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Our first place Middle School category winner was written by Fiona Gehrke, a 12 year old home schooled student from Lakeway, Texas. Ms. Gehrke also won this contest in 2018. |
From the dawn of time, the tales of ghosts have been told in all corners of the world. For some of us, they are specters that wander aimlessly amongst us. Some, believe they are spirits of the departed or forgotten. Others, picture a figure clad in old bedsheets with holes cut out for eyes. Time has proven that the tales of ghosts have diminished to merely bedtime stories.
I know a different tale. One that you have probably never heard of before. The condensation on bathroom mirrors is not always what it seems. There is a Mirror World, where ghosts linger. They know you are there because they can see you through the mirrors. But you see, even ghosts have ghosts. The part that wants to be amongst the living, splinters in half from itself. A darker realm emerges.
****
Deep in the Elderwood, far, far away, there stands a stately wooden house secluded from all the townsfolk. This house is made from the wood of the Pinoake trees. Adjoined to the tower- ing black moss-grown trunks are branches shaped like deer antlers with tines at least five inches long; leafless but yet, leaves seem to be falling from the sky. A carpet of moss and fallen leaves cover the ground, undefiled by any foot or animal prints, only to be slightly disturbed by a gust of wind. Though the Pinoake trees have no leaves, only watery sunlight filters through the dense fog.
This house has been in the Elderwood for so long that Pinaoake saplings are sprouting from the wood that built it. Gnarled vines have made its way up the walls, twisting and growing in even the tiniest cracks. One would think nothing lives there because it looks empty and barren, but many creatures roam in the shadowy forest, strangely, not leaving a trace behind. You could hear things scurry through the scraggly underbrush. The scent of fermenting leaves, or- ganic matter mixed with skunk spray and rotting wood, lingers all around.
Underneath the leaf-ridden ground, the roots from the trees and bushes that spread like veins would likely cause an unwary traveler to stumble and fall. The river Dredge races by, rapid wa- ter foaming like a rabid animal, waiting for an unlucky creature to wander into its depths. De- spite Dredge’s waters being dark and murky, you could see strangely colored fish swim slug- gishly through it. The Elderwood is an unearthly place full of the unknown.
In the expansive wooden house, there lived a family of four; a girl around 12 years old, named Oria, her mother Luma, her father Griff, and the family dog, a stout cockapoo, Zoruu. Oria had long, black hair, dark as a moonless night sky which accentuated her almond-shaped eyes. She liked to think that the color of her hair was because she was born at midnight, and even came up with a song:
Raven hair, raven hair
The color black of midnight air
Drapes upon my shoulders
And when the night grows colder
I look upon my raven hair.
Apart from living in the Elderwood, the most uninviting place for miles, Oria and her family lived what seemed like, a normal life for them. Their home sprawled across the forest, but the Elder- wood was so large that you could barely see the house through the trees. The house was so very old, with four wings that housed an extensive library, music room, a conservatory that had a lot of dead plants, and an impressive office. Stormy nights bring a cacophony of wailing winds and the groaning and creaking noises of the old house.
Not a single mirror could be found inside and Oria often wondered why that was. Whenever they went to town, she would search for mirrors in hopes to stare at her reflection, but alas, the misfortune was hers to never find one. She found the townspeople to be unfriendly; everyone didn’t bother with greetings or give any sort of acknowledgment. Each time they returned home, she would ask her parents why they had no mirrors, but always received the same an- swer.
“This house has never had mirrors, Oria.”
One day, she was playing in the woods with Zoruu, when the rotund brindled dog wriggled out of his collar and tore across the forest floor, short legs a blur. Oria gave a shout of alarm and took off after him, heart racing, adrenaline pumping through her legs. The sheer thought of los- ing her beloved Zoruu to the river Dredge, or something else, made her pick up more speed. Luckily she was able to catch sight of little Zoruu’s tail and hind legs disappearing under a colossal fallen tree.
She saw the little gap he squirmed through, and hesitatingly slid to the ground and followed. “Aaaaah! Aaaah!” she screamed as a huge spider crawled over her hand, making her pull herself on her elbows faster. Oria emerged on the other side mostly unscathed, aside from the minor scratches on her elbows.
Zoruu’s barks echoed through the forest, and the little girl ran like she was wearing winged shoes, yelling, “Zoruu! Zoruu, stop!”
The little dog disappeared behind a swath of greenery. Oria pushed aside the curtain of vines hanging from a tree, and skidded to a halt.
Zoruu was growling furiously at a large object covered in decaying vines and twigs. A glint of light caught her eye as a patch of weak sunlight shone onto the mysterious item, and she couldn’t resist walking forward. As she reached out her hand to pull away vines, she felt her pant leg being tugged back, sending her off balance. Zoruu had his teeth buried in the fabric of her plaid trousers, trying his hardest to pull her away.
“Zoruu,” she commanded firmly, “let me go. What on earth has possessed you?”
Zoruu was usually a timid dog with the sweetest disposition, and eyes that were warm and lov- ing. But now he had a wild look in them as he clamped his jaws down harder. Then she heard a ripping noise and saw a piece of fabric caught in his mouth.
“Well, at least you do not have a hold of me now silly dog.”
Letting out a sigh and stepping forward, she started to rip and pull the vines off. “Eww, this is foul, Zoruu!”, wiping the slimy residue on her white blouse.
The glassy surface of a mirror stared back at her. She sucked in a startled breath, and Zoruu whined piteously, pawing at her torn pants.
“What is it doing here?” she whispered under her breath, her hand hovering over the mirror.
“Oh, Zoruu, I cannot see myself! These grimy marks from the vines have covered the entire thing!”
Oria placed her hand on the mirror’s glass face. A strange unearthly chill crept from her finger- tips through her entire body, pulling her shoulders together. She gasped then let out a shudder- ing breath.
Then suddenly, she felt her hand slipping through a thin curtain that felt like water, like when you walk through a waterfall. She stifled a shriek and bit her lower lip, but curiosity overcame her fear as she closed her eyes and stepped through the mirror, Zoruu tumbling after her...
Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself in the very same spot. She looked around in con- fusion, Zoruu trembling by her side.
“What? I do not understand, Zoruu. It felt like we went through it...”
She turned back to the mirror, but it was now strangely covered by ghostly condensation.
“Umm, perhaps it is best we get going, Zoruu...”
As she scooped him up into her arms, he let out a whimper. Her mind reeled. ‘It must have been a hallucination...but I felt that chill. It seemed so real.’
“Oh my. Looks like we have to crawl under this tree again, Zoruu. Let us hope for no spiders this time!”
After emerging from under the fallen tree, Oria let out a huge sigh of relief; then started to make her way through the woods towards the clearing where she had dropped Zoruu’s leash. She picked it up without noticing a piece of paper underneath it.
When she got back to their house, she turned the intricate brass doorknob and pushed the heavy door, the hinges squealing quietly.
“Mother? Father?” she called, her voice echoing like invisible hands were carrying it through the halls. “Are you there?”
Something felt... different.
She heard the clanging of pots and pans, and started her way to the kitchen. Opening the kitchen door cautiously, she peered through the crack, Zoruu by her heels. “M-mother?” Oria asked uncertainly. But her mother did not answer. Her eyes grew wide when she caught a glimpse of her mother’s hand moving across the stove; the light revealed her hand was semi translucent.
Oria shifted her head, carefully looking through the little opening. She covered her mouth with her left hand to muffle her gasps. The tips of Luma’s hair, floated up past her shoulders, as if underwater, remained suspended in the air. There was an eerie emptiness on her face.
Before she turned towards Oria, the corners of her lips twisted into a malicious grin. And in a hollow voice she said, “Oria, silly girl, why are you peering through the crack?”
The hairs on the back of Oria’s neck stood on end. An uneasy air began to waft through the house, the chill grasping her with its icy touch. Without a moments hesitation, she took a few steps back, looking around in panic, and ran off. The wooden floorboards beneath her creaked under her feet as she ran through the twisting halls, searching wildly for her dad, Zoruu right beside her, whimpering.
“FATHER! FATHER!”, trying her hardest to whisper-scream. “FATHER! FATHER!”
Oria made her way to her dad’s study and threw open the door. “Father, something is wrong with mother! I do not think it is her!”
Griff turned slowly towards Oria. In the same hollow voice, “Whatever do you mean, my dear? Your mother seems perfectly fine to me.”
“Oh, darling, thank you,” as Luma entered through the door to take her place by Griff.
The eerie sight of her parents made Oria’s heart feel like it was in her throat. Her panic filled eyes, fraught with fear, were darting from wall to wall, looking for something to show her that it wasn’t real.
The poor girl’s dread filled the silenced room.
Oria, backing away from the doorway, bumped against a wall. Her shoulder knocked their fami- ly portrait askew.
“D-d-ad, Mom?” Oria asked in a tiny voice, her entire body shaking. “What is wrong with you?”
“Oh, daughter...,”the wispy figure’s voice was haunting and expressionless, like her features, “you can join us now...stay in the mirror world forever, Oria...”
“Yes,” the creature that looked like her father sneered, “your ghost is already here...”
In unison, they spoke, “She’s waiting for you…”
When she regained her breath, Oria asked stutteringly, “W-w-w-hat M-mirror Wor-r-led? W-w-hat are y-ou talking about?”
Then, Zoruu stepped forward bravely, placing himself between Oria and the ghostly beings. He growled, tail tucked between his legs, and threw his head back and howled, long and hard. The two unnatural things looked down at him.
“Dogs are not allowed here,” her father’s ghost said coldly.
“Despicable creatures. Dogs can sense us, and then warn their humans to stay away from the
Mirror World,” the ghost of Luma hissed. “That is why we do not have them here.”
‘Ah,’ Oria thought sadly, ‘Zoruu was trying to stop me from going in the mirror!’
Griff’s ghost chuckled wickedly, “Ha ha, child. See, every person has a ghost in the Mirror World. And people who wander in, merge with their ghosts and are trapped here forever. So come meet your ghost, now...”
Oria shrieked and without hesitation, took off down the hall, panic raging through her body. The old floorboards moaning beneath her with Zoruu right by her side, whining. She streaked through the house and wrenched open the front door. ‘I must get back to that mirror! It may be the only way back home!’ she thought desperately.
Oria refused to let her terror consume her, instead focusing on running as fast her legs would take her. All the while, her head teemed with agitated thoughts. ‘This cannot be happening! It simply cannot be!’
She dashed through the woods. Once she reached the fallen tree, she dropped to the ground and squirmed, what seemed to be painstakingly slowly, out from under it. She leapt to her feet on the other side, and resumed her sprint through the forest, the towering Pinoake trees pass- ing by in a black blur. Gangly weeds that she hadn’t noticed before now seemed to be grab- bing at her ankles, their prickly leaves scratching.
“Oriaaa...come, come, my dear. Where are you?” the ghastly calls echoed through the woods.
She frantically scanned the trees, searching for the curtain of vines, eyes wide with fright, searching helplessly for the large mirror. Then, something glistening caught her eye and she saw the creeping vines. Quickly pushing and ripping through the stems, she saw it gleaming brightly with it’s gilded copper frame, but a shadowy figure stood in front of it.
“No, no, it cannot be. This is not real!” her clammy hands by her side, balled up in tight fists.
It was her standing in front of the mirror. Her ghost. But unlike the semi translucent forms of her parent’s ghosts, the thing that stood was dark and black, like the shadows of the Elder- wood. It’s eyes were hollow and dark.
“Oria....finally. We can be one.”
Sheer terror rooted her feet to the earth. Her breath and the pounding of her heart filled her ears. She felt as if her surroundings were closing in on her, until it was broken by Zoruu’s bark- ing. It echoed through the forest loud and clear; freeing her from the fear that had paralyzed her.
“Repulsive creature! What is it doing here?”
Zoruu ran towards it. The malicious entity, shrieked and stepped away from the mirror. Oria
took this opportunity to make a mad dash towards the mirror.
“Zoruu, come!” she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, plunging through.
****
“Zoruu?” she whispered, opening one eye slowly. She felt the round little cockapoo’s soft body pressed against her leg. He let out a soft whimper.
Oria looked around, her head moving in a jerky motion like a sparrow looking for food. Her breath quivering loudly, listening intently.
Then heaving a heavy sigh, “I think it worked, Zoruu. I do not hear anything.”
****
When she reached her house, she pushed open the front door once more and very, very tenta- tively stepped inside, wincing as the old door creaked ominously. She picked up Zoruu and began wandering the halls. She passed by their family portrait and noticed it was off-center. Setting her dog down, she carefully straightened it out, and gently ran her fingers over the en- graved golden plaque:
Griff, Luma and Oria Elderwood, 1820.
Looking down at Zoruu, “Oh Zoruu, why were you not ever included in our portrait. You should be, as you have proven such loyalty today. Brave little dog!”
“Oria, it is dinner time!” Called Luma’s voice from the kitchen. Oria heard the warmth in her mother’s voice, soft and welcoming, and knew that she was back in the real world.
“I am coming, mother!”
Coming around the corner, Griff chortled at the sight of Oria. “Hi, dear! Oh my, looks like you have been on an adventure today. Your clothes sure show it!”
Zoruu tail wagging, ran up to him.
****
Deep in the Elderwood, a torn piece of paper blew listlessly across the forest floor. A frigid wind swept through the woods, blowing the paper over the dead leaves. The long, twisting weeds snatched at the wrinkled article, as if trying to tear it to shreds. A cold mist whispered over the Elderwood, ethereal and haunting, ghostly white flames dancing in the evening air. Meanwhile, a bleak gust of wind whistled through the trees, like a forgotten bird singing it’s long lost tune, even though there were none to listen. The eerily whining wind grew to an infer- nal roar, then faded to nothing more but a soft hiss, like a ballad consigned to oblivion. The faded words printed on the worn surface, read:
Missing dog: Zoruu Doowredle
Last seen October 31st, 2016.
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