The Mirror’s Truth: Curse in Glass
Shizuka Ando thought her second year of high school would stay as peaceful as ever. She spent quiet days working in the school library. Why chase drama? Her world starts to slip when she finds something tucked behind the oldest shelf: a small hand mirror, oddly cold. She runs her finger along its edge, feeling whispers, faint at first. Soon, the mirror draws her each break. Its glass reflects a face she knows — but changes, as if time pools inside. Wouldn’t you look, if your reflection did what you didn’t do?
Her friend Rina, eager and loud, says, “Just throw it out!” But Shizuka refuses. Each night, she dreams in fog. At school, her grades drop. No one really understands what it’s like to see yourself blink in a way you never have, right? Rina watches her crumble. As Shizuka sinks, people whisper. Why is it, next to her, water tastes of glass? Her skin gets chilly. She doesn’t sleep. Soon, rumors spread. Could it be a curse?
In the third week, her reflection grins when she cries. Even if the room’s empty, she catches it: her image, grinning wide. Rina tries to get to the truth. She brings her own brother, Ren, always brave and honest. “We’ll watch together,” he says. But when they try, only Shizuka’s reflection moves. Ren’s hands tremble. He drops his drink, stares at his pale face. He says nothing at all for a while. Is the mirror haunted, or is there more? Rivet slipped when Shizuka picked up the mirror; engraved words fade at the bottom. Her fingers bleed. Words gleam: “Show me, show you.” They don’t wipe away.
Rina dives into old stories online. She finds that girls vanished long ago, always by a mirror’s grip. No one liked mirrors for a reason here, the townsfolk said. Could it be connected? In the morning, they all get notes saying “The next full moon, it keeps what’s yours”. How real could that be? Wouldn’t you freak out if notes slipped through your door, spelling secrets?
School days blur. Shizuka loses her sense of time; she can’t remember the days. Sometimes, her hands look odd in the bath; strange and too still. She finds new cracks on her walls at home. Her family worries, but she hides it. “It’s fine, I’m just tired,” she lies. At night, she dreams the mirror walks with her. She can’t stop its voice: “I take, as you look.” She stares wide-eyed, cold sweat on her forehead.
Ren demands they end it. “Let’s break it.” Yet a thick, odd air clouds the room when they try. They can’t reach it; their bodies stiffen, as if pulled by thread. Shizuka screams, but no sound escapes. The glass pulses red at the edge, and for a moment, someone else’s voice — her own, but not — spits from behind. “Not yet.” Is something living inside, waiting for them to mess up?
Desperate, Rina steals back the mirror. She runs to the shrines at midnight, hoping old prayers will work. Crows gather as she passes neon lights. Each one swoops down, nearly hitting her. Her breath comes out cold in night air. She calls the old priest, who shivers at the tale. “Don’t let it see the moon,” he says, worry sharp. They’re left with one task, but every plan fails.
Shizuka avoids mirrors. But the glass finds her in puddles, phone screens, even eyes in windows. Each blank reflection grows more bold. At school, she isn’t sure anyone hears her voice except Rina and Ren. Other friends drift away —test scores ruined, faces distant. Shizuka’s vision flares with quick scenes not her own.
The night of the full moon. The friends set candles, latin text open for ritural words. There’s not much time. As moonlit streaks hit the glass, the reflection pulls free. Shizuka locks up, arms heavy. They recite in slow panic, hoping it ends. The glass cracks, but light keeps pouring out— faces swirling, crying, pleading in silence.
Last minutes. Mirror’s Shizuka offers a deal: stay, let her walk free. Rina grabs her, yells, “You’re real! Don’t trust it!” But the voice is so warm. Would you know which side was real, by then? As Shizuka’s hand hovers, fingers blur with glass. Rain claws at old wood outside.
Suddenly, the school shakes; glass and voices shatter around them, one scream inside. Did Shizuka get free — or did her double walk out? The room is empty except for a cracked mirror frame. Shizuka’s red scarf sits at the frame’s base, untouched.
Outside, the sun is pale. Rina awakes with a dull pain, Ren groans. Shadows at their feet look just a bit too deep. Is the curse gone, or did a new one start? Shizuka opens her eyes on the inside surface of the mirror. Her cries don’t make a sound.
