Woman in the Hand Mirror
Author: Ukari (translated with author’s permission, please visit their website to see the original Japanese works!)
To say here is far, and to call yonder nearby. Stories on the edge of the every day, strange tales you may or may not be moved by. Strange, curious, fantastic stories told by me, you, him and her. There are many stories but they’re all concluded within a single page, each story around 200 to 1200 characters in length, a short story collection you can easily read. Please enjoy them. Updated every Saturday at 6pm.
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There was a woman in my grandfather’s hand mirror.
She wasn’t on this side of the mirror, yet she was definitely inside it.
My grandfather took great care of the mirror, and it was always kept in a beautiful cloth.
I only ever saw that woman just once.
When my grandfather was in the hospital, he begged me to go his house and get it for him.
I was curious as to why he was so persistent about it, so I removed the cloth.
And when I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see myself, but rather, a woman.
She was incredibly beautiful. She didn’t speak, but she did seem to see me. When she tilted her head, as though questioning me, I came back to my senses.
Panicking, I wrapped the mirror in the cloth again and took it to the hospital. Who was that? What was that? I was unable to ask for more details about it.
My grandfather got married late in life, so maybe that woman in the mirror had something to do with that, I thought.
After my grandfather’s funeral, I asked if I could have that mirror as a memento. They all laughed at me because I was a boy, but I told them my grandfather was as well, and then took it.
I looked in the mirror when I got home, but the woman wasn’t there.
She must have followed my grandfather. I was a little disappointed.
I got changed out of my mourning clothes, making sure to take my wallet and phone out of my pockets so I didn’t forget them. Then, I gasped before I could stop myself.
That woman was there on my phone screen.
And she was smiling at me.