07/02/2026
🪞😱 THE MIRROR IN MY ROOM
PART 1: THE CHEAP APARTMENT
✍️ Written by Jos-pen
They say…
when something is too cheap, it is either a blessing… or a trap.
And Martha was about to learn that lesson the hard way.
Martha had suffered.
Not the kind of suffering you tell people and they laugh.
The kind of suffering that makes you question if God is still listening.
She had slept on cold floors.
She had eaten dry rice without pepper.
She had walked long distances just to attend interviews that ended with the same sentence:
"We will call you."
But they never called.
Until one Monday morning, when her phone finally rang.
“Hello, is this Martha Nyenpan?”
“Yes, I am.”
“We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected…”
Martha didn’t even let the woman finish the sentence.
She screamed so loud that her neighbors thought she had won the lottery.
She had finally gotten a job.
A real job.
A job that would pay her every month.
A job that would change her life.
And the first thing she needed to do was simple:
Find a place to stay.
Because Martha was tired of sleeping in her cousin’s living room like an unwanted visitor.
That same afternoon, Martha carried her small bag and started searching for a room.
But the city was cruel.
Every house she saw had a price that sounded like a joke.
“Two hundred dollars monthly.”
“One hundred and fifty.”
“Three hundred with advance.”
Martha would just nod and smile, but inside her heart she was dying.
Because she knew she didn’t have that kind of money.
Even with her new job, she needed something affordable.
Something cheap.
And that was when she saw it.
A small handwritten sign nailed to a pole by the roadside:
ROOM FOR RENT – VERY CHEAP
CALL NOW
Martha stopped walking.
She stared at the sign again.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Very cheap?” she whispered.
It felt like the sign was calling her name.
Like it was meant for her.
So she took out her phone and called the number.
The phone rang only once before someone picked up.
A deep voice answered.
“Hello.”
“Hello sir, I saw your sign. I want the room.”
There was a short silence.
Then the voice said something strange.
“You want the room…?”
“Yes sir.”
Another silence.
Then the man replied:
“Come now. Don’t delay.”
And the call ended.
Martha looked at her phone.
The call didn’t even last 20 seconds.
But something about that voice…
It was not friendly.
It sounded dry.
Almost like someone who hadn’t spoken to a human being in years.
Martha shook her head.
“Maybe he is just old,” she said to herself.
And she followed the direction written on the sign.
After walking for almost fifteen minutes, she reached a quiet street.
Too quiet.
No children playing.
No music.
No shouting neighbors.
The street looked like a place that didn’t belong to the city.
It was calm… but not peaceful.
It was calm… like a graveyard.
Then she saw the house.
A tall old building, painted white, but the paint was fading like it was crying.
The gate was half open.
And the compound was strangely clean.
No grass.
No trash.
Nothing.
Just clean sand and silence.
Martha entered.
The moment she stepped inside the compound, her skin prickled.
It felt like the air became heavier.
She could hear her own footsteps clearly.
And she suddenly realized something:
There were no birds.
Not a single one.
Even in quiet places, you hear birds.
But here?
Nothing.
Not even a cricket.
Only silence.
Then she heard a sound.
Creeeeek…
The front door opened slowly by itself.
Martha froze.
She stood there like a statue.
The door opened wider.
And from inside the darkness, a man stepped out.
He was old.
Very old.
His head was bald and shiny like polished stone.
His eyes were red… not blood red, but the red of someone who never sleeps.
He wore a long brown shirt that looked like it was from another generation.
And his smile…
His smile didn’t reach his eyes.
He stared at Martha like he had been expecting her for years.
“You came,” he said.
Martha swallowed.
“Yes sir… I’m Martha.”
The old man nodded slowly.
“I know.”
That answer made Martha’s stomach twist.
How did he know her name?
She hadn’t told him her name on the phone.
But before she could ask, the old man turned and walked back inside.
“Follow me,” he said.
Martha hesitated.
But her need for a room was stronger than her fear.
So she followed.
Inside the house was colder than outside.
Not cold like air-condition.
Cold like… something dead lived there.
The corridor was long.
The walls were plain.
And the floor was so clean it looked unused.
The old man walked slowly, his slippers dragging.
Mrrrrr… mrrrrr…
The sound echoed.
Then he stopped at a door.
He opened it.
“This is the room,” he said.
Martha stepped in.
At first glance, she felt relief.
Because the room looked good.
The walls were painted cream.
The ceiling was white.
The window was big.
The bed space was wide.
Even the floor tiles looked new.
Martha smiled.
“This is perfect,” she said.
But then her eyes moved to the wall opposite the bed…
And her smile disappeared.
There was a mirror.
A big mirror.
Not the normal mirror you hang with nails.
This one looked like it was built into the wall.
The frame was black and old, with strange carved symbols on the edges.
And the glass…
The glass was too clear.
Too clean.
It reflected the room like it was alive.
Martha walked closer.
She stared at herself.
Her reflection stared back.
Normal.
But something about the mirror made her uncomfortable.
She couldn’t explain it.
It felt like the mirror was not just reflecting her face…
It felt like it was watching her.
Martha looked away quickly.
She forced a smile and turned to the old man.
“Sir, can I remove this mirror? I don’t like sleeping with mirror facing me.”
The old man’s face changed instantly.
His smile vanished.
His eyes became darker.
And his voice became serious.
“No.”
Martha blinked.
“No?”
The old man stepped closer.
His eyes locked on hers.
“You will not remove it.”
Martha laughed awkwardly.
“But sir, it’s my room…”
The old man’s voice rose a little, like anger was waking up inside him.
“That mirror belongs there.”
Martha’s chest tightened.
She nodded slowly.
“O-okay sir.”
The old man’s smile returned suddenly, like it never left.
“Good.”
Then he turned and walked out of the room.
But before leaving, he paused at the door and said:
“One more thing…”
Martha looked at him.
The old man stared at the mirror for a long time.
Then he looked back at Martha and said:
“Never look into it at midnight.”
Martha laughed nervously again.
“Why?”
The old man’s smile widened.
And he said:
“Because it may recognize you.”
Then he closed the door.
Martha stood still.
Her heart was beating faster.
“Recognize me?” she whispered.
She tried to convince herself it was just an old man’s joke.
Maybe he was trying to scare her.
Some landlords are weird.
Martha sighed and began unpacking.
She arranged her clothes.
She wiped the floor again.
She even sprayed perfume around the room.
And slowly, the fear faded.
Night came.
Martha ate bread and tea.
She laid on her small mattress.
She stared at the ceiling.
Then she closed her eyes.
At exactly 12:07am, Martha’s eyes opened suddenly.
Not because she wanted to.
But because something woke her.
The room was dark.
The air was cold.
And the silence was heavy.
Martha sat up.
She rubbed her eyes.
Then she heard it.
A whisper.
Soft.
Very soft.
Like wind.
“Martha…”
She froze.
Her throat dried up.
She looked around.
Nothing.
She held her breath.
Then the whisper came again.
This time closer.
“Martha…”
It sounded like it came from the wall.
From the mirror’s direction.
Martha’s body refused to move.
Slowly… slowly… she turned her head.
Her eyes landed on the mirror.
The mirror was not reflecting darkness.
It was glowing faintly.
Like moonlight was inside it.
Martha’s reflection was sitting on the bed.
Just like her.
But something was wrong.
Because her reflection was smiling.
Martha was not smiling.
The reflection’s smile became wider…
And wider…
Then it raised its hand slowly.
And waved.
Martha’s mouth opened but no sound came out.
Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst.
Then the reflection leaned forward in the mirror…
And whispered clearly:
“Welcome… to my room.”
Martha screamed.
And the lights in the entire building went off instantly.
BLACK OUT.
And in the darkness…
Something crawled out of the mirror.
😱🔥 TO BE CONTINUED… PART 2: THE SMILE THAT WASN’T MINE
