Staring at the mirror for the fifth time today, I was completely enraptured by the visage I beheld, but wary. Who was this poor creature gazing so intensely back, also apparently confused by the sight of me?

Reaching out, I tentatively placed my hand against the glass, immediately jerking it away, in an involuntary reaction. The surface, which should have been cool to the touch, had seemed incredulously warm. I examined my hand, which had been cradled to my chest, as if it were somehow damaged by the encounter. Soon I was lost in my own thoughts, swirling with disbelief and intrigue, as the creature reflected my own emotions.

Tentatively, I reached out, as my specter did the same, our fingertips nearly touching, the pane of the glass the only separation between us. Before long, I was pressing my hand fully to the pane, feeling the warmth radiating out, enveloping my hand in waves of calefaction.

Briefly, I closed my eyes, reveling in the magic of the moment.

Suddenly, I felt movement below my hand, and opened my eyes; I was shocked to see that it wasn’t a figment, but reality. The being’s fingers were penetrating the surface of the mirror, stretching and piercing it, until our skin- yes, it was real skin touching me- until our palms were pressed together. Our fingers entwined, caressing, and squeezing with disbelief. The excitement in the air was palpable.

Soon, we were grasping both hands through the pane, and laughing. My companion’s giggles were mute, undoubtedly muffled into silence by the barrier between us.

I am not sure how it happened. We were suddenly and inexplicably embracing, my body pressing into the plane of the looking-glass, my arms wrapped around my partner’s body, still mirroring each other’s movements. Yet, somehow we were becoming individual. We reveled in the pure exhilaration of the moment, caressing and cuddling; our bodies mingled and swayed, as if slow dancing to a song we couldn’t hear.

Closing my eyes, I oscillated from side to side, holding onto my dance partner as we moved to the beat of the noiseless tune. We slowly twisted, and as that happened, I was getting warmer, the heat becoming uncomfortable.

Upon opening my eyes, I pulled back and completely free of the mirror in shock, as the visage before me had suddenly returned to my normal appearance. My compatriot gone. Yet, something felt different.

As I moved my hand to touch the glass, I gasped and then screamed in terror. My arm. My real arm, not the reflection, had changed. My beautiful red skin was replaced with the pasty white of the human I had observed before. I was no longer in the safety of my dark void, but the relative brightness of a forest. It was the exact forest I had observed the first time this mirror had appeared in my realm.

My partner, who apparently stole my appearance, smiled, which was definitely not a reflection of my own emotion or countenance, and walked away.