Teatime came and went, but she didnât return. Abbey was hungry. And cold.
She tried to read, but the writing in her books was backwards.
Finally, the door opened. Bee must be coming back!
But it wasnât Bee. It was Pearse. If he saw her, everything would be ruined!
She tried to hide, but it was too late! Pearse walked up to the mirror and looked right at her. She froze.
But he did what he always did when he looked in any mirror. He raised his arms and started flexing his muscles. He couldnât see her! He was looking at his own reflection!
Abbey giggled and stuck her tongue out at him from behind the glass.
Abbeyâs mother called Pearse. He jumped and ran out the door, shutting it behind him.
How strangeâno one could see her in the mirror. It was like she was invisible. Abbey thought it was kind of cool, but it also worried her.
No one knew she was here.
And where on earth was Bee?
But Bee still didnât come, and it was way past teatime. Abbey tried the door a few more times. Nothing. And she was cold. So she climbed into bed and waited.
Eventually she dozed off.
She woke to a bang. It was dark outside and dark in the room. She tried the lamp, but it wouldnât turn on.
She peered through the mirror in the dark and made out the shape of someone at the door. âBee,â she whispered. Abbey was really frightened.
But Bee didnât answer her.
Bee ignored her. Then she put on a nightdressâAbbeyâs favorite blue nightdressâand got into bed.
âBee!â Abbey was screaming now. âLook at me! Look at me!â
But Bee was asleepâor maybe she was pretending to be asleep.
Abbey shouted and screamed. In the dark. In the cold.
She slumped to the floor, exhausted.
Suddenly the lights were blazing. And there was Bee, staring through the mirror.
Abbey leaped to her feet.
âOh, Bee, I was so frightened.â
âWhy, Abbey? Whatâs wrong?â
âItâs cold in here and everythingâs backwards,â she said in a rush, âand you told me about glass buildings and glass people and everything, but outside it looks the same, and I canât even open the door to go outside.â
âOf course you canât open the door. The mirror world can only reflect your world. My world is only a reflection. Thereâs nothing else.â
Abbey looked at Bee in horror. âBut what about the houses and cities and parks made of glass?â
âDonât be stupid, Abs, thatâs not real. Itâs make-believe. And you love make-believe, donât you?â
Abbey felt suddenly cold, even colder than she had felt lying on the floor.
âSo let me out,â she said. âLetâs swap back.â
Bee laughed at her. âI donât think so, Abs.â
âWhy?â
She smiled the most evil smile you could imagine. âItâs my turn to be Abbey now.â
With that, she walked back to bed and climbed in.
When she leaned over to switch off the light, she was still smiling.
Then all was black.
Now, itâs probably just a story. At least I hope it is.
The older kids probably made it up to scare us.
The only thing is ... I saw Abbey in the bathroom one day. And Iâm sure that when she passed the mirrors, I couldnât see her reflection.
I really want to scream after that.
I want to scream and scream and scream to drown out the sounds of Abbey screaming, but I know she will just go on screaming in my head and I will never, ever, EVER sleep again.
Unless someone else tells me another story to take my mind off it ...
K. R. Caverly
Noelle Adams
Barbara Chase-Riboud
Marcie Bridges
Anne O'Brien
Tina Leonard
Ray Garton
Dixie Lee Brown
Kelly Favor
Michel Faber