Lena was tired of city life and her boring office job. So, when her cousin asked her to look after his pets for a year in his cottage in the countryside, she accepted his offer right away. She gave up her room in the flat she shared in London, packed her things, and took the train north to the quiet village of Stonely.
Lena soon settled into village life and enjoyed the company of the cats. But the silence of the cottage house was too quiet—unnaturally quiet. The wind whispered through cracks in the wooden walls, and at night the floorboards seemed to groan under invisible footsteps. She wanted peace, but now she wasn’t sure if she was truly alone.
One evening, Lena decided to go up and check. She climbed the wooden stairs slowly. Each step made a loud creak. When she opened the attic door, the cold air hit her face. The room was dark and full of old furniture and boxes.
In the corner, she saw a large mirror. It was tall, with a black wooden frame. The glass was dirty, but she could still see her reflection. As she looked into it, something felt strange. Her reflection didn’t move the same way she did. When she raised her right hand, the reflection raised its left.
Lena stepped back, confused.
“That’s not possible,” she whispered.
She turned off the light and left the attic, trying to forget about the mirror. But that night, she couldn’t sleep. She felt like someone was watching her.
The next day, she returned to the attic. The mirror was still there. This time, she cleaned the glass to see better. As she wiped it, the reflection smiled — but Lena didn’t. She froze. The reflection moved on its own.
Suddenly, the attic door slammed shut. The lights flickered. Lena ran to the door, but it wouldn’t open. Behind her, the mirror started to shake. She turned around and saw the reflection reaching out from the glass.
“Help me,” it whispered in her voice.
Lena screamed. The reflection pulled harder, trying to come through. Its eyes were black, and its smile was wide and evil.
Then, everything went dark.
***
When the police came days later, they found the attic door open. The mirror stood quietly in the corner. But Lena was gone.
In the glass, if you look closely, you can still see her. She’s standing there, with black eyes and a silent scream on her face.
And sometimes…the mirror smiles.
📒 Key vocabulary
- attic – the space or room just below the roof of a house.
- creak – to make a sharp, high sound, usually when something is old or moves slowly.
- reflection – an image that you can see in a mirror or on a shiny surface.
- whisper – to speak very quietly, using the breath but not the voice.
- slam – to close with a loud noise or force.
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