Mirror in the Forest: Book One (2 page)

After her mother practically hit the ceiling about being late to work she gave her father another “congratulations” kiss, and was off to work for the night.

Don grabbed his usual beer from the refrigerator while Jessica did the dishes, and cleaned up the kitchen. Her father was asleep in his recliner, with the TV blaring, before Jessica even finished her chores.

Taking advantage of her father immediately falling asleep after dinner, Jessica headed up to her room, grabbed her book, and decided to go for a walk into the forest.

The neighborhood had a thick forest behind their house, and a path that led to a little known lake, and just beyond that lake was an old ski resort that had closed down years ago when Mt. St. Helens blew it’s top, covering the whole area in ash. Jessica remembered they had to leave town for weeks until the ash cleared up. They came out to a mess, and almost had to gut the house to have everything fixed.

Jessica had never known the lake’s name on the path, and she preferred it that way. To her, it held a certain mystique without a name, while her parents said they never recalled the name either.

It was still sunny in Washington State, and they would have another month before the damp and dreary weather came back. Another reason Jessica wanted to get out of there. She was sick of the constant drizzle that fell over the town from October to June.

The sun was still shining high in the sky so she knew she had plenty of time before dark.

Slipping out of the back screen door, she walked across the freshly mowed yard, with the smell of grass clinging in her nostrils. She loved the smell of the grass; however, she loved the smells of the forest even more.

The forest was still lush and green. It may have rained a lot in Washington State, but the beauty was unmatched anywhere her family had ever been.

She knew this path like the back of her hand, and learned to track animal tracks in case a bear made an appearance. The most she had ever seen was an occasional squirrel, deer, or some other small animals. She loved listening to the birds sing inside of the forest, making the area even more magical. To her it was an enchanted world untouched by the hardships of real life.

She knew she could pinpoint every piece of moss that grew on every tree along the path, and every fern that would pop up somewhere alongside the frequently used pathway that ran deep into the forest.

She admired the beauty of the different hues of green and brown around her when she reached the lake. It was hot and humid, and Jessica already worked up a sweat by the time she got there with her jeans and T-shirt already clinging to her skin.

The lake was still with no breeze and reflected the clear blue sky. Jessica looked around to find her favorite spot that she and Tessa liked to sit for hours and talk.

Jessica’s best friend since kindergarten, Tessa Mallory, short for Contessa, was babysitting her little brothers, so she was unavailable for the night.

Jessica sat down on the rickety old wooden bench the girls would usually hang out on, talking about school, life, among other things, and got comfortable.

She kicked off her sneakers and socks, and dug her feet into the wet ground, not minding a little mud getting in between her toes.

She loved it out here.

No pressure from school, no pressure from teachers, and especially no pressure from her parents.

Her butt was getting wet from the damp wood, but she didn’t care, even though her mother would complain about removing stains from her clothes all the time.

She would miss this the most when she went to school in New York City. She wondered what it was like to live in a big city like New York, and began to wonder if she could adapt to going from a natural to jungle to a concrete one.

Jessica sat there pondering life in a big, and then trying to concentrate on her book, but it wasn’t working.

She had the sudden thought that maybe she should give her parents what they wanted from her this year. She sat up straight wondering where that thought came from. Never before had she ever thought of giving into her parents wishes, and didn’t want to start now, because she had better things to do.

Jessica shook in her head while the thoughts continued to plague her mind. Maybe she should be less cynical and more open to social circles. It was her last year in high school; maybe she should try to enjoy it like her mother insisted.

Maybe she should try to go to most of the school socials before she left for college to make both of her parents happy.

However, Jessica knew deep down that wouldn’t happen, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself.

She wasn’t the popular girl. She was a bit curvy for her age. She had been teased relentlessly because of her shape for years.

Her eyes were not the usual blue, because most people who lived here were from California, and they brought their looks with them, and passed them onto their offspring.

She had clear skin, but a knobby nose. At least, she thought her nose was knobby.

Her hair was always frizzy, thick, and would poof out when the weather changed. She was always frustrated because she could never control it.

Most of the time, Jessica kept her hair in a ponytail to keep it under control. It was just easier that way.  

She was awkward socially. Jessica had never been one to easily make friends. She had been teased by a group of girls most of her life, and anytime she could keep out of their line of sight she would, so it had turned her into something of a loner when Tessa wasn’t around.  

Coming out of her thoughts Jessica looked up and realized it was getting dark outside. The sun wasn’t even shining through the trees anymore.  

Jessica wiped off her feet the best she could and put on her socks and her sneakers. She stood up and went to grab her book when the loudest bang suddenly rocked the world around her, almost made her fall to the ground.

She cried out in shock from the noise, looking around frantically trying to find the source of the bang.

They hadn’t had an earthquake here in years, but Jessica knew it wasn’t that. Her instincts told her there had just been an explosion in the area. An explosion? Mining had stopped here years ago, when the mines were sealed off from the public, and curious kids.

Finally, she looked up and to her left surprised to see smoke billowing towards the sky on the other side of the lake.

She knew that area and it was even more secluded than where she was now. The area was mostly used as dumping grounds for junk, and hunters when the seasons changed.

Looking around, she wondered what her next move should be.

She realized that birds began chirping in a panic at the sudden noise, and she could hear the leaves rustling as small animals were still running away from the source of the bang.

Jessica debated what she should do. Should she go see what it was? Should she go back to her house and call the sheriff and the fire department? Should she get her dad?

Did someone need help?

Her mother had made her join the Girl Scouts when she was younger, so she did know some first aid.

She looked around again, but not another soul was in sight.

Despite her misgivings, curiosity got the better of her, and she walked fast towards the smoke. For some reason, her shoes crunching against the leaves, and the occasional stick snapping under the pressure of her weight seemed louder than normal today.  

She looked up the whole time trying to follow the source of the smoke, trying not to trip overgrown roots along the path. She would check first to see if anyone needed any help, but she knew she needed to alert the authorities as soon as possible when she discovered what happened. Wildfires in this area have always been a problem, and one never knew when they could start.

She hurriedly walked the path around the lake and found the other path that looked like it led to the source of the smoke. This path was also close to another neighborhood in the area.

She began to wonder if someone was camping out for the night, and started doubting the intelligence of finding a campsite.

But that didn’t explain the huge bang either. Camper usually didn’t cause small explosions.

What if it was some serial killer waiting for her? What if it was some fugitive on the run from authorities? What if they had seen her and were trying luring her over to them? Her imagination was running wild with strange thoughts.

Heart pounding, and breathing rapidly as she picked up the pace, she turned down the path despite her better judgment about checking out the smoke.

She pushed through the brush, the smell of smoke started to make her eyes water, and the smell was almost overwhelming. She tried to turn and run the other way to get help, but she felt like she was being pulled now, and couldn’t explain it.

She could feel the slight heat starting to hit her skin, as she got closer to the source.

Carefully, she stepped forward and could hear the familiar crackling of flames just ahead of her. The smell of wood burning made her cough, while her eyes began to water.

The fire was small, but the flames were burning ferns around the area. There were small flames on the bark of the evergreen trees surrounding the area, but didn’t appear to be spreading.

What caught Jessica’s attention wasn’t the fire, but what was sitting in the middle of the fire.

A mirror.

A mirror? She thought with a frown. She had been here plenty of times and had never seen the mirror before.

It was almost as tall as her, with an oval shape, and decorated in an antique gold frame with carvings inside the old wooden frame.  

Jessica pushed the brush out of the way to gaze upon the mysterious mirror that sat before her deep inside of the forest.

What was a mirror doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? And why was there a fire surrounding it?

She took another step closer, and something strange happened.

The fire began to extinguish itself.

Her mouth dropped in shock, and she looked around again for another human or animal, but spotted nothing.

There had to have been someone out here that did this, she thought peering around the area for any signs of life.

She coughed again when the residual smoke began to blow her way now that the fire was extinguished.  

The trees were singed and blackened from the flames, and most of the brush around the mirror was completely gone, leaving it sitting peacefully against a tree with open space surrounding it.  

Jessica glanced around again trying to find a logical explanation, but she found nothing out of the ordinary that could’ve started the fire in the first place.

“What is this?” She whispered.

She jumped a little at the sound of her voice. It may have been a whisper, but she could have sworn she had yelled.

Cautiously, she approached it. But, before she could see her own reflection in it, the mirror did something unexpected.

A crack ran across the length of the mirror making Jessica cry out in disbelief.

Taking deep breaths, she took a step back from it.

Suddenly, to Jessica’s horror and shock, the mirror began to speak to her. At least she thought that’s where the voice was coming from.

A voice echoed in her ears. It was a deep, musical male voice.  She couldn’t even describe the how undeniably beautiful it sounded in her head as her brain processed the sound.