes increasingly short-tempered. He fires a staff member unjustly, and Heather argues with him. That night, she vents to the maid about her frustration, which Joseph witnesses through the mirror. Joseph and Heather secretly meet again in a quiet room. Their conversation turns to longing, regret, and the impossibility of a life together. Heather, emotionally drained, introduces the idea: “If Peter were gone…” She begins to speak more boldly about it, explaining she feels trapped like a prisoner. Joseph is horrified at the idea, but is so focused on wanting to protect Heather, he listens. Eventually, the two agree - Peter has to die. They decide to wait two weeks, citing Peter’s scheduled business trip as the perfect time. Shortly after, Heather confides in the maid that she believes she’s pregnant. Joseph watches the confession through the mirror, wondering why she didn’t mention it during their secret rendezvous. Heather tells the maid she doesn’t know what to do. Joseph realizes the child must have been conceived a few weeks prior when he had to cover the mirror. Peter finds out about the potential pregnancy and is stunned, but the news softens him. He begins trying, awkwardly, to change his ways over the next few days, including showing a legitimate concern for Heather’s mental state due to her increasing reports of seeing shadows and figures out of the corner of her eye in the mirror. Joseph receives a note in Heather’s handwriting telling him to meet her in the loft that night - that they have to move up the murder to tonight. He climbs the spiral staircase and finds her there, surprised and frightened to see him. She doesn’t understand why he’s in her loft, or what he’s talking about. They were never a couple, they haven’t been meeting, she hasn’t been writing notes - everything has been in Joseph’s head. She’s been receiving notes, but didn’t know where they were coming from. Joseph, heartbroken, thinks hard and begins to realize he imagined it all - he was obsessed with and in love with her throughout high school, and made up the relationship in his mind. He took the job at the Dolan estate to be close to her again. He projected his desire to kill Peter onto visions of Heather. Heather, seeing Joseph battling internally, tries to rush past him to the spiral staircase, hoping to descend without confrontation. This does not go according to plan, as a brief, panicked struggle ends with Heather falling over the railing to her death. Her body lands in front of the mirror, her expression frozen in shock. Joseph, horrified and distraught, rushes down the stairs and cradles her head, which is turned away from him. A tear rolls down his cheek as he looks up, into the mirror. He sees her cold eyes, open, but lifeless, staring back at him through the reflection. He sets her head down, back into the small pool of blood that had been left, realizing he needs to flee. As he gets to the door, he pauses as the tear falls to the ground. He leaves. Seconds later, Peter rushes in and bursts into tears at the sight of his wife, who is bearing his unborn child, lifeless on the ground. He assumes the sounds and sights she was experiencing from the mirror must have driven her mad and that she must have jumped to end it. Epilogue of sorts - Peter returns to the silent mansion from the funeral, alone. He walks into the room, just past the doorway, and looks at the spot on the floor where Heather once lay. From there, standing slightly sideways from the glass of the mirror, he catches something odd in the reflection, but must adjust his position in the room in order to see it fully. He walks closer and around to view the mirror full on. As he gets closer, the reflection of Heather’s lifeless body comes more and more into view. Horrified and in disbelief, and now understanding the terrifying reality of the mirror, he smashes the glass with his fist. In that moment something happens - there’s a… transition. Not exactly a flash, but something happens. Peter looks down and sees Heather’s lifeless body is now at his feet. He hesitates, beginning to weep - in terror and disbelief. He slowly drops to his knees, beyond confused and emotionally drained. That’s when he finally looks around, and notices everything within the room is reversed. The door, which was previously to his left, is now to his right. Heather’s bed is now to his left. He gets up and runs to the door - there is no handle. He turns and runs to the windows - painted shut. There’s no way to leave. He turns back to the mirror and in a large shard of glass that’s still seated at the bottom of the frame, he sees Heather’s lifeless, open eyes staring back at him. He begins to hear sounds. Voices. Shadows grow from the corners of the room and begin to creep along the walls. The whispering surrounds him. He cries out for help, but no one hears.