Vivian entered the quaint antique shop, with a strange feeling that she would find exactly what she was looking for there. She didn't even quite know what she was looking for, but hoped she would know it when she saw it. She had driven two hours into the middle of the backwoods of New England to reach this place. This area had a feel of history to it, but not the touristy kind. It was like this area hadn't moved on since the Salem witch trials.
"Oh! Hello, miss," the old shopkeeper greeted her. He seemed surprised to be getting a customer. Then why was his shop even open? "Can I help you with something?" he asked in a tone that suggested she didn't belong here.
"I'm looking for something special," she announced in the grandiose manner, "and price is no object! Why don't you take me right to your good stuff?"
He paused for a moment, trying to decide what to make of this odd introduction. "You'll have to be a little more specific than that. What sort of thing are you looking for?"
"I'm Vivian Black? Famous Instagram model? Maybe you've heard of me?"
"Sorry, I don't read that magazine."
"What? No, it's not a..." Vivian sighed. "Never mind. I take pictures of myself. My pics generate a lot of clicks and a lot of money."
That had been an exaggeration, to say the least. In truth, she was barely even up and coming, but she would get her momentum soon. She could just feel it! She had better natural looks than most of the pros, and it was surely only a matter of time. All she needed was the right clothing or the right scenery, the right publicity stunt, and she would finally get noticed.
"I need some dΓ©cor for my next shoot," she continued. "Like I said: something special, something worthy of my image. You have anything that can do me justice?"
Without a word in reply, he gestured around his store, and returned his gaze to his book.
"Come on, I doubt you'd keep the sort of thing I'm looking for out on the sales floor with all the other junk. You've got to have a back room where you keep the collector's items. You know, the stuff for your special clientele... like me? I put a lot of work into finding places like this, so please don't let me leave disappointed!"
He closed his book and sighed, giving her an annoyed look. "That's not how it works. The only 'back room' I have is the workshop. That's for items I need to repair before I can sell them."
Vivian signed. "It's just... I'm not seeing anything really worth my money out here. Did I mention I can pay a lot?"
Finally, the old shopkeeper got up out of his chair and had her follow him. The workshop was full of many items, tables and dressers and the like. Vivian looked around the room until she noticed something tall against the back wall, covered by a dusty bedsheet. She walked right past all the other items, and lifted the cover. Instantly, her eyes lit up! This was it!
It was a mirror. She pulled the sheet the rest of the way off, and took a step back to have a look at it. It was beautiful! It was full length, with an ornate mahogany frame, and when she caught her reflection in it, she thought she had never looked better!
Grinning, she turned around to ask him how much, but he seemed uncomfortable. He was avoiding looking directly at the uncovered mirror.
"What do you want for this?" she asked.
"That's not ready to be sold. There's a joint loose," he replied. His entire demeanor had changed. He looked afraid.
"I don't mind. I'll buy it now! Full price!"
"I don't know... I haven't even set a price for that yet. See, that one's a tough one to price. There's a... history to that one."
"Even better! What kind of history?"
"Someone died in front of it. Some people get superstitious about that sort of thing."
"Oh, that's okay! I'm not superstitious."
As a matter of fact, that even sweetened the deal for her! She was a junkie for ghost stories and stuff like that. Even more so, with her long, beautiful black hair and slender face, the goth look suited her very well. This was perfectly her style!
"No, you don't understand. There's more, you see. She didn't just die in front of it. The rumor says she died because of it."
"Whoa! Don't leave me hanging! You've got to tell me the story now!"
"Well, I'll see what I can remember. It was my pa who bought it a long time ago back when he ran the shop, before I was born. All I know is what he told me. The lady who died, she was a real sinner, that one. Quite the harlot, and very, very vain. They say she became obsessed with looking at herself in it. She'd spend hours staring at her reflection. Hours! And her naughty deeds only got worse. Didn't even try to hide her sinful heart after that. Then, she went missing for several days. They finally found her in front of that mirror, buck naked, and dead on the floor. A family member, a cousin, I think, took it from her after the funeral, but she eventually sold it. She said she could sometimes hear her voice coming from it at night."
"Cool! Is she haunting it now?"
"Oh, I don't know. Old tales, you know how they go..."
"Have you ever heard her voice coming from it at night?"
"No, but I don't sleep in here."
"So... this has literally been here your whole life?"