Martell 2024

Mirror Reflections

Stephanie parked in front of the the large office building. Luckily, there had been a place to park. Her baby blue eyes paused for a moment to stare into the rear view mirror of her pretty Volvo before she took off her seatbelt. Lately, Stephanie has been obsessed with mirrors. It wasn’t a vain obsession; it was sort of a nervous obsession.

Something is not right. Stephanie’s lips pouted as she willed her attention away from the mirror to grab her purse and exit the red vehicle. She locked up her car made her way through the pretty walkway to the large glass doors. The elevator was to the left.

A lady got in with her, and questioned, “What floor?”

“Four, please.” Stephanie almost whispered, wondering if the woman would know that she was going to floor four to see Dr. Mars.

The door slid open on her floor, and she immediately found the room she needed to be at. In large letters on the front of the glass were the words, ‘Dr. Mars – Unique Cases, Psychiatric Association. Stephanie had never been to a psychiatrist before, but she was desperate. She had to find out what was going on with the mirrors. Someone must know! Maybe this Dr. Mars might have heard of this issue. He does unique cases, after all. Confidently grasping the door handle to pull it open, she went inside.

“Hello, I’m Stephanie Hark and I have a two o’clock appointment with Dr. Mars.”

“Yes, Miss Hark. Please fill out this paper.” The young woman with the excessive amount of earrings began, passing a brown clipboard over to Stephanie. “I know you already filled out the required papers on line, but I have just the one more for you.”

Stephanie took it, grabbed a pen from the nearby round pencil holder, and sat down. There's always one more paper!
That only took a second, since it was just a needed signature. Just as she turned in the paper, another door opened.

“Miss Hark?” A woman dressed in pretty doctor’s office scrubs called over.

“That’s me.” Stephaine looked at the gal, happy that they were taking her right away. She hates to sit in waiting rooms. She would especially hate waiting here. Who knows what the issue with some of these people? Stephanie followed her down a short hall and into another room. Stephanie looked around and saw that there were two pretty chairs facing each other.

“Please have a seat, and Dr. Mars will be right in. Can I get you anything? Coffee, water…”

Stephanie sat in one of the chairs. “No, thanks, I just had coffee on my drive over here.”

About a minute after the worker in the pretty scrubs left, the door opened again. A doctor, about in his forties, entered. “Hello Stephanie Hark!” he stopped to gently shake her hand as he took his seat. “I’m Dr. Brent Mars. What brings you in here today?”

Stephanie noticed that he had a charming British accent. She thought he would be comfortable enough to talk to, so she got right to the point. “Doctor, I’ve been having unusual trouble with mirrors, particularly with reflections. I don’t always see people’s reflections in the glass, so..” She paused briefly, “I don’t know, I think that maybe some people might be vampires. I heard that vampires don’t have reflections. I thought maybe you would know.”

Dr. Mars seemed to have a poker face. “Hmmm, so you never see reflections of people in mirrors?”

“No, it’s not like that. Sometimes I see them and sometimes I don’t. It could even be the same person. I’d look, and there would be no reflection, then I’d look again, and there it is! I can’t explain why. Maybe they can make their reflection appear whenever they want. I’m not a crazy person.” Stephanie regretted her words, hoping that wasn’t an offensive remark. “But I don’t know why this is happening.”

“When was the last time you had an eye examination appointment?”

“An eye examination appointment? You think this phenomenon has something to do with my eyes?”

“Before we continue any further, I would like to rule that out. How about you see Dr. Webster, he’s down the hall on this floor, and we’ll talk again after that. I’ll give him a call right now. Maybe he can see you now while you’re already here.”

“Okay.” Stephanie was worried. She didn’t consider the fact that there might be something wrong with her eyes. She’s only twenty-two. Can people have such bad eyesight at such a young age?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the doctor’s handsome British accent speaking again. She watched as he hung up the phone. “Good news, Stephanie. Doctor Webster said to come right over. He had been just now finished with his appointments for the day, but he said he would see you. Good timing.”

***

Stephanie exited the building wearing her brand-new contact lenses. She opted for the ones that made her baby blue eyes seem to dazzle with a more intense, brighter blue color. She stopped at the front of the building before she walked over to her car. Wow! Everything did seem so much clearer now that she could see better! She didn’t know what the doctor said was wrong with her eyes, but he advised that she wouldn’t have any problem seeing anymore, and the lenses she needed came in colors! How cool is that!

On the drive home, Stephanie felt more relaxed than she has in a very long time. I wish I would have thought of going to an eye doctor instead of a shrink! She glanced in the rear view mirror a few times, noting the reflections of people in the cars behind her. I think I’ll watch a long movie when I get home, while wearing my new contact lenses. It won’t be a vampire movie! Stephanie giggled to herself, her happy, blue-eyed face beaming.

Word Count - 994


Prompt: Write a story that involves a reflection in a mirror.