(A/N – I know...this is about every cliche in the book. Please forgive me!!!)
Christine now knew what she had to do. She cautiously put her hand on the doorknob. And turned. And, to her surprise, the door opened smoothly with a small click.
Christine moved slowly into the room, closing the door behind her. She took her time looking around. It was obvious that it had not been used since Christine left. She suddenly realized that she had no idea how to operate the mirror. When she asked Erik one time, he had laughed, and said something about a counter-point and how the mirror moved on its hinges.
Christine frowned. 'Do mirrors have hinges?' she had thought. She had mentally logged it away, anyway. She figured that must mean you had to push a button to get it to move at least.
Almost frantically, now, Christine scrabbled at the wall, curiosity turning to desperation. When nothing gave after she combed the entire wall, not knowing what she was looking for, but understanding that if she found it, she would know.
She turned to the next wall. And the next. No luck. All there was left was the mirror that occupied the entire fourth wall. She turned to face it, and, taking a deep breath, began to look. There was nothing unusual or different about the appearance of this mirror. She would have laughed at the irony, if she weren't so miserable.
Putting her hands over her face, she almost sobbed. In a sudden fit of desperate anger, she lashed out at the wall, then sank to the floor, leaning her head against the mirror. After a few minutes, Christine noticed that the mirror was moving.
Scooting back and staring at it incredulously, she realized that she was right. The wall and the mirror had actually lifted up from the floor – there was a small gap between them.
As Christine watched, the mirror started to shift and turn. Sheer relief flooded over her, but she suddenly realized that it was stupid to go down to Erik's house – what would she say?
"Hello, Erik. I know it's been 13 years since I last saw you, and I'm obviously married to Raoul, so it might not be a good thing approaching you, since I doubt you've gotten over that. Oh, and I also have a kid...well, he's actually our kid...oops, I don't think I should have said that. Anyway, I was just wondering how you were doing. Well...goodbye then."
Christine almost laughed. At a loss for what else to do, and wanting to stall for time, she inspected the place on the wall that she had punched. It was just another of the many repeated designs on the wallpaper throughout the room.
As she looked closer, she noticed a small speck about the size of a pea on the corner of the design. It was a slightly darker color that the rest; It was so unnoticeable that you couldn't see it unless you were looking very closely.
Christine looked despairingly at the mirror that would allow her to access the gateway to her wildest dreams. She finally made up her mind. She pushed the speck again, waiting for the mirror to fully close.
"Forgive me, Erik." She whispered softly. As she exited the room, she knew what she had to do. She had to come back to speak to Erik. She had to talk to him one last time. She had to tell him that she loved him.
T.B.C...