VISUAL PROMPT
by Sans @ deviantart.com/Sanskarans

Write a story titled "When I Look in the Mirror".
When I Look in the Mirror
My hands shake as I walk back towards my dresser where I threw down my mirror. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The face that stared back at me wasn’t mine. It was something sinister. Something that parents told their children of to scare them into behaving.
I need to figure out why the reflection wasn’t my own. Slowly I reach out and grasp the cold metal handle of the mirror. I turn it over looking at the detailed carvings. Golden swirls cover the back creating depth in the mirror.
Breathing heavy I debate if I want to turn the mirror over to see myself. I was scared to. Scared that the face I seen before would still stare back at me. I needed to know though what it looked liked. As much as it would scare me I needed to see.
Turning it over I close my eyes hoping to gain the courage to see the horrid face I expected to be staring back. Slowly I opened my eyes having a glimmer of hope that my own features would return. Instead of the face I am used to a red skull with rotten teeth and white holes for eyes stared back at me. Two long, curved black horns stretched out past what the mirror could see replacing my hair that layer past the bottom of my back.
Throwing it down once again I run out of my room into my bathroom. I stare into the mirror seeing two golden eyes stare back at me. I sigh seeing the sharp cheek bones of my face return. I run my hands through my long brown hair. Reaching up I touch the mirror hoping this all wasn’t an illusion and the face I see here is my true image.
I knew I needed to go back to look in the golden mirror again. I just couldn’t though. I was afraid that the demon would return. Walking into my room I grab it off my dresser and run back into the bathroom. Lifting the mirror the demon stared at me it’s eyes piercing into my soul. I look in the bathroom mirror and my soft features returned. Looking back and forth I was appalled at how my reflection changed for horrifying to kind.
Turning around I lifted the mirror hoping to see the reflection of myself in the golden mirror reflecting in the bathroom mirror behind me. As I looked in the mirror in my hand the demon stared back but the reflection in the mirror behind me was normal. My hands shook as I kept looking back and forth trying to wrap my head around what was going on.
Sitting on the toilet I stare into the mirror. As each second passes I get more and more attached to the face staring back. It was like the eyes were taking me deeper and deeper into an abyss of solitude. The mirror begins to glimmer and I raise a finger wanting to touch the reflection. As my fingers get closer they begin to burn hotter and hotter as of being burned by fire.
Touching the reflection my surroundings change. My bathroom walls turn into trees, the ground becomes hard and dusty as if I was sitting on a trail. The mirror in my hand begins to grow into a full length mirror. I look at myself as the reflection changed from my long white night gown into a red naked body matching the face that’s been staring at me from the golden mirror.
Scared I stumble back my heels hitting something hard. A rock maybe? I look down and see a tree root slowly grow. It wraps its roots around my ankle. Screaming I try to pull away but they get tighter and tighter. It was like quick sand. The more you struggle the faster you sink, but in this case the tighter the roots get.
Closing my eyes I try to relax. It seemed to be working. The roots loosen and just as I think I am about to escape the demon begins to move and crawl out of the mirror. It creeps towards me smiling a sinister smile and growling with each step. My reflection is gone and the root begins to tighten again.
As the demon begins to grab my arm and open its mouth revealing sharp black teeth a loud ear piercing scream echos. Suddenly I sit up in my own bed sweating. It was all a dream.
I enjoyed how you elaborated on this prompt, and built an entire dramatic scene from it. Well done for being so original and creative.
I liked the pace at the start. You introduced the problem and then spent a couple of paragraphs setting the scene and edging closer to the action.
I noticed a couple of grammatical errors lying around. So take extra care there, perhaps with one final read through before posting if you have time. Examples include “breathing heavy” - which should have been written as an adverb “breathing heavily”. And that same paragraph you use “seen” instead of “saw”
It felt like the scene where there was a lot of comparison between the mirrors dragged on a little too much. I loved the contrast but perhaps the feeling of confusion could have been done slightly differently.
Otherwise, fantastic piece! I look forward to seeing more of your writing :)
Thank you so much for your feedback! Grammar has never been a strong point for me so I always appreciate it when others let me know where I went wrong. Also thank you for letting me know I dragged on the mirror comparison for too long.
Thank you again for the feedback!
My pleasure :) I look forward to seeing more of your writing