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“The Mirror That Took My Place”

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I had a bad habit of always looking in the mirror. Even when I was doing something or talking to someone, if there was a mirror around, it was impossible for me not to look. Even when I was with my colleagues and someone looked more handsome, I would quickly switch on my front camera, look at myself, and compare myself with him in my mind. Many times, people even caught me doing it and said, “Bro, you look good,” like I needed to hear it from them.

Even at home, there were mirrors everywhere. Whenever I passed by one, I would stop, fix my hair and clothes, and look at myself for a moment. My mom sometimes got irritated and said, “You think you’re a hero that you see the mirror day and night.” She used to shout that we should not look in the mirror late at night for that long. I always laughed it off. It was so bad that even when I woke up to go to the washroom late at night, I would still look in the mirror.

One day, a friend of mine revealed to me that I didn’t really look good. Instead, he praised someone else in the class. It upset me deeply. That day, I kept looking in the mirror, trying to see what was wrong with my looks. I was depressed and not able to sleep. It was late at night when I finally got up to go to the washroom.

As I passed by the mirror, I stopped and started fixing my hair.

Am I really not handsome? Am I? I don’t need that ugly guy’s validation.

Just then, I heard a voice: “No, you’re not.”

A familiar voice.

My heart started beating faster. Slowly, I lifted my head and met my reflection’s eyes.

He said, “What are you looking at?”

I held back and asked in shock, “How can you talk?!”

“Why not,” he replied with a smirk. “You have given me life.”

The emotions were exhausting. I think I’m dreaming… maybe I should sleep now, I said and went back to my room. I switched off the lights and went to sleep.

While I was sleeping, I heard: ugly… ugly… ugly.

The words echoed around my room.

I quickly stood up and switched on the light. And what I saw terrified me—my reflections on the lamp’s glass, the window, and the wall mirror… all of them were saying the same thing. These reflections, which I had dismissed as hallucinations, were real.

The voices kept growing louder. I screamed, pressing my fingers into my ears, but they didn’t stop.

I ran to the wall mirror and tried to punch him.

“I am not ugly!” I screamed.

And then—he grabbed my arm.

He pulled me inside.

Suddenly, I was alone. Only I existed in that strange place. I looked back and saw him standing on the other side of the mirror, laughing.

My mom came to the door. I heard her voice: “I heard noises. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, mom. Now everything is all right,” he said, smirking while looking at me.

Now it’s been days since I’ve been trapped in this mirror realm. No one lives here except me. I sometimes cry, watching my family in the real world, and I keep believing that one day that imposter will get caught. One day someone will surely notice that he has no shadow or any sort of reflection, that he is not human.

But I fear that even if he gets caught, he might harm someone… and even if he can’t harm anyone, there is still no chance that anyone will be able to find the real me.

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