Mirror in the Forest: Book One

by B. Groves

  He frowned, wondering what that was all about.

  He watched as Jessica and her friend left the department store, and loaded their school stuff into the car, and drove off. He noticed that Jessica was in a hurry to get out of there.

  She must have thought she was in trouble with him. He didn’t like the lie, but no, she wasn’t in trouble.

  He sat there for a few more minutes, and wondered if he should check out the area to see what she had witnessed that day.

  Then he began to think he was overreacting. There had been no reports of any other fires since. He wondered if he was just bored again, and trying to justify something that wasn’t there. Or maybe it just gave him an excuse to talk to her again.

  He didn’t know, but something in his gut told him that he should keep his eyes peeled.

  Chapter 6

  Jessica’s senior year started pretty smoothly enough. She was happy with the classes she had chosen for the year. Both she and Tessa shared three advanced classes, so she was excited about that. She got a corner locker in the hallway, so everything seemed to be going her way.

  She noticed that Mandy Cooper kept eyeing her, but only said hi when she passed her. She still did not trust her, and her friends, but she tried to be friendly despite the past that Jessica was unlikely to forget.

  Jessica now sat in the study hall with her other friend, Alex Hoffman.

  Alex was gay, and could not bring himself to come out to his parents. His father had been a big military sergeant who fought in Vietnam and knew his parents would disown him if he told them. He just went along with them until he got out of high school to do what he wanted to do with his life. He was also a misfit in school. He had been bullied for years over his sexuality, even though he excelled at sports. Academics? Well, not so much. Without Jessica and Tessa’s help, he would still be trying to get through his freshman year.

  “Boy George is so hot,” he commented in the study hall.

  Jessica made a face and said, “Not my type.”

  “Of course not silly,” he said laughing.

  Jessica chuckled, and went back to her homework for a minute, and then looked up at Alex again.

  “Do you want to graduate or what?” She asked.

  Alex set down the magazine and eyed her in annoyance.

  “We have a whole year; relax for once,” he answered, taking out a comb, and teasing his hair a little.

  Jessica shrugged. “Okay, it’s your life.”

  Alex rolled his eyes, and then turned back to ogle Boy George. He was tall and gangly. He had medium length brown hair, and bright blue eyes. Even though he was excellent in sports like basketball and track, he said he just played to keep up the façade to his parents. He reasoned they wouldn’t suspect his real sexual orientation that way.

  “You know Mandy Cooper is having her big homecoming party in two weeks,” he commented, not looking up again.

  “I know, and she invited us,” Jessica answered.

  Alex looked up in surprise. “She did? I mean……I…..”

  Jessica cocked her head at him insulted. “Yes, she did. Why?”

  “Oh…well….good. Did you accept?” He asked curiously.

  “Tessa did that for both of us,” Jessica said, sighing.

  Alex smiled. “Good for her.”

  Jessica looked at him and made a face. “Yeah…..good for her.”

  Alex finally dropped the magazine in frustration. “Come on, Jess. It’ll do you a lot of good to get away from the books for a while.”

  “I guess so,” she said quietly.

  “You are the most uptight person I’ve ever met,” he said to her, incredulous at her attitude towards the party.

  “Are you going?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “Of course. All the hottie jocks will be there,” he said with a wink.

  Jessica chuckled, and thought for a moment. Alex being there made her feel a bit better about going to the party.

  Jessica suddenly looked up and spotted Danny Davenport come into the library. He had been her crush since freshman year, but they only exchanged “hello” once in a while.

  He was just so handsome, and she often thought about him. She knew she was a senior now and getting too old for these little girl crushes, but she always went back to him.

  He was tall and built with a five o’clock shadow today. His black hair was a little longer, and he wore his usual varsity baseball jacket. He was the star pitcher for their team, and had won many awards.

  Jessica hated sports, but would make an exception for baseball because of him.

  He caught her eye and smiled slightly at her making Jessica clear her throat and turn away quickly.

  Alex hadn’t noticed her staring at Danny, and stood gathering his books. “I have class, but jeez have a little fun. Maybe your parents are right.”

  Jessica tried not to make herself so obvious when she stared at Danny. She tried to turn away, and thought about what Alex said to her. He was right, and she knew it, even though she wanted to be stubborn and deny it.

  The rest of the day went quietly, and Jessica got into her mother’s car, and drove home, but not before saying goodbye to Tessa.

  Jessica went home, and decided now was as good of a time as any to tell her mom about her plans.

  “Hi Mom,” she said.

  Her mom looked up and smiled. “Hi sweetie. How was school?”

  Jessica put her book bag down on the table, and said, “The same, a ton of homework. What are you doing?”

  “One of the other nurses is out sick, so they asked me to come in. I am getting dinner ready for you and your dad early tonight. I will leave it in the oven for you,” she said turning another burner on.

  “Okay. When is Dad supposed to go to Spokane?” Jessica asked, sifting through the bag for her notebook.

  “I think he said another week,” her mom answered.

  Jessica grabbed a can of Coke from the refrigerator, and said, “I thought I would tell you some good news.”

  “What’s that sweetie?” Her mom asked, only half-interested.

  “Mandy Cooper invited Tessa and me to her big homecoming party. I said yes, but wanted permission first,” Jessica finally said, waiting for her mother’s reaction.

  Jessica thought her mom was going to faint on the spot, her cooking completely forgotten for a moment.

  She then turned slowly to her daughter and smiled so wide that Jessica thought her face would explode from glee.

  Then she cried out, and came over to hug her daughter tightly.

  “Oh my God, I never thought I would hear that from you. I am so glad you decided to change your mind,” she said excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

  Jessica hugged her mother back, and said, “So, is that a yes?”

  Her mom pulled away and smiled at her. “Of course you can go! So, I guess I have to give the parent lecture now, huh?”

  Jessica laughed and said, “I promise I’ll be careful.”

  Her mother suddenly became serious. “Please do. I trust you, but I know Mandy Cooper’s parents, and they have a lot of money and that means that Mandy has access to things I definitely don’t want you to get into.”

  “Mom, I think I’m past that point, but I will be careful,” Jessica reassured her.

  Mary put her hand on her daughter’s cheek. “I know you will, but do one thing for me.”

  “What?”

  “Have a great time,” she answered still smiling.

  Mary left not long after, and Jessica finished her homework pretty quickly so she sat and watched TV waiting for her dad to get home from work.

  Jessica found she was bored, and since it was getting darker earlier, she thought she would take a quick walk into the woods just to clear her head.

  She had to admit that she wondered if her magical mirror was still there. Curiosity was winning out on common sense, as Jessica became more restless.

  She put on some jeans and sneakers, and a sweater s
ince it was getting cooler, and walked out to the back yard.

  She made her way down the path, and enjoyed the scenery that she had practically memorized over the years.

  She walked around the lake and listened for the usual nature sounds. The smells and the sounds of nature were just amazing to her no matter what the weather.

  She always said she wanted to study Botany in college. She just loved everything about plants in general.

  She did have an allergy to animals, hence no dogs or cats, but that didn’t stop her from still being an animal lover.

  Jessica found the secluded trail and made her way down it to see if the mirror was still there.

  She approached cautiously, and moved the thick brush over. She almost gasped as she spotted it sitting quietly on the same tree where she left it weeks ago.

  She almost tiptoed towards the mirror, and then the flash of light surrounded her making her almost jump out of her sneakers. Her mouth gaped open as the figure began to form in front of the mirror.

  When his face formed he smiled at her. “Good Evening Jessica Winters.”

  “Hello,” she said doubtfully.

  He cocked his head at her. “I had a feeling you would come back.”

  Jessica scoffed a little. “I just wanted to see if you were still here.”

  “I will always be here for as long as you need me,” he said smoothly.

  Jessica looked around to see if she was still imagining it all, but there he was.

  “No. I am doing good, but I thought I would say hi,” she said.

  The Spirit’s voice was so smooth it was almost hypnotic.

  He laughed slightly, making Jessica shiver from the sound.

  “I think it’s more than that, Jessica.”

  Jessica shrugged a little. “I don’t know why I’m here. I guess I just wanted to know if you were real. What are you anyway?” She asked.

  The mirrored figure walked around for a moment in thought on Jessica’s question. She thought at first he wasn’t going to answer at all, but then after a few moments he smiled down to her.

  “Within our souls lies many things that make us who we are, and within the depth there is always the one emotion that overpowers the other as with good and evil. I am between all of that within you. I am here for you to realize your desires, your wishes, and your dreams,” he explained. “Humans are very complex creatures. I am here to make a special human realize what they can accomplish in the life they live, and make the most of the time they are given.”

  “You said that the last time, but what exactly are you?” Jessica asked again. “The mirror is carved with biblical references of angels and demons. So, which one are you?

  The Spirit figure turned and looked at the mirror for a moment.

  “I am not any of those. I am a spirit who is here to guide you,” he answered. “The mirror is my gateway to help you.”

  “Are you here to turn a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage for me?” Jessica asked raising an eyebrow.

  She didn’t think the mirror spirit would get her joke, but he did and laughed.

  “I am not a fairy godmother, dear Jessica. If you want my help there will be a price,” he explained.

  Jessica’s face dropped at what he told her. A price? Money? A car? A price for helping her? What kind of spirit was he that he needed material things?

  As if he was reading her mind the spirit explained, “If you want a gift from me, then you must exchange with a gift for me.”

  Jessica narrowed her eyes while fingering her hair. “In other words, if I want my hair done,” she said, holding up a lock of her hair. “I have to give you a gift, and you can fix it for me?”

  The spirit smiled even wider. “You are truly a special girl, Jessica. Very intelligent and observant.”

  Jessica looked down on the ground for a moment in disappointment.

  “Well, I guess I’m out of luck then,” she said, getting ready to leave.

  The spirit looked at her in confusion. “Why do you say that Jessica?”

  “I don’t have any money. All of I have is a small trust fund my grandparents are leaving for me, and the rest I have for school next winter,” she said. “And, I am not spending that. My parents give me an allowance when I’m not working a summer job, but that is pennies.”

  The spirit looked at her clearly amused. “Do you think that I would need monetary compensation? I have no use for human currency.”

  Jessica was taken aback. She couldn’t think of anything else that the spirit would need from her.

  Seeing her confusion the spirit explained further.

  “You mentioned that you would like to fix your hair. I would be pleased to do that for you. However, if you want to make further changes then the gifts will get larger, and more of a challenge to obtain.”

  Jessica twisted her hair around her finger. She always wanted it smoother, easily manageable, and a little lighter. Her mother always told Jessica she could start getting it colored anytime, so now Jessica had an opportunity without using any kind of chemicals that could make her frizzy hair worse.

  “So, if you give me the hair I want, what would I have to give you?” She asked.

  She couldn’t help herself, she knew deep down that she was interested in this spirits’ offers, but still had her doubts. She was fighting an inner battle to just run away and never come back here again or to improve her looks, and maybe other things.

  Things like her social life that her parents had always wanted for her.

  The spirit smiled at her. “All I want from you is a single red rose.”

  Jessica was taken aback by his answer. Was he pulling her leg?

  “A rose?” She asked, doubtfully.

  “A single red rose,” he answered.

  “Just a red rose?” She asked again, still trying to believe what she understood from the spirit.

  The spirit nodded. “That is all. A single red rose. Can you find one for me Jessica?”

  She considered the offer for a moment, and knew she could easily get one from a florist or the grocery store.

  “A single red rose?” Jessica couldn’t help it. She still could not trust what she was hearing. Usually if an offer like this was too good to be true, it usually was. Even though, she thought, she was talking to a ghost of sorts.

  “That’s all,” the spirit said patiently.

  “I give you the rose, and you give me better hair.”

  “Yes.”

  He was so patient with her questions, and Jessica appreciated that. He did not show any signs of annoyance or aggravation towards her. He just answered her constant questions, and waited as the information he provided beginning to process in her brain.

  “Just one thing Jessica before you bring me the rose,” the spirit said.

  “What?”

  “If you decide to make these changes they must be subtle. We would not want to put a shock on friends and family would we?”

  Jessica hadn’t thought of that, but she could easily explain away her hair to anyone. He was right, and knew if she was going to do this, then it had to be small.

  “I agree,” she answered with an affirming nod.

  The spirit smiled at her again, and said, “Then bring me the rose, and we will make the change you need from there.”

  Chapter 7

  The next night Sheriff Mark McKenzie sat with his deputies for their weekly meeting of the happenings around the town and the county.

  He almost laughed as Marge sat there taking notes, but knew she was eager to go home. She despised the meetings being later in the day.

  Mark had three other deputies who were old enough to be his fathers.

  The first one was Paul Smith, who was also the part time dispatcher. A nervous man who had five kids and a huge wife who Mark always thought was an abuser, but Paul never talked about it, and worked a lot to get away from her.

  The second was William “Bill” Brown, the oldest of the group, and a black man who had been a de
puty here for almost forty years despite racial tensions in the town at one time.

  The recent widower who lost his wife after a heart attack, and was still not himself. He probably would never fully recover, and began talking about retiring to spend more time with his grandkids. He worked a lot so he wouldn’t have to spend time alone at home.