Solitary, Lizabeth sat in her high rise penthouse gazing down at the amber glow of the city lights below. The floor of the penthouse, usually immaculately clean was covered in a littered disarray of boxes and manilla envelopes belonging to her mother. This was only a break for the exhausted woman. An only child, Lizabeth had to oversee her late mother's last wishes and estate by herself.
A long, drawn out sigh ensued from her lips before excusing herself from a pile of papers and photos stacked in front of her.
Not only did Lizabeth have her mother's belongings to sift through, but also her late grandmother's relics and treasures as well. Not much was known about her grandmother, at least not to Lizabeth. Grandma Rosalia, born and raised in Italy, was only referred to as "eccentric" and "crazy" by the girl's mother. Maybe having the opportunity to go through items belonging to her would finally give her a chance to know something about her family, other than what others chose to tell her.
Wearily she lifted herself off of the floor and walked into the kitchen. Clumsily she fumbled through the cabinets. A cup of coffee, she thought. That would help her stay focused. Dropping two heaping teaspoons of sugar into the mug, some of the coffee splashed and ran down the side of the cartoon character's face that graced the front. Uttering a curse under her breath, Lizabeth pulled a paper towel from the roll and wiped her mess away. Turning towards the doorway, she was about to start into the living room once more to begin her chores. Instead something caught the woman's eye. A very large box leaning against the wall behind her dinette set. Vaguely she remembered the men from the delivery truck bringing this in, though the curiosity of the contents had slipped Lizabeth's mind until this very moment.
Bringing the mug up to her lips, she inhaled the scent of the coffee, then sipped. All the while her dark eyes were fixed on the large, mysterious package. Without another moment of thought she sat the mug down on the counter top. Temptation had won. Twisting the corner of her mouth, much like the manner of an inquisitive child, she neared the package and began pulling at the cardboard corners. Within moments the top of the box was torn open and Lizabeth reached her hand inside. Slowly she pulled a long oval shaped object from the box. It was covered in a black cloth. Propping it against the wall she stepped back to look at the arcane wonder draped in black. Even leaning at an angle against the wall, it still measured past the woman's waist. Carefully, Lizabeth held the strange object and tugged at the cloth. It was sewn over it!
"What in the hell?" she grumbled after realizing that someone had gone through much trouble to ensure whatever this was, that it would stay covered. But why?
"If it's in my house...I'll be damned if its going to stay a mystery." she said with a crooked smile. Lizabeth had never been known for giving up easily. The small framed woman had always been stubborn. Her mother had often said that the fact that Lizabeth was so relentless, almost made up for her size. With that in mind, she walked over to the kitchen sink and selected a clean knife.
Meticulously, Lizabeth slid the sharp tip of the knife under the dark cloth, careful not to harm whatever may be hidden beneath. The material shredded with ease. Not doubt it was old and had dry rotted with age. This had to be something belonging to Rosalia! She just knew it.
Pulling the shredded rags away, Lizabeth unconsciously allowed a gasp to pass over her lips. In front of her was the most beautiful mirror she had ever lain eyes on. It was excessively large with a perfect oval shape. It had been obviously hand carved from dark, rich wood, for no machine could have perfected the three dimensional carvings of the little plump cherubs. Their chubby hands outstretched from the top of the mirror, one of the three holding a harp. Even their faces looked so real, the eyes so wide and innocent. It had to be worth a fortune! Looking back at her through the glass was her own reflection, still full of awe with the discovery.
No matter. The antique would make an extravagant addition to her bedroom. Quickly she grabbed a hammer and a couple of strong nails. Soon afterwards her new possession hung adjacent to her bed. She stood back for a moment with a smile collectively gathering the corners of her mouth. It was almost as if she had fallen in love with the very curves of the mirror, with every finely etched feather in the wings of the cherubs. Reluctantly Lizabeth soon returned into the living room to once more bury herself in photographs and documents.
Later that night after Lizabeth had long since crawled into the her king sized bed, silver beams of moonlight spilled through the open blinds and bathed the reflective surface of the mirror. Barely a sound filtered through the penthouse, only the quiet breathing of sleep. This ended all too suddenly. Lizabeth sat straight up in bed and glanced around. She could not explain why she had awoken, the only thing she was sure of now is that she was wide awake.
"Damn it. It's a good thing I don't have to work tomorrow." she whispered to herself while drawing her knees up to her chest. Groaning quietly, she glanced over to the mirror and looked at the reflection of herself sitting there. She looked like something straight out of the movie Lady In White, she thought and made a disgusted noise. Quickly she brushed a hand through her wild head full of dark tresses. Again she glanced at herself in the mirror, only this time, something did not look all together right. Blinking twice, Lizabeth then slid off of the bed and walked towards it.
