It was just another ordinary day for me in college. Everything was going on as usual; boring studies, boring teachers, boring people, boring ol' life. Oh how I'd missed my days back in high school, where I had real friends to share my interests with, without getting laughed at and ostracised for being a 'freak'.
Ever since my first day in college, I'd been deemed a 'weirdo' and a 'lolicon' for being interested in this series of Japanese shooting games known as Touhou, where the main cast are mostly little girls. Ever since the first friend I had made found out about my little hobby, I'd been made fun of by everyone else. For months, I've been continuing my college life, trying to focus on my studies, albeit unsuccessfully, because I had no real friends and had to complete assignments all alone.
And that day, as usual, class ended and everybody left early, leaving me behind. I gave out a sigh and began packing my notebooks and utensils back into my sling bag. Looking around the empty classroom, I stood up and sighed once again, before leaving the class and headed straight for home. I don't really have anywhere else to hang out after class anyway, nor do I actually have anyone to hang out with.
My walks home are often quiet and lonesome. Not very seldom would I sometimes sob silently when I think back of how different I was here and how I'd regretted coming here in the first place. But that day, something felt different. Without realizing it, I'd stopped walking for a moment to look up at the shop lots that stretched across the streets. A quick glance around made my eyes land on a peculiar shop that I do not recall ever passing by in the past. Curiosity got the better of me when I decided to enter the shop for a change of pace.
I opened the door, followed by a ring on the bell in the shop's front door. The mood in the surroundings changed almost instantaneously, from the bright, sunny day outside to a dark and gloomy place inside. The shop seemed empty, with rows upon rows of shelves. With a closer inspection, I could see old, dusty books, amulets, dolls and vases, though no sign of life anywhere. I walked around the shop and for some unexplainable reason, a dusty, old handheld mirror caught my eye and I began to approach it. I picked it up and inspected it. At the top part of the mirror, just above the glass, was a carving of an eye with spirals around it. Small wavy patterns were also engraved by the edges of the mirror. I brought the mirror closer to my face and blew the dust off of it, and then I began to feel the carvings around the mirror with my fingertips. Such fine handiwork…
"Ah, a customer I see," a sudden, hoarse voice said from the darkness.
My shock almost made me drop the mirror I held in my hands but I managed to grab hold of it nonetheless. I turned behind, only to be faced with an old lady with almost thousands of wrinkles on her face; the bags under her eyes looked so heavy it was as if they were dropping down onto her cheeks. It would be impolite of me if I'd commented on her looks, so I decided to just fake a smile and leave. However, before I could place the mirror back onto the shelf, she spoke to me.
"Ah, I see you have a keen eye, young boy," she said as I could taste her putrid breath in my mouth. Her mouth was empty with only some infected gums and several decayed teeth hanging loosely from them. "Among all the antiques we sell, this is among our most prized possessions. It's been sitting here for ages with nobody to buy it, collecting dust throughout the ages. You look like you're really interested in it, boy. You can have it for free..."
Unknowingly, I grabbed the mirror and placed it into my bag, before thanking the woman and leaving the store. Right at the door I heard a cackling laughter, followed by an eerie silence. Not long after I was already at home, showering in the bathroom. Strangely, it felt as if nothing had happened and that it was all just a daydream I had as I was walking home.
As I left the showers I walked into my lazy cousin, the one person who was kind enough to let me rent her ex-boyfriend's filthy room after she had kicked him out.
"Hey, how long has the antique store in the corner of the shop lots been opened? I don't recall ever passing by one before," I suddenly asked out of curiosity.
"What antique store?" she replied with a yawn as she walked into the bathroom, leaving me in a state of shock. Immediately, I rushed over to my sling bag that I had left on the couch and began taking every single item out. However, all I could find were my writing utensils and books.
Maybe it was just my imagination after all, I told myself as I began to calm down and walked up the stairs, into my room. Small as it may be, I find it convenient enough to place a study desk in it with my computer on it too. I sat down by my computer and switched it on. Right as I reached the log-on screen, I could see it... at the corner of my eye... at the edge of my desk... the dark, purple mirror that I had brought home...
I gulped and brought my face closer to it. Little did I know my choice then and there would change my life forever...
