The Mirror Above the Fireplace
The air inside the house was still, heavy with the kind of silence that felt unnatural. Annie sat on the edge of her couch, her phone pressed to her ear, the faint glow of the lamp casting long shadows across the room. Outside, the wind howled, rattling the windows in their frames.
"Annie, you've got to calm down," David's voice came through the speaker, steady and reassuring."I'm telling you, David," Annie whispered, her voice trembling, "there's someone outside."She stood slowly, her heart pounding as she approached the window. The curtains fluttered lightly in the breeze from a cracked pane, and beyond the glass was the dark expanse of her backyard. The trees swayed gently in the wind, their branches clawing at the night sky.
"I've checked twice already," she continued, her fingers gripping the edge of the curtain. "But I swear I saw something-or someone."
David sighed on the other end of the line. "It's probably just the wind. Or an animal. You live out in the middle of nowhere, Annie. It's nothing."
Annie wanted to believe him, but as she peeked through the curtain, her breath hitched. There, standing in the shadows at the edge of her yard, was a figure.
Her phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor.
"Annie? Annie, what's wrong?" David's voice called faintly from the speaker, but she couldn't respond.
The figure stepped closer, just enough for her to make out its features.
It was her.
Her own face stared back at her through the window, pale and emotionless. The doppelg nger smiled, a slow, chilling curve of its lips that didn't reach its hollow eyes.
Annie stumbled back, her heart racing as the shadowy figure raised a hand and knocked softly on the glass.
"David " she screamed, snatching the phone from the floor.
"I'm coming," David said quickly. "Just stay inside. Don't go near it."
But the connection crackled, his voice breaking apart. "Annie? Annie-"
The call dropped.
Annie backed away from the window, the knocking growing louder, more insistent. The room grew darker, the shadows creeping across the walls like living things.
And then, as suddenly as it had started, the knocking stopped.
Annie held her breath, clutching the phone tightly as she stared at the window. The figure was gone, but the darkness in the room seemed to press closer, heavier than before.
The sound of footsteps echoed behind her.
She spun around, her eyes wide, but the room was empty.
"Annie..." a voice whispered, low and distorted.
It came from everywhere and nowhere, curling around her like smoke.
Annie's pulse thundered in her ears as she turned toward the hallway. At the far end, something moved-another figure, its face obscured by shadows.
Her own face.
And then the lights went out.
The shadows began their work that night, and Annie's world would never be the same.
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