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Ledi woke up with a sharp thumping pain in her head. She sat up on her bed and tried to get up. She began to feel a little wobbly and light. The weight of her body diminished. It was as though she was almost floating. She managed to stamp her feet on the floor. In front of her was a mirror she had not noticed the previous night she moved in. She felt like she had been sleeping for days unending.
She looked at her brown eyes in the mirror. They were exactly like her mother's. “I wish you were here to see this mum. You'd have loved this house. It is exactly the way we imagined our dream house to be.” She muttered wiping a tear that had escaped her left eye.
Her head banged even harder. Ledi began to recall the events of the previous day before she moved in. It was the most exhilarating day of her life. Ledi could not contain her excitement. She had been prudent and wise. She'd saved for the past ten years and acquiring this new home felt like everything to her. All the sweat, hard work, and perseverance had finally paid off. She beamed as the realtor handed her the final documents to sign.
“So this is mine now?” Ledi turned round. Her a-line floral dress made a swirl.
“Yes, miss.” The bulky middle-aged man replied to her with a smile.
Ledi peeked into the mirror and smiled again. That day had been tattoed in her heart and she would never forget it. Ledi paused for a moment. She thought she heard whispers before the bell rang. She could have sworn it was her mother's voice. She straightened her hair and dashed down the stairs.
“Moving truck is here.” A deep and husky voice greeted her as she opened the door. He didn't make eye contact with Ledi even when she tried to say hello. They started offloading boxes until the very last.
Ledi brewed a hot pot of coffee that she had found in the kitchen cabinet. Simmering in the taste and sweet sensation of her coffee, a black box caught Ledi’s eyes. She picked it up and opened it. It was a photo album of a family she had never seen before.
“This is the wrong package,” Ledi mumbled a little worried. She then opened all the boxes sitting in her empty apartment. One after the other, the boxes contained items that weren't hers. Ledi became furious. “How could they be so careless?” she hissed.
Suddenly, she began to hear faint chattering coming from upstairs followed by running and stamping. Ledi’s heart raced. She swallowed hard. Clutching her hands to her chest, cautiously she began to climb up the stairs. She could feel her heart pounding. “Are there intruders in my home?”
As soon as she got up the stairs, the chattering and running stopped. She didn't find anyone or anything unusual. Still petrified, Ledi walked into her room almost running. She began to doubt her sanity. She stood in front of the mirror again. She then put her palms on her beating chest. They fell on the pendant attached to her necklace.
It was the pendant of an eye. Her mother, before her death, had gifted it to her six years ago. “Ledi, this isn't just a pendant. It's the eye. It reveals the truth. You’ll see.” Her mother would always say that to her.
Ledi still terrified squeezed the pendant. At that moment, she needed her mother more than anything. As soon as she took her hands off her chest, she saw a little girl behind her in the mirror. She had seen her in the photo album. Her eyes met Ledi’s and they both screamed. Ledi fell to the ground. She watched as two people raced into the bedroom. A man and a woman held the girl in their arms confused and shocked.
“What happened Rachel?” The woman inquired with terror-filled eyes.
“I saw a girl in the mirror mother. She was looking back at me.” The girl whispered while trembling. The man and the woman exchanged glances. Ledi watched as they were oblivious to her presence. It was the family from the album.
“Darling, do you think this house is hunted?” The woman suddenly asked.
“What? No. Why?”
“But you know the previous owner died in her sleep right in this room the night she moved in. The story made headlines.
Hearing those words, Ledi ran down the stairs. She ransacked the boxes until she found some newspapers. Ledi could not come to terms with what she read in the papers. She was shocked and in total disbelief. Ledi realized she was the ‘intruder’ who had died months ago. She couldn't move.
“Ledi!” A voice whispered from behind. The same voice she had heard upstairs. Ledi turned to find her mother standing there in her favorite dress.
“You made it honey. I'm so proud of you. The house is exactly as I imagined it to be. This is our dream home now and that's the only truth that matters. Come, let me make us some coffee.” the woman stretched out her arms.