As the month draws to a close, I’m once more eager to delve into the world of comedy, with my duo of Sebastian & Jimmy. When I sat down to create a rough plan for the year, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy writing comedies. However, that’s definitely what’s happened, after realizing I could channel the dynamic of my favorite duo Abbott & Costello. As has been my wont when it comes to these stories, I asked ChatGPT for a few items to use as the seed for this tale, and it dutifully obliged, providing me with a trio of items that were a little more embellished than what I could get from my story cubes. I was given a rusted key wrapped in red thread, a mirror with no reflection, and a ledger filled with names and dates.
Immediately, an idea swirled through my mind, bouncing between some of their more fanciful movies. It didn’t take me long to find a basis for the tale. Sometimes, the best stories don’t start with grand adventures or epic battles. Rather they begin with something simpler, the hunt for food. That’s where Jimmy expected his meeting to begin. Instead, it twisted upon itself and he found himself in a bizarre little shop where reality plays by different rules, and his best friend seems far too comfortable navigating the oddities.
The image of a mirror that doesn’t reflect was the initial spark that inspired this story. As I thought about it, I wanted to explore the concept of a mirror that couldn’t reflect what was before it. But then it needed to reflect something, but what would it reflect. In the end, the idea of reflecting possibilities wormed its way into my mind. Of course, what creepy tale is complete without a couple of strange items? So I tossed in a cursed compass and a cryptic ledger, and the scene quickly bloomed.
This lighthearted tale blends humor with a growing sense of mystery as Jimmy and Sebastian stumble into something far larger than either of them expects. I’m eager to expand this tale into a small series to fully explore the mysteries I’ve uncovered, so keep an eye out for what comes next.
Jimmy poked his head through the door and examined the back room. When he spotted his friend, he rubbed his jaw, entered, and cleared his throat. “Sebastian, why aren’t we at a restaurant?!”
Sebastian shook his head as he turned toward his friend and groaned. With a harrumph, he rose to his full height and leaned forward. “What are you babbling on about now?”
Jimmy straightened and planted his hands on his hips. He pulled in a deep breath and thrust a finger about the room. “What kinda place is this?”
“That’s a stupid question.”
“Excuse me?” Jimmy thumped two fingers against Sebastian’s chest as his eyes narrowed. He made a few more jabs before he gestured toward the room’s entrance. “I asked the guy up front for a sandwich. Want to guess what happened?”
“The owner called you an idiot, because we’re not in a restaurant.”
“We were supposed to be at one.” Jimmy ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. He pulled something from his pocket, eyeing it with disdain, and released a sigh. “In short, he gave me what he called a cursed compass. Why did he give me something cursed?!”
“Oh, settle down,” Sebastian said as he resumed rummaging through the desk. “Did he give you anything aside from that compass?”
“A warning,” Jimmy said, shoving the compass into his pocket like it might bite him. “Why are you dragging us into another cursed situation? We were supposed to be getting lunch.”
“Don’t worry about food.” Sebastian’s head shook as he clapped Jimmy’s shoulder. “We’ll get some later. Currently, we’re not looking for sandwiches. We’re hunting for answers.”
“Answers,” Jimmy said, releasing an exasperated groan. “You and your silly search for answers. Right now, I’d settle for a meatball sub, cause then I wouldn’t be hungry.”
“We’ll eat later,” Sebastian said, waving Jimmy to approach the mirror.
“Yeah, and I’m sure I’ll end up paying for it, too.” Jimmy wiped his face as he stepped beside Sebastian and stared into the large mirror. A second later, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He grabbed Sebastian’s shoulder and spun him around before grasping his friend’s arms with whitening fingertips. “Hey! Why ain’t I in the mirror?! This is seriously breaking my brain!”
Sebastian batted his friend’s hands off him and readjusted his coat. He brushed his clean coat twice before he tapped the empty mirror and gave his friend a wan smile. “The reason neither of us are reflected here is that this one doesn’t reflect people.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t reflect people?” Jimmy asked as he turned and grasped its edges. His gaze flitted about the mirror as he licked his lips, scrutinizing the reflected objects. “That’s the whole point of a mirror. You realize, some people say that’s the purpose of mirrors! If it doesn’t do its job, what’s its purpose?”
As his grin tugged at his eyes, Sebastian rubbed his hands. “It reflects possibilities.”
“Possibilities?” Jimmy sighed as he released the mirror and turned to see his manic friend. He slapped Sebastian’s shoulder. “I’ve got to be possibly losing my mind to ask this question. But what possibilities does it reflect?”
“You’re overreacting again.” Sebastian withdrew something from his pocket and leaned closer to his friend as he brandished the rusted key, its head wrapped in red thread. “I think this should pair well with the warning the proprietor gave you.”
Jimmy’s hands shot up as he backed away. “That looks like a tetanus shot waiting to happen.”
“This key opens a door,” Sebastian said, waving the key. “While we don’t know where it is, we do know we’ll be able to open it and change everything.”
Jimmy pinched his nose as he closed his eyes. “Can’t that open a sandwich shop?”
“Forget about your sandwich.” Sebastian pocketed the key, then retrieved an item from the desk opposite the mirror. “This is the ledger.”
“Great, what’s it keeping track of?”
Sebastian stepped next to his friend and thumbed through the pages. “It’s a list of names and dates. The vast majority of which are scheduled in the future.”
“Wait a minute,” Jimmy flattened the ledger as he stabbed a finger down on the page. “That’s tomorrow. And that one’s next week! And—hey! That’s my name!”
“Yep, it reads Jimmy tomorrow at noon. The rest of the entry is somewhat smudged.”
Jimmy knocked the ledger aside and grasped his friend’s jacket. “What does that smudge mean?! Am I late for something? Do I vanish while heading to a store? Is this one of those ‘oops you fell into the mirror’ things?!”
Sebastian closed the book and tapped Jimmy’s forehead. “It means there’s something that’ll happen around noon tomorrow. Either way, your future’s not set. You’re going to face a decision. You’ll either unlock the door, or—”
“What door?! You said you don’t know where it is!”
“That’s the part we have to figure out.” He thumped the ledger as he grinned. “And based on that entry, we’ll make the discovery soon enough.”
“I knew it!” Jimmy said, throwing up his hands. He whirled toward Sebastian and thumped his chest again. “I walked in here planning to enjoy a lovely pastrami on rye, but now I’m supposed to reflect on possibilities from a mirror that won’t show me inside it, unlock invisible doors, and worry about fading away because my name is in some freaky diary of doom!”
“You’d rather it not be in the ledger?” Sebastian asked, walking toward the door.
Jimmy locked eyes with Sebastian as his lips straightened into a severe line. “I’d rather it be in a reservation book at the local diner or restaurant!”
Sebastian laughed and swung the ledger through the open doorway, gently nudging Jimmy away from the mirror. “Come on, Jimmy. Let’s get you the sandwich you’re craving. This way, you can concentrate on finding our door.”
“Sebastian, if I turn into a ghost, I’m haunting you first!”