Books and shards

Marty spent literally every waking moment cleaning my mirror over the next day

From the moment he woke up after passing out the old man had gathered every bit of cloth, polish, and whatever else, scrubbing the mirror until his hands nearly bled, only nearly though because blood would just mess up the mirror.

I had actually felt the need to step away from the mirror during this period of time, it was mildly uncomfortable to just stare at Marty as he scrubbed the mirror, his intense staring and occasional swearing, sobbing, and yelling made me feel like i was intruding on something important, so instead i began to explore my surroundings

During my time in the mirror I had spent the majority of my time simply sating outwards, to the shop and those who inhabited it, while the inky void of the inside of the mirror didnt necessarily feel uncomfortable the sheer empty blackness of the expanse somehow felt… incorrect, like something was missing

And as I spent the day walking around the abyss the feeling only grew, it was like I was missing something yet also not, almost like a phantom limb. Like I had lost something yet had also never had it in the first place

And for the first time since I had awoken here I felt something akin to hunger. It was like an internal drive, not to eat or drink but something else

To learn? No

To Conquer? No

To Devour? NO

To expand? To Grow?

…

That felt about right. I don't know what it was but the idea of growing, of expanding, made that feeling grow, like a stomach grumble but more internal, more like a groan of the soul. I wanted to get bigger but that didn't really make much sense, growing is a human want but not a need, humans don't require growth as they require food and water

Maybe it wasn't my own craving. Maybe it was the craving of this empty space, whatever it was?

Walking back over to the mirror, trying to ignore the impassioned stares and grumbles of Marty I stared out, looking. As I searched the feeling grew, the urge almost directing me as it grew and grew, until finally, I saw what it was trying to show me

Another Mirror

Across the street, in one of the buildings, I saw it, a smaller mirror than my own, A simple rectangle of glass with a frame hanging on the wall in what appeared to be a small cafe, next to the building I had recognized as a baker on my first day in the pawn shop.

And I reached out with my hand

It was purely instinctual, in all honesty, the logical side of my brain was telling me over and over again that if I reached out a hand it would simply hit the glass as it had before, simply cause my hand to stop moving

But it didn't, instead my hand passed through the glass

For a split second, I thought Marty would start screaming, seeing a hand pass through a mirror was hardly normal after all but then my hand passed through him as well, right through his arm as he was scrubbing at a little bit of dirt that had been smudged on the glass of my mirror

And then I blinked

And i was no longer in front of my mirror

…

My view was now a lot smaller.

Instead of the usual big and grand masterpiece that was my own mirror, i was now standing in front of another one, the same mirror that sat on the wall in that cafe across, as a matter of fact… I could see my own mirror through this one!

Looking through the mirror I got an opposite view to the one I'd had for the past few days, give or take is a bit more to the right, or was it left since I'm in a mirror? Whatever the point was that I could actually see the outside of Marty's pawnshop

It was called… Martys pawnshop

That probably explains why so many people knew his name huh? Anyhow from here, I could actually see my mirror from here, and Marty too for that matter, his back illuminated by lamplight as he cleaned the mirror through the late evening.

Touching the mirror in front of me it felt different, its glass was more… flimsy. It felt like I was touching a thin layer of ice, extremely breakable and fragile.

Now that made me curious

Could I break this mirror? If I Did could I get out? Or would I be stuck here?

There was a bookshelf right next to this mirror, if i broke it I might be able to grab it… it would give me something to do rather than just sit and wait throughout the night, but it was rather risky, If i couldnt get back to my mirror I woul-

I was back in front of my mirror

…

And I was still touching the small mirror

…

Now I had two mirrors

…

"Ah screw it" I couldnt help but mutter as I held my hand against the mirror and pushed it as hard as i could, my hand straining against the glass for a moment before suddenly…

The Mirror cracked and shattered

And I immediately felt a rush of sensations

The cool air on my skin as my hand left the mirror, the leathery feeling of a book cover as a grabbed a random one from the nearby cafe bookshelf, and then… searing pain

Letting out a rather unmanly yelp I ripped my hand backward back through the mirror as it felt like pins and needles dipped with slat and lemon were inside my skin, writhing around on their own.

The pain only stopped once my hand was fully back inside the mirror… is the mirror realm? The mirror room? The abyss?

…

Let's just go with the mirror realm for now.

Anyway, the pain wouldn't stop until my hand was back inside the mirror realm and once it was there was a cracking sound as the mirror in front of me shattered into dozens of pieces, the frame itself disappearing entirely, leaving only shards of glass, floating around in the blackness, like… well i don't know what but the point was they were floating

Spinning my neck back towards my own mirror so fast I nearly hurt my neck I pushed my face against the glass and glared towards the cafe whose mirror I had just inhabited

Gone… nothing but the lone frame hanging on the wall remaining, the glass now floating aimlessly within the mirror realm

And looking down at my hand I read the cover of the cover of the book I had grabbed

101 ways to attract your Crush by Dr Sarah Cupid

You have to be kidding me