My peaceful night's rest was disturbed by a faint tapping. Reluctantly, I pried my eyes open, blinking rapidly, as I looked for the source. The room was still dark, just as I had left it; that couldn't be said about the rocking chair near my grandmother's antique mirror. It's home usually sat beside the mirror in front of the window, now it sits directly in front of it, facing it head-on.

As my heart raced, my mind desperately searched for a logical explanation for the sudden relocation. However, it was futile. The chair, which had been perfectly still, began to rock back and forth. This old chair, which usually creaked with every movement, was eerily silent. Even more unsettling, the mirror in front of it was shining as if illuminated by a spotlight.

No longer able to sit idle, I leaped out of bed and forced the chair to stop rocking. The light shining around the mirror wasn't blocked by my body, proving the light didn't originate from inside the room. As I begin to inspect the mirror, I hear the tapping again, this time louder. Suspecting it came from the ground-floor window beside my bed, I went to look. As I searched and searched, I couldn't find anything that could cause the strange tapping.

Then, as if taunting me, the tapping began and grew louder, until it became a full-on knock. There was no doubt where the sound was coming from now. I rush over to the mirror and stand in front of it. My reflection and I examine every inch of the mirror, searching for anything that could be the source of the chilling knock. Unable to find anything, I sit in the rocking chair behind me and let out an exhausted sigh. I rub my eyes and keep them closed for a moment while I wait for the noise to return.

Tap

Tap

Tap

I jolt and open my eyes. I stare at the mirror in front of me. As I make eye contact with my reflection, a burst of cold air washes over me. My reflection...is standing. As if it were 6 feet tall and I was a child, she towered above me with an oppressive smile, forcing me to stay put. The longer I gazed at her, the more her smile warped into something grotesque, stretching unnaturally until it seemed to reach the crown of her head. It was a chilling transformation, one that evoked the image of a monstrous entity wearing a disguise that was once familiar to me...my own skin.

Without warning, the creature disappeared along with the light emanating from the mirror. My body, able to move again, leaped from the rocking chair without hesitation. I reached up and touched the mirror only to find...nothing. No signs of manipulation or distortion. Just the same old mirror that sits in my room every day.

As I begin to convince myself that it was all in my head, that I was still asleep, a familiar sound echoed through the room.

Creeeeeek

Creeeeeek

Creeeeeek

My breath grows rigid as I stare at the mirror in front of me. The reflection shows the room behind me as I last remember it; however, this sound proves that it isn't as it was. I slowly turn, glancing around me with every micro-movement, until I am face-to-face with the empty rocking chair. My heart sinks and my fingers grow cold as I stare at the unmoving rocking chair. Before I could react, I felt a breath of hot air on my neck and a presence behind me.

"Let's switch. I'm done with this world. It's your turn, dear sister. It's your turn to live in this hell."

As I draw in a breath to unleash a scream, she clamps her hand over my mouth, silencing me. With a swift, almost eerie grace, she yanks me into the inky depths of the dark mirror.