Growing up my mother had always warned me to avoid mirrors. She would say how mirrors show you who you truly were and that no human, immortal or monster would truly be able to come to terms with what would be looking back at them.

I had always thought it was a old wives tale. Something to explain why we had no mirrors hung up around the house or why no other person in our small village had one.

The lake was the only way that we could see our reflection. Sometimes when I went down to the lake I would find a group of young girls giggling and leaning over the lakes edge to look at themselves. Nothing had ever drawn me to my reflection before. So I never thought to seek it out.

Many would say that my life was dull, with the same tasks every day. Hang the clothes out on the line in the morning, get water from the well and carry it home, find berries and mushrooms just outside of the dense forest for our dinner. Truthfully, I liked my mundane routine.

That was until one cold Autumn night when I was out too late by the forest scavenging for mushrooms. I hadn’t realized how late it was until I heard what sounded like the quiet beat of drums coming from the forest.

It was another warning that everyone in the village knew. Don’t go into the forest. Those who do, never return. Unlike with the mirrors I had heard stories of the forest. Known young women who wandered in and never came back. We never talked about them. Afraid that just saying their names would summon whatever drew them in, to come out.

The fear that was instilled in her since she could walk seemed to vanished that the drumbeats seemed to pick up. She swore that it beat to the sound of her heart. Her breathing started to get heavier and she felt light. Turning slowly to the forest, she took a step forward and any thoughts to run were leeched out of her.

There was no trail for her to follow. Her bare feet crunching leaves and snapping twigs, though she felt known of it.

When she reached a clearing she drew in a breath. There was a small pond. It’s stillness was unnerving. Beside it was a long mirror, taller then her. Along the bottom there was a circle of flames.

She wished she could say that her clarity came back to her in that moment but it didn’t. She looked back the way she came and knew that she was so far into the forest that she wouldn’t be able to find her way out if she tried. She looked up towards the sky. The red, gold and brown leaves dancing with the cool breeze. The moon was fully in the sky now.

Without being aware of it she was moving towards the mirror, and even though her mind felt clear there was still apart of her that knew that looking into the mirror was dangerous. When she was fully in front of the mirror, she stopped. She couldn’t bring herself to look into it, instead her eyes remained on the flickering of the flames.

Look my dear, the mirror seemed to whisper, look at you will see what is meant to be.

The voice sounded ancient and rough, although the words were comforting. There was something compelling in its voice. It felt like the same thing that had drew her into the forest.

Look, it said and it felt as though something soft stroked her cheek.

She closed her eyes and let out an unsteady breath. Despite all the stories she had been told as a child, at the moment she couldn’t think of a reason as to why she should t look into the mirror.

Slowly, so slowly her eyes lifted and set on the image in the mirror. She fell to her knees at the sight. Looking back at her was a horned creature, it’s skin burned red and eyes wide and black.

She didn’t move. She couldn’t move. So when the creature lifted an arm up and brought it through the mirror to grasp her wrist, she didn’t fight it.

“Good, my dear,” The creature whispered in what sounded like her voice. The girl wanted to lift her hands to her throat but found she couldn’t. “Together we can do so much.”