CHAPTER THREE

I tried to read for awhile, but I couldn't concentrate on the book. I kept thinking about Grandpa's story about Ali. I don't know why it peaked my curiosity so much, but it was all I could think about.

I decided to pick another book from the shelf and see if it could get my mind off of Ali Baba. I chose a book that I hadn't read before but the book slipped from my hands and fell to the floor. I was very clumsy. I turned to pick it up. When I stood up again I was facing the wardrobe, and the mirror. I was shocked to find that I wasn't the only person in the room. Some man I didn't know was staring at me in the mirror. I grabbed the first thing I could reach, which turned out to be an empty glass cola bottle and swerved to face the man.

"Whoever you are," I yelled, "You-." I cut myself off when I realized that there was no one behind me. I looked around the room, and there was no one around. "Maybe it was just my imagination…" I said to myself. But I could've sworn that I had seen a man in the mirror. I turned back to face the mirror and jumped when I saw that the man was still in it!

I looked behind me again, no man, looked in the mirror, there was a man. I was shaking so hard from fear that I just crumbled to the floor.

"Okay, look, I've seen all of those ghost movies," I said. "And…you can't be here for revenge because I haven't done anything. And I haven't seen any dead people all my life so I can't have like, the sixth sense or something. And don't even think about trying to tell me that I'm really the ghost and you're alive because I know people around me who have died so we have to be alive. Whatever you're going to do…please just leave my family alone." I had expected that the ghost would have attacked me by now, but I was still intact.

I got up slowly and looked back into the mirror. The man was still there. "Well, if you're not going to do anything…could you please just leave…you're really creeping me out."

"Sorry," said the man. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you to get your fear out of your system before I started talking to you."

"Oh, I'm still afraid," I said. I was terrified.

"Not as much as you were before," the man replied. "Look, I'm not a ghost, okay? I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

For some reason I instantly believed him. There was something in his voice that made me believe what he said. My fear began to subside, for the most part. I was somehow drawn to this strange guy in the mirror.

"Who are you, then?" I asked, more curious now than afraid.

"My name is Gene…and I need your help."

"With what?" I asked.

"I'm stuck here, in the mirrors I mean. I can't get out. I need you to help me get out." He seemed so desperate.

"How long have you been stuck in this mirror?" I asked.

"A few months," the man replied. "And not just this mirror, I've been traveling around lots of mirrors, jumping from one to the other. I've tried to get other people to help me, but they've all been too scared. You're the first one that I've actually gotten to talk to me."

"Okay…I'm going to sit down; I'm still a little shaky." I took a seat on the corner of the bed so that I would still be able to see him.

"Did I scare you that badly?"

I laughed nervously, "I almost wet myself."

The man laughed. I took a closer look at him and realized that he wasn't as old as I had first thought. In fact, he didn't look to be much older than I was.

"So, what are you?" I asked.

"Not human, if that's what you're asking. It's complicated. All I know is that I have to get out of these mirrors, and soon."

I nodded. "Okay…so how do I get you out?"

"It's going to take some…effort."

"Well, I'll do the best I can. But I can't promise you anything."

Suddenly I heard footsteps climbing the stairs to my room. A few seconds later, my mom appeared.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked.

I glanced at the mirror and saw that Gene had vanished. "No one," I replied. "Just myself."

"Well, I thought we could all go out to lunch in a little bit, so make sure you're ready."

I nodded and my mother left. I looked at the mirror again, but still no sign of Gene. "Maybe it was just my imagination," I said to myself. But my mind argued, or maybe you're going crazy. And still another part of my mind told me that it had all been real. The problem was, I didn't know which part of my mind to believe.

I went downstairs to meet the rest of my family to go out to lunch.