_He’s staring back at me._

Dumped. Fired. Evicted. All in the span of one month. The beginning of a downward spiral that has lead me here—hiding in a rundown pub’s bathroom after close, thankful the staff aren’t paid enough to bother checking the stalls before locking up.

_It’s just me and him now._

From the grime covered floor wet with mold and piss I stare at my would-be reflection. The mirror’s slick silver surface sheens, showing my sterile double staring back.

This is the me that was. The me that I _should _be_._

__

Hair slicked back while mine lies unkempt. A tailored suit in place of the tattered rags draped over me. Silver skin, dyed the color of the mirror’s shiny surface.

A glance to either side confirms that this is an anomaly. Flanked by mirrors only in name—stained and cracked; barely reflective—my double’s metallic sheen beckons.

I reach forward and so does he, fingertips meeting on the shiny silver surface. _It’s supple._ The slick surface gives way and I find my hand sinking deeper in.

_‘Come in.’_ My reflection seems to say, though his features remain unmoving. It’s warm inside._ _

__

_Oh God, how long has it been since I’ve felt this warm?_

__

Suddenly I am all too aware of the cold, wet surface of the bathroom floor, the discolored stains absent in the inverted world in front of me, and the _smell_. Layers of mold and grime left to fester emitting a putrid odor mixed with failed attempts to mask it with lemon-scented air freshener.

_Take me away._

I sink my arm in deeper. My double grins. Smile widening beyond what my face is capable of, he grips my forearm. Warmth turns into heat which turns into burning.

I try to pull away but his grip tightens. The smell of seared skin assaults me as I feel his fingers melt away flesh and wrap around the singed bone of my arm.

_LET ME GO. I CHANGED MY MIND. DONT TAKE ME AWAY._

The slick surface splinters. Deep black cracks on the sterile surface widen, radiating from where my half-exposed arm is inserted. Black tendrils emerge from the cracks, wrapping around the rest of my resisting form, dragging me further in. My fractured face stares at me, his widening smile spread across the cracked mirror’s still silver surface.

_please let me go. I don’t want to disappear._