Taekwoon sits on his bed, staring contently at the mirror. He had cleaned the glass thoroughly, as well as the rim and was staring at his reflection. At the top of the mirror were the words ‘the other side is not far’ engraved into the glass. Taekwoon sets the mirror below his window, gazing out at the moon.

“The other side is not far” he says quietly to himself, then chuckles silently. “That’d be nice” he says before tucking himself in bed. Taekwoon closes his eyes, but sleep doesn’t come; half way through the night, he wakes up to see something shimmering on the mirror. Taekwoon walks to mirror and sees that the surface of the glass had somehow lost its solidity. The boy pokes the mirror and finds his finger passes right through.

“I must be out of my mind” he says before squeezing his eyes shut and crawling through the mirror. When he opens his eyes, everything looks the same. Had he imagined everything? Taekwoon walks out of his room quietly, careful not to disturb his father. He sees light coming from the kitchen and suddenly smells something sweet.

“Son, you’re awake” his father says hugging him tightly.

“Father, what are you doing up so late?” Taekwoon asks stunned at the man in front of him; if that was even his father. This father had dropped his pot belly and didn’t reek of alcohol. This father smiled and sounded generally happy.

“To celebrate” he says, smiling brightly.

“Celebrate?”

“Yes” a sweet voice answers, standing from the table. There was Taekwoon’s mother, looking healthier than ever, a fresh pie in her hands; that explains the smell. “You’ve finally come home”

“What are you talking about, I was just home?”

“And you still are, but to a better home” Taekwoon’s father says, ushering the boy to sit.

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t stay. I don’t consider any place with my parents ‘home’” Taekwoon says looking at his ‘parents’.

“Maybe with your other parents, but we’re your mirror family. Everything’s different here”

“Really?” Taekwoon asks astonished; he thought maybe a couple actors had come in to play a prank on him.

“Yes, since the beginning of time, mirrors have been used to cleanse the spirit; all lost hopes and dreams are transferred here, but we know better than to dwell in the negative. Here your heart and soul are free to do whatever you please” His mirror mother says handing the boy a slice of pie.

“I-if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go for a walk” Taekwoon says quietly pushing the plate away.

“I’ll be happy to join you” his mirror mother says smiling.

“Alone” is all the boy says before racing out of the house. The night air is quiet; a lot more quiet than usual. He walks down his street to a main intersection and sees that the cars are nearly silent; people on the sidewalk are talking in lower voices than normal; the place was like a giant library. Taekwoon could get used to this, easily. Taekwoon walks back home, astonished at how different this world is from the one he knew. People smiled at him on the streets without shouting hello and getting in his face. The grass seemed to be greener in the mirror world; making Taekwoon question why he hadn’t come to this place sooner, or why anyone would want to leave.

“Did you have fun?” Taekwoon’s mother asks waiting on the porch when the boy returns.  Taekwoon nods and hugs his mirror mother; though he was ninety percent sure he was dreaming; he didn’t want to wake up ever.

“Why don’t you stop by your school, I’m sure your friends would like to see you” Taekwoon’s mother suggests.

“School, at night?”

“Mirror’s show opposites” she says shrugging before re-entering the house.

“Maybe another night; I should get home in case dad comes in to check on me” Taekwoon says to his mirror parents, before heading up to his room.

“Of course, see you soon” they sing, as the boy drowsily climbs the stairs. In his room he looks at the mirror, trying to figure out how to get back.

“The other side is not far” he says quickly before holding his breath and running at the mirror; miraculously he makes it through and climbs into bed.

“That was super weird.” He utters before passing out on his pillow.