Through the Mirror

by D C Tullis

“What’s so funny?” He insisted.

  “I didn’t tell you right away, but I think I broke the same banister,” I replied.

  My uncle shot me a look of confusion, laughter, irritation, and nostalgia all at once. It was an awfully strange look. It didn’t last though, as it quickly relaxed into just a grin.

  “See what I mean,” he declared. “Just please be careful. That’s all I’m asking for.”

  “Yes, mom,” I replied lightheartedly.

  “You can be such a little prick sometimes,” he retorted with the grin still locked to his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he perched the book that he had been reading upon the table next to him, turned off the reading lamp, and headed for the door. “Get some sleep,” he called back.

  I didn’t reply. I knew I likely wouldn’t.

  ✽✽✽

  I had spent a brief moment of the morning filling an ever excited Ellie in on the details of my discovery via video chat. She was so intrigued that she had almost made me late for work. Sometimes I realize I’m blessed to work at a coffee shop. I realized during the winter final exams of my junior year at John Mason High that I had the lucrative employee discount of free coffee. Better package than most high school gigs, I’d say.

  The rest of the morning was sluggish of course after I clocked into work, but my day brightened a bit when Ellie came knocking over from next door.

  “What can I get for you today, sir?” I teased.

  She groaned, “Even with four hours of sleep you don’t lose your humor. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Probably has something to do with the I.V. of coffee that’s hooked up to my veins,” I replied.

  “That would do it,” she said as she released a roaring yawn.

  “So, what can I get for you?” My question was rhetorical because she always ordered the same thing.

  “The usual,” she replied. “Except… add at least three or four shots of espresso - thanks.”

  “Coming right up,” I said.

  I commenced the usual grind before handing off the steaming ‘Cuppa Joe. Darn… I couldn’t help myself. Joe’s atrocious puns really are infectious.

  “So tell me again how you caused serious damage to your uncle’s mansion and found some ancient and super creepy room?”

  “I don’t really know where to start. You’ve already hyped it up too much,” I replied. “Anyway, Maxence had me cleaning up one of the old rooms and I kinda knocked through the wall and found it. It’s pretty cool I guess, but I’m still rather bewildered at why someone would seal up a mirror.”

  “I don’t know man, but some of the older townies around here are less than enthused with your uncle. They think he and the rest of the Marsh family are all total nutjobs. If he is… crazy… then it would fit the portfolio.”

  “You listening to the gossip of the crones in the town council again? They’re the real nutjobs,” I replied. “Garden beauty pageants, color coordinated jogging groups, blood drive bakesales twice a month, and absolute perfect church attendance. They’re so perfect that it’s damn near uncanny.”

  “I think that’s an issue with... like all small towns though. And after all, fifty plus years of lobster probably messes with your head a little bit.”

  She was right, the town always had been a little crazy with the lobster. Scratch that, really crazy about the lobster.

  “It just seems odd for Maxence to not know that there was a secret room in his house after he’s lived there for so long,” I said.

  “Maybe he does know and he’s just been hiding it from you. You never know. He’s always seemed to be kind of a secretive guy. You hardly ever even see him during the day time,” Ellie replied. “My aunt’s nothing like that.”

  “That’s kind of what I was thinking. It… I don’t know…”

  “What?” She asked me.

  “It almost felt like he was hiding something when I confronted him about it. His face didn’t seem to be lying, but there seemed to be a change in his tone.”

  “Maybe I’m right,” Ellie said.

  “Maybe you are,” I responded.

  It was then I realized there was a face peering through the glass of the side window of the shop. It was someone I had seen before, but didn’t really know. It was a relatively cute face too. Big designer sunglasses concealing her gaze. Pixie cut, I think. Draped entirely in an oversized red hoodie. Looked to be just a little bit younger than myself. What was really unnerving however, was that she seemed to be just staring at me. Absolute unflinching eye contact. I could be wrong as the sunglasses shielded her eyes, but it still sprung a bit of a chill on my neck.

  “Hey El, do you see little red riding hood over there?” I asked her as I pointed vaguely at the window. “Big sunglasses and a smooshed face? Right under the neon open sign?”

  Ellie turned briefly and cupped her hands around her eyes in an effort to block the sun from obstructing her gaze. She scanned for a moment before turning back to me with a puzzled glare.

  “No, J, I don’t see anyone. I’m pretty sure you’re just mental,” she replied.

  I turned again, and the face was gone.

  “What the hell? There was just someone over there,” I said.

  “Looks like you’re going to need more than an I.V. of coffee to keep you from going nuts,” she giggled.

  I rubbed my eyes furiously. Maybe I was going bonkers. Psychoanalyzing your drunk uncle probably wasn’t very normal. But what the hell anyway, where’s the gauge for normal? At least for me, I knew that I needed sleep. Of that I was certain.

  Ellie had been massaging the green superstraw along the rim of her coffee. Sometimes she didn’t just drink it. She would gently blow bubbles and watch the cream dance around the coffee.

  “Hey, J,” she asked. “You wanna hit the Ren’ tonight? They’re doing reruns of some of the coolest horror movies from the 80’s tonight starting at 4:30. Evil Dead 2 and The Thing are playing... and probably some other good ones from what I’ve heard.”

  “That actually sounds pretty nice,” I replied. “I’m down.”

  “Hell yeah,” she cheered before turning around to see if she had aroused any of the townsfolk from their newspapers. Luckily for her it had been quite a sluggish morning. The only other person in the shop was Mr. Moreau who might have been half asleep as he thumbed through the sports section of a newspaper.

  “I should probably get back to work though, so I’ll catch you later,” she declared. “Peace.”

  She briefly stopped by the divider glass to stick out her tongue at me in the typical Ellie fashion.

  ✽✽✽

  The rest of the workday was pretty much just a blur. It was slower than usual which allowed me to pull out my earphones at one point and just mellow out. I didn’t even see Joe till the end of my shift, which was unusual, but I guess he trusted me enough to give me free reign of the shop. The vicious tyrant of a small country known only as Jasonia-Piedmont.

  As it came time to clock out, I tossed my apron to Joe and gave him the salute. He was a true American hero, serving caffeine to the elderly and complacent of the world.

  I waited outside the backdoor of the coffee shop for about fifteen minutes before Ellie finally exited the bookstore.

  “Let’s go, dude, I’m not trying to miss the opening for Evil Dead 2. Bruce Campbell is the definition of a stud,” she teased.

  “Okay, okay,” I laughed as we headed for the bike rack.

  The air was fairly humid that night. It was a welcome change from the freezing ocean air. It could be odd for a foreigner to come down to Eastmouth and experience the air. Most places in the country would be quite confused when they experienced chilly air in the dead of summer, but such was life on the Eastern Seaboard.

  Ellie biked to work as well, something unheard of for seventeen year olds in the rest of the country. Neither of us owned a car, but considering how close everything was there never seemed to be a reason for one.

  We picked up the pace
and began our descent down to The Burns. We had a clear view of the soon to be setting sky laid out masterfully in front of us. It was one of the perks of an open air small town life.

  “Think we’ll make it in time?” She shouted back from a little further down the street.

  The wind caressed my hair as I replied, “Not if we keep up this pace.”

  She took that as her queue to speed up. Luckily for her, she hadn’t gained much momentum as just then out of a side street a black limousine rolled out in front of us.

  “Look out,” I tried to shout as I caught a glimpse of it momentarily before she did. The limousine locked its brakes and skidded to a halt.

  She just barely managed to slow down in time by squeezing hard on both hand brakes. Her bike skidded into the driver’s side door and I watched helplessly as her body was lifted over her handlebars and into the side of the vehicle.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her; immediately hopping off my bike to find out.

  “Fuck...,” she groaned. “Let’s never try that again.”

  I was relieved to find that the only injury she had sustained was a slight cut just above her nose. The bike had sustained most of the impact. Both of her side mirrors lay shattered on the pavement below, and a touch of the limousine’s paint now resided on her front tire. I was now angry as hell. The driver could have killed her.

  I tapped on the tinted glass windows of the limo. This was actually quite strange. No one in Eastmouth had a limo. Hell, not even Maxence had a limo, and he might as well have had a pool of money.

  After nearly a minute of exchanging glances with Ellie, the driver side window rolled down revealing an elderly gentlemen wearing sunglasses and dressed as if he was coming back from a funeral. His outfit was black all of the way down. His face was gentle, but there seemed to be an uneasy sense about his presence. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but he seemed to generate an aura of aggression despite his face.

  “It would be wise in the future to observe where you’re going,” he said.

  “How about you don’t drive like a goddamn maniac,” I replied. “You could’ve killed us.”

  The man tapped his fingers on the steering wheel methodically as if he was urgent to get somewhere.

  “My passenger doesn’t have time for your childish nonsense, so neither do I,” he declared.

  I caught a brief glimpse of his passenger through the rear-view mirror and immediately wished I hadn’t. Striking green eyes pierced through the mirror and drove daggers into mine. His face was cold. It was simple. Neither attractive, or not. His jawline looked chiseled from stone, and his cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut. I had seen just enough T.V. to know he was a spook. Government through and through.

  “If you don’t mind, I will be leaving,” said the driver as he rolled up his window. The limo was gone momentarily.

  “What the hell was that about?” Ellie asked me.

  “I don’t know, but I got a very bad vibe from the man in the back,” I responded.

  This was true, but it also raised another question. What the hell was a man like that doing in Eastmouth? I rubbed my eyes before returning my gaze to Ellie.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again.

  “Yeah,” she replied. “Although the handlebars hit me in the gut and the side of my face hit the window. I’m just a little bit shaken up. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to being run over before.”

  I didn’t really know how to reply after a comment like that so we just stood there in silence for a bit; in the middle of the road.

  After she had a few moments to recover, she checked her watch.

  “Well that’s perfect,” she declared as she she showed me her watch. It was now 4:45.

  “C’mon,” I responded. “It’s not like the movie is already over. We still have time.”

  “Yeah I suppose,” she said. “Let’s go, but just… not quite so fast this time.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I replied.

  ✽✽✽

  The aging theater was more crowded than I thought it would be. I observed at least eight other kids from our class there, mostly couples. I spied Brett Worchuck making out with Brenda Cohms, one of the cheerleaders. Brett was the quarterback of John Mason High’s only sports team, and King Asshole. He was running a double date with someone who might’ve been Cody Durand. Cody played left offensive tackle I think. I hadn’t kept up with his high school ventures, so I wasn’t certain. Strange to see them together because Cody was actually a really friendly guy. We’d been good buddies for most of middle school. As for the other kids in the theater, I didn’t really talk to any of them. I’m not as much of a people person as Ellie. She might have known a few more though.

  We found a nice set of relatively clean seats and sat down just in time to watch Ash cut off his own hand. I had always liked good horror movies, but that was nothing to Ellie. The entire time we were there she was absolutely ecstatic. Whole edge of her seat and all. She didn’t even want to leave for popcorn, so we went without. We stayed there for both Evil Dead 2 and The Thing before I began to get tired and suggested we head out. My coffee supply had long dwindled, and I craved nothing more than my bed right then. At first, she got a little irritated by the idea of leaving until an usher announced that the next film they intended to play was Troll. She made a disgusted face, grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards the door. I never quite got a full answer for why she didn’t want to see a movie about a mythical troll in an apartment complex, but she sort of grunted something about ‘no vision’ and ‘sometimes so bad doesn’t make it good.’

  We had exited the theater before we were forced with another decision. What to do, on a humid summer night. The light had finally extinguished from the burning sky, yet it was not late enough that stores were closing down. It was then that I figured it all out. Well, really, I didn’t figure anything out. And I wasn’t even sure it was a great idea, but Ellie insisted we should go visit my Uncle’s shop. It was directly across the street after all, so I figured it couldn’t be any worse of a way to kill time.

  When we finally crossed the street and entered the store, we were greeted by a friendly face and the sound of a small jewellers torch in the background.

  “What’s up, Ernie?” I asked.

  “Nothing much. Then again, when is that answer any different,” he replied. “Ooh, but I do have something cool to show you guys.” He swiveled his computer monitor around. “Look right here.”

  “It’s a... very pixelated game,” said Ellie as she scratched her head.

  “Well… you’re not wrong,” he replied with a smirk. “But it’s not any game, dude. It’s Ultima 4. It’s an absolutely legendary RPG.”

  Ellie and I shared confused glances.

  “And even cooler, I got sick of all the shitty emulators out there, so I built my own to run it. That’s the real accomplishment.”

  “That’s cool I guess...,” I said. “Now this might sound like a stupid question, but what is an emulator?”

  He gave me a boggled look.

  “How are you even related to Maxence?”

  “Blood,” I replied.

  “Who’d have figured,” he chuckled. “It’s a program which can convince an old or foreign game that it’s running on its native hardware. So you can basically play old games on modern systems.”

  “That’s pretty cool actually,” replied Ellie.

  “I know,” said Ernie. He was quite literally quivering with excitement

  “So where’s my uncle right now?” I asked him.

  “He’s in the back. Tweaking with a pet project or something.”

  “Cool,” I said as I made my way for the door to his lab.

  Ernie immediately rose up from his chair to block off the door. He wasn’t a particularly muscular guy, but he was definitely tall.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t let you do that man,” he stated.

  “Why not?” I asked him.

&n
bsp; “Your uncle was extremely specific in not letting anyone in, dude. He won’t even let me in anymore. I don’t know exactly what he’s doing, but it sounded really important.”

  This was kind of annoying. I considered just shoving him out of the way for a moment before Ellie interjected.

  “C’mon J, let’s just get out of here. It’s fine.”

  I turned for a second to look at her, still undecided.

  “Whatever,” I grumbled as we headed for the door. I was almost out of the shop before Ernie called for me.

  “Hey, hey Jason,” he shouted.

  I turned around and saw him back in his black desk chair.

  “Maxence told me to tell you, if you showed up that is, which you did…”

  “You can get to the point now,” I cut in, already wanting to be far away from the shop.

  “Yeah, he says it’s your father’s birthday, so you should really visit him at Tharkham. He’d appreciate the company, I’d imagine,” Ernie finished.

  I shuddered a little bit and then realized what had just happened. Ernie had done it. He’d named it in front of Ellie. Something I had successfully hidden from her for nearly two years. It had been a stupid lie, but I had claimed that he’d gone off to stay with his cousin downstate.

  “Wait... what?” Ellie mumbled under her breath.

  I turned to her slowly before speaking, “I’ve kind of got something to tell you that I’ve managed to keep secret from a fair number of people.”

  Her face was completely stunned. I turned around to give Ernie the stink eye and then shoved out of the building. We began to walk, but then she stopped me about ten feet past the door of the shop.

  She put her hand on my shoulder before asking, “What haven’t you been telling me, J?”

  I massaged at my eyebrows for a bit before returning her gaze. “It’s an awkward and unpleasant story…,” I finally said. “And you know most of it anyway...”

  “Just tell me the whole thing, man. You know I’ve got your back. I’m not gonna judge you or anything,” she replied.

  I leaned against the brick wall of Noodle Time and slumped over.