"TALES OF GHOSTS"
about Love and Death from the Land of Mists
a collection of short stories
in the “Playing Another Reality” series
"DARK TOWER"
2. From the LOOKING GLASS
It was raining outside. The wind was playing with autumn leaves. There was no one left in the village, the local old men and women had long gone the Looking Glass, and their children had scattered around the world.
I came back there many years later. The garden was overgrown with impenetrable weeds. The house sagged, the paint peeled off, the porch was rotten.
Having knocked down a small rusty lock, I hardly opened the creaky door and stepped inside. I was greeted by gloomy corridors with cobwebby shawls in the corners. The roof was leaking in some places, and the steady sound of the drops reminded me of the clock ticking on the wall, the clock that had stopped long before.
I entered the room. There was a vase with dried wild flowers on the table, some paper and a pencil, a letter to Nowhere, on the windowsill, and… a huge antique mirror in front of me. I approached it and took a deep breath. The mirror was the reason for my return.
The curious round-faced Moon, looking out in the window, watched me with interest, wondering whether I would place the candles correctly. And finally, illuminated by flickering lights, some shadows were already moving towards me along the mirror corridor.
Fear? That was what I wanted! Only my fearful earthly Self wasn’t in a hurry to go beyond the line. It grabbed the vase and threw it into the mirror! A web of cracks spread across its surface, however, the mirror didn’t shatter into pieces. The shadows continued to approach me slowly.
The floorboards creaked.
The figure of a Man in Black appeared in the mirror. He stood behind me. Turning around, I saw no one, but the Man was still reflected in the mirror.
«Why did you come here?» he asked in a completely calm voice.
«To quit,» I answered firmly, no longer feeling fear. «I know there’s a Point of Transition here.»
«If you felt it without anyone’s help, you can cross over to us by yourself as well, because the Door to the Looking Glass is always open,» the Man in Black said and disappeared.
I can’t explain in words what happened next. Perhaps I concentrated on the corridor and, looking in the mirror non-stop, let my consciousness leak into it. It was similar to a viscous liquid flowing from one vessel to another. All I remember, I felt lightness suddenly. I realized, «From now on I exist where only my reflection was a minute ago.»
Do I regret it? Probably not. Now I can look out of the Looking Glass at everyone who remains in the «real» world. I’ve even learned to exit mirrors anywhere on Earth. To take a walk. But…
…the other day I went to visit the Man in White. And I wanted so much… to hug him… in an earthly way… with my hands…
April 19, 1994