The Reflection

Nathan sat down in the upstairs hallway, and sticking his legs through the balusters, he dangled his feet over the side. He poked his face between the two in front of his nose, and tried to look down at the first floor, but his head wouldn’t quite fit through. He felt the skin of his cheekbones stretching as he pressed his face harder into the space, distorting his vision and lifting his lips away from his teeth. He wondered what it looked like. He was so bored he was sleepy, and it wasn’t even two o’clock. He knew that because he had a fit bit, and the digital screen was easy to read, unlike the regular clock which he didn’t have down yet. Telling time was a tricky talent he hadn’t quite mastered. He sighed and withdrew his legs, climbing to his feet. He still had three more days here at Gran’s before mom came to get him. Mom was in the hospital, having another baby. He had wanted to go with her and be the first one to see his new brother, but mom said she didn’t want to worry about him while she was giving birth. She said she might like a few days on her own with the new baby before he came home, so she had asked Gran if he could stay the week with her. But there was nothing for him to do here, and he wasn’t supposed to go outside while Gran was taking a nap.

He had explored both floors yesterday, running to ask her what was this, and what was that, and it had taken him all day. The house was full to overflowing with interesting mementos from Gran’s long and eventful life, piled in every room of the house. Things on top of things, until some places were dangerous for a little boy like Nathan to be in. He was seven whole years old, practically a grown-up, but so far he had only grown up to mom's elbow. And as she kept reminding him, he was too small to do a lot of things, including helping with the new baby.

Nathan sighed again, he already felt replaced. Shuffling his feet along the hallway, he headed for the kitchen to get another cookie off of the plate Gran had left for him, before she went to lie down. As he passed the stairs on his way to the kitchen, he noticed a door leading under the stairs. He stopped and cocked his head to the side. Where had that come from? He didn’t remember seeing a door there before. Stepping up to the door, he placed his hand on the knob and twisted. It was locked. He rattled it back and forth, pulling and pushing, but it wouldn’t open. He dropped to his hands and knees, and tried to see through the crack underneath, but it was too dark. He sat back on his heels and contemplated the door, wondering what was in there. The creak of a hinge behind him made him jump, and Gran came out yawning.

“Still want to go to the park?” She asked Nathan. He hopped up off the floor.

"Sure Gran!" He said, looking up at her with excitement and relief. "But what's inside this door, Gran?" He asked her, turning to gesture at the entryway. It was gone. The wall was blank and smooth where it had been. He gaped at it in astonishment until Gran chuckled behind him.

"Did I leave you alone too long, kiddo?" She asked him, ruffling his hair on her way past.

Gran must have felt bad about leaving him alone all morning, because she let him stay at the park long past the time the other mothers had called their children to them, and gone home. Stars were starting to wink in the sky before she called Nathan off of the swings, and he climbed into the car pleasantly tired, the short drive back to Gran’s house lulling him into somnolence. It was sometimes good to be small, he thought, as she carried him inside and tucked him into bed, shucking his shoes and kissing the top of his head, before tip toeing out and turning out the light.

The next morning, Gran didn’t feel well, and asked Nathan to play quietly while she went to lie down. He wandered toward the Den, meaning to watch a DVD, Gran had all the Disney and Pixar films, and though he had seen them all, it was a novel experience being able to choose what he wanted to watch, without someone sighing or rolling their eyes. He passed the stairs, his mind on the movie, and stopped stock in his tracks as he saw the door. The one that had been locked, and had vanished when Gran came out yesterday, was very much there, and standing open. He knew he hadn't been seeing things! He looked around, but Gran had already disappeared into her bedroom. He stepped toward the door, his heart pounding in his ears. He stopped to listen, thinking he heard Gran coming, but it was just his heart. The fact that the door had vanished before, was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Maybe he should just go watch his movie. He put his hand on the knob to close the door, when from the depths of the darkness under the stairs, came the sound of a child’s giggle. Nathan frowned. Gran had another kid here?

“Hello?” He called out softly. He didn’t want to disturb Gran. The giggle came again, sounding closer. He took his hand off of the knob and stepped across the threshold, peering into the darkness inside. “Hello?” He said, a little louder. This time the bubbling laughter seemed to come from right beside him. He suppressed a shiver and reaching up, he felt along the wall for a light switch. Not finding one, he took another step, and then one more, thinking he could see someone standing there in the shadows.

“Hey, what are you…” He started to say, before his hand, reaching out, hit a smooth plane of glass. It took him a few seconds to realize, as he slid his hand along the surface, that it was a mirror he was standing in front of. He blew his breath into a circle of fog and watched it obscure the shadowed view of his face. The fog slowly melted away as he watched, and just as he was about to turn away, the boy in the mirror pursed his lips, and his face disappeared in the resultant circle of fog. Startled, Nathan took a step back. The boy in the mirror took a step back. Nathan frowned, unsure of what he had seen. He stepped forward again, but the boy in the mirror just smiled. Nathan’s eyes opened wide. He drew in his breath to shout in surprise, and was startled into silence as the boy behind the glass reached through it, and put his finger on Nathan’s lips. He flinched back away from the finger, almost falling down in his haste to get away. The hand withdrew and Nathan caught a glimpse of the mournful look the boy flashed him before the door closed, shutting off Nathan’s view of the mirror.