Many people have phobias of things that are a part of life: they will have to show up and you will have to be afraid. Some of these are spiders and how no matter how much you try they are always near you. Some phobias are funny, like the fear that somehow, somewhere, a duck is watching you. I of course respect all phobias unless they are my own. I have an odd phobia that I have researched and found out I’m not alone. The fear of mirrors. It might sound weird to you but stay with me, I’ll try to explain why. When I was younger I watched a lot of horror movies, but that isn’t what did it. Everytime I see myself in the mirror I also see what’s behind me, what’s near me. Something about that makes me afraid. For one example I was walking to the kitchen and found myself stopped at a mirror. I stared into my eyes and they stated back. When you state at someone else you aren’t getting the same effect that a mirror gives. A mirror stares back the same way, only moving when you do. Thats still not the part that scares me. When I stare into the mirror I sometimes notice it’s not staring back, it’s looking behind me. My eyes shift slightly to see what it’s looking at and I see him. His eyes are dark, blending in with the rest of his body. He stares although he doesn’t appear to have eyes. The fact is he does have eyes- they arent where you think they are. He holds up his hands and I see his eyes, bloodshot red. They stare right at me. I can’t scream, I can’t move. I try to move but I’m paralyzed. It just won’t work, my body is afraid. I feel a tingling sensation and I turn around quickly, I can move again. Nothing is behind me, Im still alone. I shrugged it off as I was tired, I wasn’t thinking straight, I’m insane. But everytime I take that walk to the kitchen the same thing happens- I stare into the mirror unwillingly and see him. I’ve noticed he gets a little closers every time, but he doesn’t do anything but hold out his hands and stare at me until I turn around. Only recently have I found the guts to talk to him. “h-hello” I managed to stutter from my paralysis. I never noticed his pitch black figure having a mouth but this time he smiled. his teeth were bright white and Showed well on his black figure. He put his hands down and said “hello” in a deep, husky voice. His voice seemed somehow warming despite everything about him. I found myself able to move, so I shifted positions and continued to look at him. “what do you want?” I ask. His smile fades and disappears before he replies with “I’m here to live”. he disappears and I turn around. He wasn’t there. After that I never saw him again, he must have went somewhere else. So if you ever see yourself in a mirror, stare at yourself. where are you really looking?