Flashes of movement as people walk by glass doors, brown eyes staring back at you as you brush your teeth, glimpses of your friend's face as she reaches for her car door. Reflections are all around us: in windows, mirrors, metal, and even the convex liquid surface of another person's eyes. Have you ever counted the number of times you glimpse your reflection as you go about your day? Few people do. Another world exists right beside ours, sighted only momentarily as you brush your teeth or glance in the rear-view mirror. What if that other world wasn't just a mirror image of ours, if its similarity to our world was but an ephemeral illusion on the surface of a bubble, ready to pop at a single touch, revealing something unknown?

The reflection on the plate-glass window of a busy shop was of a bustling street, people walking on the sidewalk with their heads down and coats zipped to ward off some of the cold fall weather. One of those people was a young woman in a gray coat with plain brown hair cut in a short bob. She shivered as the wind tugged at her hair danced around her, blowing open her coat and feeling its way down the back of her neck. Catching sight of a Starbucks on the corner, she popped in to pick up some coffee to warm her up as she walked.

Eventually she reached her destination, her reflection moving steadily towards her as she walked towards and opened the glass doors of her workplace. Grateful for the office's warmth, she moved quickly to her desk, the sight of which still sent a thrill of excitement through her after all this time. She had wanted this job so badly, yearned to be an editor of the famous Wright magazine. The first sight of her workplace had filled her with joy, her little desk in the corner complete with a small nameplate embossed with her name: Lena Hartsworth. She shook herself out of her memories and, resigning herself to sorting through the stacks of folders sitting on her desk, sat down to a long day of work.

It seemed to be only a short time later that she looked up and noticed the office's dwindling number of occupants. Glancing at the clock, she was surprised to see it was already almost six o clock! She gathered her things and made for the door, waving to Greg whose demanding job as Chief Editor to the magazine kept him in the office late. As she headed to the door, she caught a flash of bright red in the corner of her eye. She looked to her right but nothing was there except the magazine's literary awards, the bronze metal polished to a bright shine as always. Frowning, she dismissed the event and continued home, collapsing into bed at ten o clock that night and sleeping straight through until the morning.

Lena awoke from a dreamless night, stumbling blearily into the bathroom. She washed her hands, looked in the mirror, brushed her hair, saw the girl staring back at her, washed her face, and was about to leave the bathroom when her brain finally processed what she saw. Quickly she turned her head back to the mirror and had to stifle a shriek as she saw the little girl standing behind her. Mussed blonde hair framed a face made pale by the contrast of a purple bruise framing her right eye. Her red coat was ripped and dirty and, though her body was small, the maturity in her eyes belied her youth. Lena processed all this in a few seconds before whirling around to look behind her, heart pounding in her ears. Her empty bathroom greeted her, green towels hung on hooks by the door and sunlight reflected off the tile floor. Spinning around again, she studied the mirror, empty now but for her pale face. She closed her eyes, chest heaving, as she processed what had just happened.

Get yourself together, Lena, she told herself. It must have been a trick of the light, you're still half asleep. Feeling slightly better, she walked back to her room and, noticing the clock on the wall, yelped as she realized she would have to run to make it to work on time. By the time she got to her office, all thoughts of the strange girl in the mirror were gone from her head.

That is, until she caught a flash of red in her car's side mirror a few days later, the color out of place on the dim gray street. Until she thought she saw a head of blonde hair behind her in the reflection of the office window; until the sense of being watched crept up on her when she was home alone, stiffening her shoulders and raising the hair on the back of her neck. Lena slept poorly and had trouble concentrating at work. She worried that she was going crazy as the paranoia and stress built up.

That Friday evening she walked wearily in the door and flopped down on her couch. She'd had a hard day at work, culminating in her boss calling her into the office to discuss her recent poor performance, a meeting to which she paid no attention as she nervously watched her reflection in the window. She was filled with stress and was so tired of worrying about it all. Surprise flickered faintly in her tired mind when she lifted her head to see the girl's face in the mirror across her, superimposed upon her own reflection, but she was too exhausted to make a big fuss about it.

“What do you want?” she asked in a weary voice after regarding the image for a few moments. The girl's mouth moved soundlessly in answer, and after trying to decipher her for a few seconds Lena held up her hand to stop her.

“Stop. I can't understand you. Can you hear me?” The girl nodded in answer. “Okay. I guess we'll play charades. Can I ask you a few questions or are you going to run away again?” At the girl's nod of acceptance she continued on. “Who are you? Why are you here? How is this possible?” Shakily, Lena stood and approached the mirror, extending a hand out in front of her to touch it, starting slightly in surprise as the cool glass surface stayed solid under her fingers. The girl raised her own hand, pressing it to the glass on the other side.

“What's wrong?” Lena was surprised to hear the note of softness in her voice. Although the whole situation was strange and scary, the person in front of her was a little girl, scared and alone. The girl's mouth opened to reply as she moved her hand to trace words on the other side of the glass. HELP ME, the message said in backwards letters as the girl's eyes stared into her own.

“ Why? What's wrong? How can I help you?” she asked worriedly. The girl lifted her hand again to trace letters but only got as far as NEED before the image in the mirror shifted and rippled, like a clear lake when a pebble was dropped in. The girl's head lifted as if listening to something and her eyes widened. Fearfully looking back at Lena, she lifted her hand to try to finish her sentence but only got another letter out before jumping as if something had happened behind her. Before Lena could react, the girl ran out of the frame.

“Wait! Come back!” Lena yelled at the mirror but she didn't return. Lena craned her head, trying to see into the reflection to get a glimpse of what had scared the girl off. Nothing happened for a few seconds before the mirror suddenly went black as if something big and dark had passed in front of it. She jumped back with a shriek and shuddered as she felt the sensation of malevolent eyes upon her. The thing regarded her for a few moments before turning away and passing out of the frame. The mirror cleared and Lena was left staring at her living room, nothing out of place except her pale, frightened face.

Two weeks passed before Lena saw the girl again. As she went about her day she would peer into all the mirrors, windows, and reflections she could find but she never saw the girl. It was amazing how many reflective surfaces she walked by a day. Normally they would fade into the surroundings but as soon as she started to seek them out they were everywhere. A couple times she thought she felt those evil eyes upon her again but she never saw anything strange. At work on Wednesday she had a minor accident with scissors and was washing the cut in the sink when she glanced up and saw the girl in the mirror.

“Where have you been?” she gasped. “Are you all right? What was that thing?” The girl held up her hand for silence, wearily sitting in the bottom of the window frame. Her red coat was dirtier, her cheeks more hollow and her face streaked with grime, looking much the worse for wear. “What happened?” Lena implored her but she just shook her head. She simply repeated her previous message, soundlessly mouthing the words while begging Lena with her eyes.

“How?” Lena urged.
The girl shook her head soundlessly before catching sight of Lena's cut finger, still bleeding a bright red. Her eyes brightened and she looked up, pointing at her finger and mouthing 'blood'.

“B-blood?” Lena asked in disbelief. “You need blood?”
The girl nodded and, pointing to her finger, mimed tracing a square on the mirror.
“You want me to paint a square on the mirror with my blood?” her voice echoed with incredulity. The girl nodded again, mouthing a word which after some thinking Lena deduced to be 'door'.

“My blood on the mirror will open a door so you can get out? No, thanks. I can't believe I'm even talking to you. This is crazy. If you are real, you'll have to find someone else to help with your door.” she spat sarcastically.

She started to turn away but a flash of movement caught her eye- the mirror's surface was rippling. The girl's eyes grew wide and her face pale. 'Hurry!' she mouthed. 'It's coming!' Lena stood, frozen, until the girl's banging on the mirror and her frantic 'Help!' shocked her out of it. She could almost feel the dark being getting closer, the hair on her neck prickling and a sense of terrorized urgency overcoming her. Even though she thought this was crazy, she didn't want to leave the girl to the mercy of the thing, whatever it was.

She strode to the mirror and, pinching her cut finger to restart the blood flow, traced a square with a trembling hand. As her blood touched the mirror the surface shimmered, but when the square was completed nothing had changed. The girl banged on the mirror again, reaching out her hand. In the background, Lena caught sight of something dark approaching.

“Help me!” the girl screamed, and this time a faint echo of her words made their way to Lena's ears. “You have to grab me!”

Lena reached out her hand and instead of running into glass her hand disappeared into the mirror's freezing depths. She groped until she touched another warm hand, and upon grasping it pulled with all her might. A hand, clasped in hers, emerged from the mirror, followed by a slim arm, and then a whole body. Tumbling backwards as the girl was released from the mirror's surface, they landed on the floor as a deep, menacing voice growled its disappointment. As Lena watched the mirror's surface shimmered and returned to normal, her bloody marks gone as if they had never existed.

A weight on her chest brought Lena's attention back to the present. Sitting up, she grasped the girl's face and stared anxiously into her eyes.

“Are you all right?” she implored, staring unbelieving at the flesh and blood girl that had emerged from the mirror.

“Yes, now I am. Thank you for rescuing me.” the girl said as she stood up, brushing her red coat off with her hands. When she looked up Lena found herself staring into brilliant blue eyes. They were so deep, so blue, and the girl's angelic face seemed to fill her vision.
“You'll keep helping me, won't you?” the girl asked in a sweet voice.

“Yes, of course. Anything you need.” Lena replied eagerly, the desire to help the girl in any way filling her. The girl's face grew in her mind. She was Lena's whole world. She would do anything, be anything, for her. The compulsion settled thick upon her mind as a small voice in the back of her head yelled at her to snap out of it.

“Good. Very good.” The girl turned her head back to the mirror. “Dezius, come!” she called.

Lena's contented feeling evaporated as her gaze was released. “Wait... what was that? What's happening? Who's Dezius?” A feral grin split the girl's face as Lena asked her questions.

“Dezius is my friend. I think he'll like you. In fact, you've already met!” the girl turned towards the mirrors that were now covered in black, their surface bubbling as something tried to force its way out. Horror washed over Lena.

“Wait- that's the thing in the mirror that tried to kill you! Aren't you going to stop it? What's going on?”A chill traveled up Lena's spine as she started to realize she was out of her depth.
“Who.... are you?” she said slowly.

“A nightmare, come to play in the real world.” was the girl's reply. Behind her, a dark form rose up out of the mirror, bright red eyes turning to rest on Lena, filling her with fear. The girl turned to it, reaching up a hand to stroke its inky side, a sick grin on her face. As Lena scrambled back on the floor, trying to get away, the girl's mouth opened and she began to laugh.