Sebastian Westbrook is the pseudonym for an unassuming young undergrad from the UK, just starting his adventures in writing. He enjoys RPG video games a little too much and spends more time on them than he should. When he can peel himself away, he reads fantasy fiction in the main, but also enjoys the horror genre, particularly movies.
IMPRESSION
by
Sebastian Westbrook
Suzie was anxious about tonight’s first date.
She’d never really had much success with relationships, was not always able to hit it off with men. She was not a confident person, and struggled with small talk. Invariably that would lead to having to speak about herself, and she wasn’t her favourite subject. This was in no small part due to her issues with body image, including – of all things – her left little finger. Due to a birth deformity, it was much shorter than the others, and while it was only a little thing (no pun intended), she felt it was enough to turn some guys off, especially since she was left handed. And if they didn’t have a hang up over it, she certainly did. Wanting this date to go well, Suzie decided she would wear her long gloves that had a wooden prosthetic built into the material. Now she just had to hope the rest of her passed any test Callum, 28, electrician, sports fan, had in store for her.
She put on her makeup in front of a small circular mirror in the bathroom: foundation, blush, rose lipstick, eyeliner and mascara. She hoped it wasn’t too much. She then put on her favourite date outfit. A backless dress with stockings and knee-length black boots. A choker and straight, smooth hair completed the look. All she had left was the long gloves that matched the dress, as well as hiding her unflattering dealbreaker. They were currently on a table near the door, underneath her coat.
Suzie added one last thing to her outfit. She took a gold necklace with a ruby red charm and fastened it around her neck. She’d never been brave enough to wear it before, but she was trying to feel confident that tonight would be her night.
The doorbell rang and Suzie jumped, but her momentary shock gave way to anticipation. She had been waiting for this delivery all day and it couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time. She answered the door and took the tall package, quickly thanking the delivery man before manoeuvring her purchase into the living room. She opened the box and took off the bubble wrap. It was a full-length mirror; she had nothing like it in the apartment. Perfect to check her appearance before her big night. It had its own stand; she stepped back and took it in.
As she began to observe herself in the mirror, she noticed something. A smudge shaped like a handprint on the reflective surface. No wonder it was cheap: it’s second-hand. Typical! The smudge covered the part of the mirror that would show off her necklace, so she went to the kitchen to retrieve a cloth to clear the stain.
Suzie wiped the stain off, and suddenly was struck by pain. She held her chest in agony. When the pain faded, she felt something strange underneath her hands. Her chest felt cold, smooth and solid. She looked down to find that a section of mirror was somehow embedded in her chest.
The pain struck her again. More intense this time, like a severe burn. It forced Suzie to her knees, pushing her to scream. It lasted a good minute or two; in that time it felt as if more parts of her torso were flattening out, becoming hard and cool to the touch.
She stood shakily and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her entire torso had an equally reflective surface entrenched into it.
The image of the glass in her chest stretched out in the mirror in front of her. A reflection of a reflection. Suzie was mesmerised and the sight disorientated her. She slowly found herself shuffling towards the mirror. She tried to stop herself but her body wouldn’t respond to her mind’s instructions. She reached out towards the mirror as her vision began to blur. The moment her hand made contact with the mirror; her vision failed her.
Suzie came to in a dark corridor. The only light was some sort of LED square lining the walls, floor and ceiling positioned every metre or so. The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. Suzie checked herself, and realised her torso was back to normal. She let her hand explore the front of her for a brief moment, allowing herself the smallest bit of relief in this strange, haunting situation.
Whatever hope she had was dashed when saw what was behind her.
She could see her living room through a wooden frame. She tried to enter it but something stopped her. Some kind of invisible barrier trapping her inside this strange new place. She slammed her hand against whatever force was holding her back, but to no effect. She screamed for help, but it was pointless. Nobody could hear her. She was alone and trapped behind a wall of non-existence, and she feared she would remain there. She pressed her left hand against the surface, stared longingly at her living room and began to tear up. A merciless and horrifying fate had befallen her, and it seemed there was nothing she could do about it. She screamed again until her throat gave out.
***
Six months later, a clearing company was packing up items and furniture from an apartment that had been uninhabited for some time. The previous tenant had been reported missing and attempts to find her had been unsuccessful. It was like she’d just disappeared.
While the company got to it, the worker tasked with sorting the living room stared at a freestanding mirror, examining it curiously. It was in the middle of the room, bizarrely, with packaging all around it. As he moved closer to get a better look, he noticed a hand print on the surface.
Could’ve cleaned your mirror before disappearing, Miss. On a second look however, the worker noticed something. The hand print looked fairly normal aside from the little finger.
It was much too short compared to the others.