Rei didn't scream.
He wanted to. Every muscle in his body told him to. But something about the laughter paralyzed him — like it wasn't just sound, but something deeper. Something inside him.
The mirror in his hallway rippled, like black water.
The smile was still there — but now, there were eyes.No pupils. No irises. Just two shapes, pale and crescent, staring directly at him.
He stepped back. The mirror didn't reflect him anymore.
It reflected something behind him.
Creeeaaak…
He turned.Nothing.
When he looked back at the mirror — it was just a mirror again.
He didn't sleep that night.Not out of fear, but because the whispers had started.
"R̶e̷i̷…""K̶a̵z̵u̴k̵i̶…""W̸e̴ ̷k̶n̷o̶w̷ ̷y̶o̸u̷.̴ ̵Y̷o̷u̵ ̸w̶e̷r̶e̴ ̶m̸a̶d̷e̶ ̷f̸o̴r̵ ̷u̵s̶.̵"
He covered his ears.The voices got louder.
He smashed the bathroom mirror. The voice moved to the window.He shut the curtains. The whisper seeped from the walls.
By morning, Rei was pale, silent, and visibly shaken.
At school, Daichi pulled him aside.
"Bro. You look like you got hit by a truck and dragged through a horror movie. What's going on?"
Rei stayed quiet.
"Rei."
He finally spoke. Quietly.
"Have you ever… heard something that wasn't real?"
"What, like ghosts?"
Rei nodded. "But one that knows your name."
Daichi chuckled nervously. "Dude, I watch horror anime. Don't live in one."
Later that day, as the final bell rang, Rei found something in his locker.
A piece of paper. Old. Burnt edges.
One word was scrawled in black ink — almost clawed into the page:
"Don't Look In The Mirror."
Rei turned instantly.Across the hall, the science lab had a large window — reflective, like a mirror.And in the glass…
He saw himself.
But his reflection was smiling again.
And this time, it raised a hand and waved.
Rei didn't move.But the smile did.