By Kyra Bredenhof
Once there was a girl who believed in a whole other world beyond the glass.
Every morning, as the girl rose to comb her hair and wash her face, singing softly to herself, a voice echoed back at her, her actions mimicked by the image in the glass. Framed by ornately gilded metal, the girl on the other side smiled when she smiled, laughed when she laughed, cried when she cried.
The girl wished to be that other child. When she couldn’t sleep at night, she would imagine stepping through the glass, joining her dear friend in that rippling world. But of course, she never could.
When the days grew long, when her parents wouldn’t come home for weeks and she was left with her governess in the manor, the girl was comforted by the company of the other in the glass. The two understood each other perfectly, as if they were the same. The girl felt as though she could tell the girl in the glass anything; she knew she wouldn’t tell a soul. Every secret of hers was safe, tucked in that other world.
Often, the girl would disappear into her room merely to gaze into that window into the other world. For hours, her governess would search the house for her, calling to deaf ears. That was when the girl had begun to stop caring for her lessons, when she would rush through her arithmetic and reading exercises. She never wanted to play outside anymore, sit in the parlor with her parents, or spend time eating her meals. The only thing that occupied the girl’s attention – occupied her heart – was the face, so like her own, that she saw framed on her wall.
The girl’s governess grew irritated. Tired of always looking for her charge and dealing with her distractedness and daydreaming. She had a mind to quit, find work from some other wealthy family.
Yet she hesitated, for hidden underneath the governess’ frustration was a hint of melancholy. For how sad it was to witness this girl, so young, so privileged, with all she could have dreamed of in the world, to be so lonely, so desperate for company, that she would befriend even her own reflection for a chance to have someone to talk to.
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Kyra Bredenhof was born to tell stories. She is a massive Tolkien fan and finds her best friends in the books she reads. Kyra is currently still a high school student but is looking forward to a university education in English Literature in the coming year. When she’s not writing, you can find her drinking tea, reading classic literature, walking her mini golden-doodle, or playing piano on most days of the week.
Instagram: @thenotebookof_kb