Reflection

“Dear Diary,

I always wanted a long family vacation and I finally got one! Today during dinner, we planned for a trip. My husband started packing right away, my in-laws started booking hotels. They wanted to surprise me! I am looking forward to this holiday.”

I finished my diary and ate my sleeping tablets. “It will be fun,” I thought. The next morning all of us got into the car and started driving away. I don’t like long car journeys so I carried my sleeping tablets with me. I woke up in an amazing hut on the outskirts of a village.

 I went out to get a view.

 “We are here! The place where you wanted to be with your family.” said my mother–in–law.

“Yes mama”, I answered.

 “Great now come and have food, you have slept a lot”

She smiled and went away I followed her. After lunch, I went for a walk with my husband near the fields. Just then I remembered that my father in law was not there. I asked.

“He had some important work, so he could not come, but he asked us to carry on” answered my husband.

“Great”, I replied in a huff and we carried on.

I saw a young woman in a yellow sari, staring at me. I looked at her. Her eyes widened and she ran.

 I went back to the house after completing my walk. It was nighttime now. We were going to sleep after having food when I saw the yellow dress lady outside my house again. She was holding a teddy bear in her hand. She was smiling while chewing on a betel leaf. She got out a knife from the folds of her sari and tugged on the button-eye of the bear. The threads snapped and the button came loose dangling for the socket with only one thread to hold it in place. I stood still. Next, she slowly tore open the teddy’s stomach and smiled as the cotton fell down on the road. My mother-in-law walked into the room smiling.

“Mama, do you see that lady in a yellow sari?” I asked.

She looked up and her expression turned to stone, “no I don’t. You are tired just go to sleep!” and she turned away. Surprised by her outrage, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“Mama, where is the mirror?” I asked. She laughed and cursed my husband, “I guess that was the only thing I forgot to bring” and went away. I went to close the doors and windows and found the lady on her knees and crying. Her hands were clasped in front of her, begging me to come out. I started going out of the house, “where are you going?” asked my husband.

“One minute”, I replied and went out of the gates. I stopped in front of her and she smiled. She gave me a small mirror and said, “You can only see one person at a time” and she left.

I put the mirror in my pocket and came home. My husband was getting ready for bed. “There is something in your hair” I pointed. He laughed and asked me to stop my prank. I took out the mirror and turned it towards him. I saw no reflection. My heart turned cold. I ran. I turned back to see his arm broken and with one eye in his hand.

“Mama……Mama”, I ran screaming. She came running towards me and hug me in an attempt to calm me down. “Mama…. Mama… Ram is……. Is…..” and I broke out crying. “Ram is what?” she asked bewildered. “His reflection was not there in the mirror mama,” I said crying. “What mirror?” she asked and I turned it towards her. All I saw was a white wall.

I looked up at her. Her head was dangling by one nerve. I ran out of the house crying. I turned back to see a graveyard instead of my house.

I ran lost amongst the trees and came out in a clearing. I remembered the yellow dress lady and I heard a rustle amongst the trees. The same injured teddy bear was thrown at me from somewhere. Surprised I stared at the teddy’s stomach scar. Dreading the thought in my head I raised my shirt to find a big scar on my stomach. I fell on my knees. The more I looked at the bear the more scared I felt. “The bear does not have an eye does that mean……..” I thought.

I raised the mirror to see myself, all I saw was the black starry sky.