The Boy In The Mirror

Five

A thin scraggly-looking cat stalked the walls of their predator and found their prey already dead on the ground. Knowing the bird with it's head the wrong way round must have already fallen prey to their predator, the house itself was all of nature's enemy, nothing grew nor lived anywhere near the house unless they were suicidal or were just plain stupid. Even though the cat hadn't eaten in over three weeks they strolled past the bird and decided to saunter into their predator's jaws, that being the door.

The house held in a breath waiting for her reaction of their hidden gem being discovered, it's walls trembling in anticipation. It felt naked with their prized possession found but they were glad they could have someone to share it with.

Hazeh had not moved from her position for what seemed to be a few years but what was actually a minute, she did not know whether she was confused or curious. Slowly, but surely, she edged closer to this magical stranger she had not seen before, was it there all along? She surely must have seen it when she went to bed or the countless times she sat in it questioning herself and everything around her.

"Maybe I'm really going mad," Hazeh whispered to herself once she stood before the door. "It was going to happen at some point."

She quickly held onto the rusty brass doorknob to stop her hand from twitching, the tension was killing her and her curiosity was torturing her.

"Hazeh!" Her father shouted from somewhere downstairs. "Come downstairs, quickly!"

Hazeh sighed and draped a blanket over the door, it was obvious it was hiding something but it was better than it being in plain view for her parents to see.

"I'm coming!"

"The poor thing," her mother stroked the stray with love. "It looks like it's been through hell and back."

"Or maybe it used to live in this house." Hazeh thought to herself. "Is it the same cat that made the scratches on the floor I saw when I got here?"

"You've always wanted a pet," her father turns to Hazeh. "Well, now you've got one!"

"It is cute," Hazeh faked a smile. "But isn't it a stray, won't it have diseases and such?"

"Probably," her father looked down at his wife cooing at the cat. "But there's a vet in the village, we have enough money to spare for the fees, isn't it time to add a new member to the family?"

"Or do you mean something to replace Saad?" Hazeh said under her breath, also watching her mother.

"Just smile and be happy." Her father whispered into Hazeh's ear. "Look how happy your mother is, for once in your life don't be selfish."

"I love it!" Hazeh exclaimed loudly. "What shall we name it?"

"What about Amal?" Her mother asked looking up at both her daughter and husband with hope. "Or is it too cheesy?"

"It's perfect!" Hazeh's father nudged Hazeh. "Isn't it, Hazeh?"

"Yes," Hazeh rubbed her arm. "Perfect."

"While she's at the vets why don't we go to the local pet store and spoil our new child?" Her father said too joyfully. "We have plenty of money!"

"Really?" Her mother snuggled the cat. "Thank you, darling."

"Have they completely forgotten about their actual child, you know, the one that isn't dead and isn't a cat?" Hazeh thought to herself watching her parents spoil Amal with love, jealousy rising through her. "I can't believe I'm jealous over a cat."

"Let's go now," her father states. "Come on, Hazeh!"

"I want to stay here."

"Now." Her father raised his eyebrows at Hazeh, which meant he was losing his patience.

"Let her be," her mother intervened. "A teenage girl needs her personal space sometimes."

Hazeh gritted her teeth as she watched the only people she loves give more love and attention to something that just entered their lives than her, she pretended to not care but she was hurt more than she wanted to admit.

She sat crossed legs in front of the door, waiting for something to happen, she did not blink in fear she would miss something.

"What am I even waiting for?" Hazeh asked to herself, lying down on the floor. "I should just open the damn door and get it over and done with, it's probably just a cupboard."

Knowing what the house had done to amaze her she didn't believe a word she said.

Sitting up with determination she held the cold doorknob, twisted, closed her eyes tightly and opened the door.

Opening her eyes, noticing nothing happened, she peered into the darkness that the door lead into.

"I can't even see if there's a floor or if I'm entering the pits of hell." Hazeh muttered to herself standing up to grab her phone. "Let's hope my parents don't come home to their daughter missing."

Using her phone as a source of light, yet again, she put her head inside the darkness and looked around.

"At least there's a floor," Hazeh laughed and crawled into the room. "And it's a room of sorts."

Once she stood up light flooded into the room, she flinched and tried to find where the light was coming from.

The room had a light pinewood floor, the walls weren't made of brick nor had old fashioned wallpaper clung to it, instead there were mirrors. They weren't like the one's in the rest of the house, these covered all of the walls like the place she practiced ballet when she was back in Syria. She smiled as happy memories washed over her of her getting endless praise from her teacher, she was the top of the class, her teacher said it was because of her elegance in dance. Late nights and early mornings practicing for recitals that were months away was her natural, daily routine since her early childhood, her father didn't mind as ballet seemed ladylike and her mother was just content that Hazeh had picked up a passion at such a young age.

Forgetting about the mystical light Hazeh tip-toed and leaped across to the right, humming to the tune she leaped and twirled until she couldn't help herself do a performance, it wasn't as if anyone was watching her anyway.

Hazeh stopped to catch her breath when she realised the humming hadn't stopped, and it was more of an angelic humming..it definitely wasn't her doing.

Looking to the right she saw a handsome boy that looked slightly older than her, with orange hair, in a suit in the mirror.

"Hello." He smiled shyly waving his hand awkwardly.