The tapping intensified the more I tried to ignore it. I rose from bed and checked my window for what seemed like the millionth time and still there was nothing there. I had thought originally that it was a tree or bush or even someone throwing rocks at my window, but to my dismay there was nothing and no one outside my window. With nothing to see I drug my feet back into my bed and tried to ignore the constant tapping that disturbed the silence of the night.
Around midnight I thought I had gone insane; the tapping had continued for hours and I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to take it. Tap tap tap, tap tap tap. Where was it coming from! My body jolted up in bed and I stood at the window once more. If the tapping wouldn’t leave, then I would.
I swaddled myself in my blankets and shuffled toward the door. Tap tap tap, tap tap tap. The tapping became louder as I walked to it. Tap tap tap, tap tap tap. I inched closer to my light switch, whoever had been tapping on my door all night was going to regret it.
With the switch flipped electricity surged to the lights and I was able to see. My vision was blurry at first, so the image in my mirror appeared a fuzzy blob that could’ve easily been me. I rubbed my eyes again to be sure of what I was seeing; a little boy held his hand to the mirror from the inside and was tapping.
My jaw hung open in a silent scream. Was I dreaming? How had a little boy become trapped in my mirror? I took a step back, nearly tripping over the blankets that encompassed me, but I couldn’t bring myself to think it was real life. Surely I had fallen asleep hours ago and was deep in sleep. I let my blankets drop to the floor as I went to stand in front of the mirror. Was he really there? I tapped the glass six times as he had: tap tap tap, tap tap tap. The little boy looked up at me and smiled as a single tear ran down his cheek. I blinked, he blinked. He put his hands to the mirror and mouthed something I couldn’t make out. It could’ve easily been “hey there” or something simple, but I had read “help me”. I took a step back, chills running up and down my arms.
Suddenly the boy looked behind him, then looked back at me. Tears began streaming down his cheeks and his hands began to beat on my mirror. Didn’t he know that other people lived in this house besides me and they were trying to sleep? I rushed back to the mirror trying to get his attention, but when I reached the glass he was gone and I looked at the reflection of myself.
I backed away, afraid that I was losing my mind. My feet found the soft blanket that had hung around my shoulders and my body went crashing to the ground. I blacked out and in the morning I checked my mirror. Maybe it really was just in a dream.