The cluster of pigeons were firmly stuck in the mirror; tapping away at the barrier.

Half drowsy with sleep I pinched the bridge of my nose and sigh.

The birds were somewhat panicked, and it took some effort to relax the spell enough to release them.

They fluttered out of the frame, leaving a scattering of grey feathers and indigo goo. It slowly slimed across the floor even though behind me there was nothing there at all.

Magic mirrors were difficult to maintain, a complex layer of spells that seemed to destabilise every time the Other Side moved.

It did that often, things suddenly disappearing or appearing where they weren’t meant to be.

I’d made it during college, one of those projects that sat in the corner and reminded me that I could have done it better.

I could’ve used the right spell so that it didn’t connect to the Other Side at all, or used the right elf bones in the frame so that sometimes things from the Other Side didn’t seep through the glass and onto the carpet.