Melissa seemed to really enjoy talking to the ghost in Holly's mirror.

 

Quite understandably, seeing words appear on the mirror out of nowhere, with no one writing them, excited the 5-year-old to no end.

 

Perched on a stool she had placed in the bathroom, Holly watched as Melissa's awe-struck eyes followed the black ink moving along the reflective surface of her sink's mirror, leaving behind neatly written words in its wake.

 

'You look adorable in your new dress, Mel.'

 

Melissa giggled, bouncing on the bathroom tiles, as she did at the end of every sentence written by the mirror. "Thank you, Mr. Mirror! Auntie got it for my birthday!" Her wide green eyes turned to Holly, who simply smiled.

 

Once again, Holly had been assigned to babysit Melissa, her young niece. Her sister, Amelia, never seemed to have time for her daughter anymore, considering she worked two jobs to support their family. She would be up at the crack of dawn; ringing the doorbell to Holly's house before her younger sister had even started making breakfast. A quick word of thanks, and then she'd be off, only to come back sometime in the evening to pick Melissa back up.

 

Amelia's situation was truly unfortunate, a clear example of how a few seconds could flip one's whole life upside down. Until just a few months ago, she had been living contentedly; a secure job, a close circle of friends, and a happy family with her husband, Nathan. They had gotten married around the same time Holly had started dating her boyfriend, Eric, and had had their first, and only daughter, Melissa, not much later.

 

In the blink of an eye, however, everything had collapsed. It started when both Eric and Nathan, travelling together to Amelia's house where they had all decided to meet up, had gotten into a car crash. Their car had been knocked off a bridge, crashing into the river below and leaving behind nothing but the license plate and a few odd broken pieces for the ambulance and police to find. Both had died instantly.

 

Holly and Amelia had both been devastated, but it seemed fate was not done with Amelia yet. A mere three days later, she had lost her job.

 

Heartbroken and now unemployed, Amelia had to find a new job fast, to continue supporting herself and Melissa. The funeral took a huge toll on both women, emotionally and financially. Even with Holly's support, Amelia was struggling. After MONTHS of battling the cruel hand fate had dealt her, had she at last managed to emerge victorious.

 

At present, she held two accounting jobs at small firms. Due to her tight schedule, her friend circle had slowly fallen apart, and she often had to leave Melissa with Holly, who worked a stay-at-home job as a virtual assistant. Despite everything, she had rebuilt her life, and both Amelia and Holly could say they were content.

 

Holly adored having Melissa over. The child had helped the two sisters cope without even knowing it. Spoiling Melissa was sometimes the highlight of Holly's day. She even provided some much needed company, as Holly lived alone after all.

 

Well...mostly alone.

 

In the days that followed Amelia losing her job, Holly had frequently been left alone as her sister looked to find a job on short notice. She loathed the time she would be left to her thoughts, as she was also mourning the loss of her boyfriend, and her brother-in-law. At the time, all she wished for was someone to tell her everything would soon be okay again.

 

And that's exactly what she got.

 

When she had entered the bathroom to splash some water on her face, for probably the fifth time that day, she had noticed something. A small patch of black on the sink mirror. That wasn't what concerned her, however. What was really concerning was when it wouldn't come off. With water. Or soap. Or a cloth. Or a brush.

 

When a solid five minutes of scrubbing got her nowhere, Holly had taken a step back, and that's when the words had started to appear. Right before her bewildered eyes, the black dot she had desperately tried to remove had formed a line.

 

And then a letter.

 

And then a word.

 

And then a message.

 

'Be strong, Holly. This pain is not eternal.'

 

And that is how her friendship with the mirror ghost had started.

 

Initially, Holly had been beyond terrified. She had tried everything to get the mysterious entity to leave- from sprinkling salt to burning sage, from hanging crosses in the bathroom to performing a complete exorcism. She had even replaced the mirror itself.

 

And yet, the words continued to form. 

 

'Don't be scared. I'm only here to help you.'

 

'You're strong, Holly. Just keep fighting.'

 

'Deep breaths, Holly. Everything will be fine.'

 

The reassuring nature of the messages had eventually gotten to her. Slowly and steadily, she started to feel less afraid of the seemingly supernatural entity trying to support her.

 

She even tried writing back with a black marker once. It turned out to be the best decision she could've made.

 

Quite surprisingly, conversation had flown easily between Holly and the ghost. She gradually began to find comfort in talking to her new, albeit highly unconventional, friend.

 

And now, months later, she felt perfectly at ease letting her young niece talk to it too.

 

Mr. Mirror seemed to be quite good with children. Or maybe that was because Melissa found anything and everything to do with the mirror simply fascinating. Whatever the reason, they seemed to be having fun.

 

As much fun as you could have while talking to a ghost in a mirror.

 

Holly soon noted that almost half an hour had passed since they had started talking to the ghost, and she should be preparing lunch for Melissa soon. Getting up to leave, she placed a hand on Melissa'a shoulder to get her attention.

 

"It's almost time for lunch, Mel. How about you say goodbye to Mr Mirror, and we'll talk to him some other time?"

 

Melissa was disappointed, as could be seen from her angry pout. A better word would be adorable, but the intention was clearly expressing anger.

 

"Come on, now. I've got strawberry ice cream in the fridge!"

 

Her eyes lit up again, her "anger" not lasting very long, as was quite predictable to Holly.

 

What she hadn't expected was the sentence she said as she skipped out of the bathroom.

 

"Mr Mirror can be friends with Daddy in the mirror at home!"