I don’t tend to frequent antique shops, and would have walked right by this one if the mirror hadn’t caught my eye.

It was framed in gold-painted wood, and the glass appeared to be stained, giving everything it reflected a hint of reddish brown.

I went into the shop to get a closer look, and to confirm that, yes it was a mirror. The back was covered with a slab of thin wood, so I knew what I saw must have been a reflection.

I walked to the front of the mirror and gazed at the reflection. Not my reflection, but the reflection. It was unexplainable, impossible, and extremely disturbing.

It must be a trick mirror of some sort. I scanned the gold trim for a hole where a camera could be hidden, but the frame was solid. Maybe the camera was set up somewhere close to the mirror. In a shop like this it could be hidden anywhere. I scanned nearby items for wires, lenses, any kind of clue, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, except the mirror.

“Can I help you?” A man asked form behind the counter. I jumped. I hadn’t noticed him when I entered the shop.

“Yes, please.” I replied. “How much for this mirror?”

“Oh, that is a very special mirror. It has been in this shop longer than I have. I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale.”

That made sense. The shop owner would want this novelty to remain in its place and catch the eye of passers by, but I was still curious. “Can you at least tell me how it works?”

“I don’t know how it does what it does.” He replied. But I figured he was holding out on me.

“Does it use a camera? That’s what I think. Otherwise how could it reflect everything except me?”

“That’s not it at all.” He said. “Look closer.”

I turned back to the mirror to see that I was still not reflected. But then I noticed something else. My car, which I had parked a little ways down the road, was not reflected either. Instead there were late-model cars parked up and down the road, and people wearing out-dated clothing. I felt myself start to sweat and pressure well up in my chest.

I turned to look out the shop window and was relieved to see my car just down the street. All was back to normal. Then it hit me. It must be an LED screen of some sort.

I turned back to the mirror and looked directly into the eyes of a tall, brunette woman with a purple dress and a Rachel haircut. I looked down to see she was holding two Blockbuster VHS tapes. Across the street, directly behind her, was a Blockbuster video store.

The woman began to walk away, still staring at me, or toward me. She took a couple steps forward and then a couple back, leaned in and backed away, but never took her eyes off the mirror. Moments later she walked away looking confused.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It is a mirror.” Said the man. He joined me in front of the mirror. “But what you are seeing in this mirror is what passed in front of it exactly 20 years ago. And it will reflect you, it will reflect this moment, exactly 20 years from now.”