When he got ready that
morning, everything seemed normal. He brushed his teeth, shaved, fixed his
hair, got dressed, and headed out to the office. While in the bathroom, he
noticed something behind him. It seemed strange, because he didn't remember
putting it there. It was a jack-o'-lantern. Where did that come from? Had it
been there the day before? He got drunk with Fred on Friday night, so maybe it
had been there since then. The clock chimed in the living room. He turned off
the light in the bathroom, and for a split second, he saw something strange in
the mirror. It was unclear what it had been — an undecipherable shadow behind
him. Turning the light back on, he quickly examined the bathroom, looked in the
mirror, and decided whatever it had been wasn't worth being late over.
When four-o'clock
finally arrived, he was mentally exhausted. Today had been a day filled with
customer complaints. If he heard one more person bitch about their warranty, he
was going to shoot somebody.
He drove home, took off
his shoes and shirt, and went to the restroom to take a piss. While washing his
hands and looking down, he saw something in the mirror once more in his
peripheral vision. It was no longer a shadow. This time, it was something huge,
slimy… monstrous. He snapped his head up and looked in the mirror. It was only
his reflection. Something was missing, though. He looked on the windowsill. The
pumpkin was still there. Looking in the mirror once more, there was no pumpkin.
He looked at himself once more, and the reflection winked.
"What the
hell?" he shouted out, jumping backwards. He ran from the bathroom and
shut the door. After a few minutes he went back in and stared into the mirror.
It was all there — the pumpkin reflection, his own reflection staring back at
him. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He went to the living room and turned on
the television. Sitcom reruns played, so he lay back on the couch and fell
asleep.
When he awoke, it was
past six. He went to use the restroom and looked in the mirror. The pumpkin was
there, and everything seemed normal. He turned to look at the pumpkin behind
him, and it was gone. Looking back in the mirror, he saw the pumpkin. His own
reflection turned and walked out of the bathroom, leaving him alone, staring at
a blank mirror with no reflection. The lights flickered, and he saw the
creature standing behind him. He closed his eyes, waited a moment for this
imaginary thing to disappear. When he opened them, the creature still stood
there. He turned around to face what was behind him, and the lights went out.
Go
to October
10th
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