The Land of Mirrors: Part 1

Jersey Cashmere “Cash” Jenkins-Rivera tapped her fingers on her fitting room desk as the time slowly went by. She hated this shift. She’d rather be home watching TV or even funny YouTube videos. She was tired of the cringy music playing in the background, or crackhead customers calling her retarded when she counted their clothes, or even worse, babies in the distance screaming their heads off for whatever who knows what. The coldness in the room engulfed her, making her wish she’d brought a jacket. Being forced to stand all day made her feet swollen. She had wished her life was slightly different.

It was raining hard tonight, thunder rolling throughout. The store was quiet. Vacant. Hardly anyone entered the fitting room, increasing Jersey’s boredom.

It was nearly closing time and her manager, Mr. Burke, approached her with a spray bottle in his hand.

“Jersey, throw away that old spray on your desk and use this one instead.” Mr. Burke handed her the new bottle and walked away.

Jersey looked down at the bottle with curiosity. The bottle had purple, pink, and blue swirls all over its wrapper. She glanced at the other bottle which only had a small amount of pink liquid.

She shut down the fitting room for the night and started spraying down each mirror from the stalls. With every spritz she took, she noticed a flash of light coming out of the nozzle. She looked at the bottle and squinted. The bottle read “Magic.” Shrugging, she continued cleaning. Once she continued, the mirror started lighting up in the same colors as the bottle contained.

Cautiously, Jersey put her foot inside the mirror, then withdrew it quickly. She scrutinized the mirror, then looked down at the bottle again.

What was happening? she thought.

She stepped inside the mirror again and stared in awe. She scanned the area and the background shared the same colors and patterns as the spray bottle. Was that why all of this was happening? Because of that spray bottle? Was this bottle some type of magic bottle that sends you to different realms? Where did Mr. Burke get it and why would that store sell it? Does anyone but her know about its magic effect? Does Mr. Burke know?

Then an otter appeared out of nowhere.

She backed up with a gasp.

“Hey, relax. I’m not gonna bite. You’re safe here!”

“Um, okay. Can you tell me where I am?” Jersey asked.

“You’re in The Land of Mirrors!” it said.

“Why are we here?”

“You freed us by using the Magic Spray! Thank you so much!”

“Uh, n-no problem. So, how do I get out of here?”

The otter gave her a confused look. “Aren’t you bored at your job?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Well, now’s your opportunity to have fun here!”

“Yeah, but am I gonna be stuck here forever?”

“Heavens, no! You can leave here at any time.”

“Okay, then can I leave now? I have a job to get to.”

“Relax. Once you enter this dimension, time freezes.”

“So, time doesn’t pass here at all? So, once I leave here, it’s still going to be the same time?” Jersey starts to raise her voice. “What’s the point of this place?”

“Let me finish. If you want, you could fast forward to whatever time you want. But in the meantime, why don’t I tell you more about this place?”

“Um, sure.”

“So, the magic bottle in your hand allows you to visualize any desire you want. Doesn’t matter what it is. It can be about a pony, or experiencing your first love, or-”

As the otter went on, Jersey thought about her own deepest desires. Would these all come true?

After the otter finished talking, Jersey said, “So, if I go through these fantasies, would they come true or-”

“Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. But try not to overdo it. It could be dangerous.”

“How?”

“Just be careful, alright?”

She nodded.

“Try it. Just spritz the spray in the air somewhere.”

Jersey lifted up the spray and once she spritzed it, she saw a small blob showing a piece of her and her family. She looked closer and watched her parents laughing and talking as always. Jersey seemed to be at her current age. She hugged her dad and told him she loved him.

Dad was as healthy and happy as ever. It was too bad Jersey couldn’t see him again. He died of cancer when she was seventeen years old.

As the vision ended, Jersey couldn’t help but tear up. She missed her dad so much. Now, she was stuck with her stupid stepfather and his bratty daughter. Oh, how she wished things were what they used to be.

“You okay?” the otter asked.

“Can I just go back to real life?” she sniffled.

“Sure. And you can come back at any time.”

She exited the world and tried to gulp down the grief. She couldn’t believe a hidden world like this existed. She then wondered if anyone discovered this world and why no one else had mentioned it. Was she the first to discover it? She wanted to know more but was afraid to see something like that again.

She placed the spray bottle under her desk and left for the night.