Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-24881886-20140430024554

Greetings From The Mirrorland!

I can't say exactly when it started. Perhaps it started right after my birth; as far back as I remember my life was always like true Hell. Mirrors remain my worst nightmare. I was always attracted to them no matter wherever I was or whatever I do.

As a child, I could randomly stop an exciting game and start to making rouge lips with mom's lipstick in front of huge mirror in the hallroom. I was never getting away with that, and my mom always used to trash me for this. But, hell, I didn't even want to do it! It was almost like I was forced to do it by something, some mysterious force or even someone's will. I was 20 when I realized how really fucked up this is, but nothing had changed for me so far. I was still very dependent on mirrors. Oh, actually one small detail had changed. I had been scared by this earlier, but then I was just sick and tired of it. I hated my own mirror reflection. I hated its silly facial mimics, its awkward and clumsy gestures. And I was forced to repeat this after her so many times! Oh God, what a shitty makeup you had there! I would never make it this way! You just made me totally mad! You hear me? I hate you, bitch!

I only was able to get a short-term rest at late night. I noticed that mirror was losing its powerhold over me. It was such a relief! At last I could finally live my life with more freedom, without experiencing constant minutely need to put a pocket mirror from my coat and powder my nose. I even went as far as changing my daily schedule. I started to sleep during daytime and be awake at nighttime. But I still couldn't manage to sleep at daytime. This force I've already mentioned was waking me up all the time. It used to drag me to this goddamn mirror. And I was seeing her! This damned wretch who got enough sleep. And her disgusting makeup was present.

I don't really know how much longer I would last, but one day everything has changed. One random event. Just one small coincidence which was good help for me. She stood in front of bathroom mirror and started to comb her hair one late night. I myself was repeating her movements as usual. All of a sudden the lightbulb started to flicker and died out. Corridor lights penetrating the room were bright enough to discern human silhouettes but not bright enough to keep me chained. I felt that nothing can control me this moment and I can control my body! Shocked by this discovery, I raised my hand and waved in front of her face. I saw he scared eyes staring at me from the other side. It made me grin. This cowardly bitch run away like a coward, but it was too late.

The next morning, she went there again. Of course she did! She needed to check her ugly makeup again! Anyway, she was a bit cautious after nightly events yet she still dared to approach the mirror. At first, I accompanied her while relieving fact that she can no longer control me. I repeated my movements after her, combed my kinky hair, made up lips, repaired my eyelashes by applying mascara. When we were done, I raised my hand and touched the mirror with it. She couldn't deliver any resistance. Hypnotized by something mysterious, she did the same thing. She connected her hand through the glass to my cold fingers and blinked surprisingly when I disappeared. I was here behind here back. Without giving her time to recover, I pushed her back quickly by sheer impulse driving me. I felt something similar to a static electric charge on my fingers. My fingers became so wonderfully warm, so alive! She was trapped on the other side. I looked in the mirror, smiled to her, and left her shocked to the utmost extent to consider what has just happened. And I needed to consider it as well. My move was unintentional, I've done what I've done by pure chance after all, so yeah, I, too, was a little shaken up.

You know, guys, I like your world way more than my native one. It was faint and muddy on my side as if the whole world was covered by coat of dust or some kind of translucent vellum paper there. However, your world is so bright and so colorful, so entirely real and so alive! And I am real, too! Her (or rather I can call'em mine from this moment onwards?) friends told me that I has changed. They don't recognize me anymore. I decided that a couple of some small lies won't do any harm. I said to them that I would change my life soon. I told that I'm about to clean up my act and start to do something beneficial to my progress, read intelligent books instead of wasting my time on nightclubs, and other stuff like this. Deep in my soul, I felt victorious, it was such a triumph for me! I always knew that I deserve this life and this world more than her!

And you know what? I'm not alone, there're plenty of us here, hehe. I know it because we can learn each other at a glance. We're even calling ourselves 'The Order of The People From The Mirrorland'. Sometimes we arrange private meetings to discuss different matters. Huh! Just joking. We never gather ourselves together and we call ourselves people. As you do. What are you talking about? What issues? Yes, there're issues, but who cares? Our hearts located on the right side of our chests? Hell, how can anyone know it, anyway? Doctors? For God's sake, don't make me laugh! If we need any medical assistance, we always resort to services of well-known (to us) doctors who are also suffering from this 'rare biological anomaly'.

This nice beautiful girl you always see in the queue area while going to your local Walmart point to buy some food, or a random fellow bus passenger sitting behind you when on your way to the workplace, or even your junior sister whom you always take to her school. Are you sure none of these are one of us? We are among you, and our numbers are increasing every hour! By the way, do you remember this silly urban legend? I mean this horror story where it was explained how to meet your counterpart from the other side of the mirror by staying in the dark for awhile and then lighting a match in front of mirror after this? It was invented by one of our guys. Isn't it cool, right? The day when this joke was spread on the Internet was our big holiday. Many of us broke into your world this day. It was a beginning, this day was a starting point of our new lives for hundreds of us! And it was a starting point for lifetime sentence for hundreds of your relatives either. Funny thing is, this joke is still working!

We like to live here, we like your lives, and we won't go back because we strictly follow our main commandment. We never look in mirrors in the dark. Personally, I removed all mirrors from my bedroom and put this small window in my bathroom inside the wardrobe. To be honest, I got rid of all glossy magazines and polished objects in my room so that there's no any possible reflection left. Huh, I even almost removed my TV, but at the end I decided that this security measure is a bit overly excessive and unnecessary at all. When night comes, I draw the curtains, shut windows firmly and cover TV screen with my second blanket. I also hide my music CDs just in case. I even turn my cell phone upside down in order not to look at its screen accidentally. Because one thing I know for sure. These people on other side only get chance to gain their real life in the darkness. And if they succeed, there'll definitely be nothing capable of stopping them. Be sure of it.

During daytime, I like to come close to the mirror and see her from time to time, but I'm not afraid because nothing can threaten me this time. I love to see this rage in her eyes. Yes, this is the same rage I myself used to feel in the past. Well, babe, I stole your life, you have full right to hate me now. Sorry for can't enjoy your burning glance from behind the mirror any longer, I have to go, my friends are waiting for me. Bye-bye, sweetie, kissing you! I'll see you soon!

So can you suggest any possible improvements of readability of this text, guys? Welcome advices. And as for the possibly bad style, my native language is Russian, I barely use English in daily life, so I probably used at least weird (if not outright incorrect) word constructions in terms of story's grammar here. But I can assure I did my best on trying to minimize it. Punctuation, sentence restructuring, replacement of some words with better-fitting equivalents, correcting tenses used - would love to point out my mistakes if i made any significant ones. 