Gran's Mirror When I was young, I used to visit my grandparents on Saturday and spend the night. It was rather boring, except for going out to eat and the big breakfast she would cook in the morning. After spending the night a dozen or so times, I had gone through every movie they had on VHS (this was before DVD.) So one day when I was around 12 or 13, I decided to explore the house more. The basement had always scared me. The door in the kitchen opened to a steep 30 stair descent. The steps were shallow and creaked the most ominous noise. This day, my courage was higher...I was looking for my Christmas presents. They were country people- Rifles half assembled, an old 65 mustang under a huge bed sheet, lots of machines, tools and a sewing room off to the side. This sunny, bright-colored room was somehow creepier than the basement room it connected to. A huge safe sat in the room beside a Singer sewing machine that looked as if it weighed 300 pounds. I was instantly drawn to the safe. It had to be over 6' tall and very, very heavy. I calculated for a few moments how I would figure out the combination. I spent an hour trying combinations. Everything I could imagine- Birthdays, 111, 000....666. CLICK. How could my sweet Grandparents have "666" as their Safe combination? I was concerned about this, being from a religious background. I wasn't sure I should open the safe, now. But the greed of wanting to find presents finally overcame me and I opened the heavy door to the safe. Some money, bonds (I think), letters, photographs..and something covered in brown paper and twine. A present!? It was crudely wrapped, otherwise I wouldn't have risked messing up the paper. I slid off the paper and saw the back of an ornate mirror. The frame was wirey and looked like tree branches made of copper and iron. I tried picking it up- too heavy. On the back an inscription read, "My sweet James, You were taken too early." Things really got creepy now. I had heard of James. There was only one picture of him, which Gran kept around her neck in a locket. On the closing side of the locket was James' ashes. He had been a stillborn. My Father said she never got over it. Looking closer to the contents of the safe now, I started to notice things. Things that had appeared normal at first glance were now becoming clearer- Black Candles, Not Letters- instructions, photographs of the stillborn James. The photos showed my Grandparents in a room with James resting on a small table. My grandparents stood on either side of him, and between them, the large mirror. Part 2 Coming Soon. |
|---|