Everybody made fun of Layla and because she was easily frightened. All of her friends and even her family liked to play pranks on her and try to frighten her. Each time they succeeded, they laughed and called her a scaredy-cat like it was just a game. Maybe it was to them, but to Layla, it wasn’t. She didn’t know why but she was always easily frightened, she wasn’t scared, she just didn’t like it when people made sudden moves or noises around her. Her older brother’s best prank was waiting behind the corner, waiting for her to walk by and simply saying “BOO!”. Each time Layla would jump backward and scream and her brother would just laugh.

Her best friend Zoey also loved to frighten her. Layla knew that it was all meant in good jest, she was never angry with her, but every time Zoey frightened her Layla wanted that Zoey had such a weakness as her. For once Layla wanted to be on the other side, frightening other people, but she didn’t have it in her. She was like that since she was a child then one day everything started to change.

Spring was at its peak, the days were getting warmer and longer, which meant that the county fair would soon be in town. Lyla loved all of the games, the rides, the music and hanging out with her friends. Her parents always let her stay up late when the county fair was in town. The only thing she didn’t like was the Haunted house. Her friends always persuaded her to go and told her that it was not as scary as she thought but she wouldn’t budge. 

This time there was no Haunted house at the county fair, instead of it there was a Voodoo house. Layla’s friends were excited to go see what it was, it was something new and that made it exciting. Zoey grabbed Layla’s hand and started to walk towards the Voodoo house but Layla resisted.

 “What’s wrong?” Zoey asked.

 “It’s not the Haunted house but it still looks scary. And you know that I get scared easily.” Layla said.

 “It’s just voodoo. You know it’s not real. It’s just made up like magic.” Zoey said.

 “I know but...” Layla started to say but was interrupted.

 “No buts. You are going with us this time. It’s not the Haunted house, which was lame by the way, it’s just silly made-up magic.” Zoey said.

“Ok. But you go first. I’ll go behind you.” Layla said. 

“It’s a deal.” Zoey said with a smile on her face. 

They bought the tickets and entered the Voodoo house. The path took them through several rooms with dark scenes and puppets with faces painted with white paint to look like skulls. There were fake human skulls and bones in different horror-like scenes but nothing was too scary.

“You see. I told you that it wouldn’t be scary. These houses in the county fair are always lame.” Zoey said.

“Hey, Zoey! Come see this!” Layla heard her friend Alex yell somewhere in front of them.

 “I’m coming!” Zoey yelled and hurried towards Alex.

“Zoey, wait for me!” Layla yelled but Zoey was already out of her sight. Layla continued walking slowly, afraid that something’s going to jump out of the wall or ceiling and frighten her. She stopped at a fork in the path. “Zoey! Alex! Where are you?” She yelled but nobody answered. She looked at the left path, it looked very dark, but the right path didn’t so she went right. After a while, she ended up in a room with a big mirror and a massive wooden frame. The wooden frame had carvings of images and symbols she had never seen before.

Layla looked at herself in the mirror but something was wrong with her reflection. It didn’t look the same as it usually did. She couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with the reflection until she tilted her head a bit to the right. The reflection in the mirror did the same, it tilted its head to the right instead of to the left. Layla jumped backward but her reflection didn’t. Her reflection straightened its head and looked at her. 

Her reflection turned completely black and Layla’s whole body froze. The reflection started to emerge from the mirror. The black reflection, now completely out of the mirror stood in front of Layla, grabbed her hands and merged itself into her body. Layla, still frozen, now looked at the mirror and didn’t see her reflection in it anymore. She closed her eyes and started to scream and cry. 

“Hey! Hey! What’s wrong?” Layla heard Zoey’s voice and felt Zoey hug her.

“The mirror... The mirror… You left me all alone and now the mirror...” Layla tried to say what happened, but being still in shock from what just happened to her, not understand what happened, she couldn’t think straight.

“What are you talking about? What mirror? I was gone for maybe half a minute.” Zoey said.

“I want to go home.” Layla said whipping her tears with her hands.

“Ok. Come with me. Let’s go.” Zoey said.

After the incident at the Voodoo house, Layla gradually started to feel strange. One morning, after a few weeks, while she was brushing her teeth she noticed in the mirror that the fingernail nail on her right pinkie finger was completely black. She looked at it but it looked normal. She looked at the mirror again and in the mirror, it was black. That couldn’t be right. She didn’t know what to do, she decided to go to school and do some research after school about that.

Layla went to her room and got dressed. She was running late so she hurried to get out of the house. Her brother was waiting behind the corner and as she walked by, he yelled “BOO!”. Layla didn’t jump backward or scream, she wasn’t even started, she just told him to get out of her way and left the house. On her way to school, Layla thought about what just happened, that prank was her brother’s favorite prank because it always worked, it always frightened her. ‘So why didn’t it frighten me this time?’ Layla thought.

It was the same at school, all of her friends had their favorite pranks that always worked and frightened her, but today, for some reason, none of them even startled her. Layla went to the bathroom to think. ‘Maybe somethings wrong with me? Maybe I’m sick.’ She washed her face in the sink ad looked at herself in the mirror. She moved a strain of hair from her face and noticed that the top joint of her right pinkie finger was now completely black. She looked at it in shock.

In the real world, her right pinkie finger looked normal but in the mirror, it was turning black. At the next class, she told the teacher that she wasn’t feeling well and asked to go home. She hurried home, went to her room, took her laptop and started searching for answers about the mirror she saw at the Voodoo house and parts of her body turning black.

Layla searched all day and all night and couldn’t find anything that would explain what was happening to her. Every day for a month, she researched everything about mirrors, black reflections and all she found was stories about witchcraft and black magic. However, witches and magic weren’t real. She started to panic because as time passed each of her fingers, on her right hand, started to turn completely black. Layla started to ask her friend about the Voodoo house and the fork in the path, but her friends just looked at her with confusion on their faces claiming that the path in the house was straight, that there was no fork in the path and no room with a mirror.

Layla’s family and friends started to worry about her and the way she changed. She wasn’t easily frightened anymore, she seemed cold and distant. She was still her but at the same time, she wasn’t. Her parents sent her to see a psychiatrist because they didn’t know what to do. The psychiatrist told them that there was nothing wrong with her that the change in behavior was just a phase of her growing up, she was fourteen and she was going through puberty, which was normal. He told them that they don’t have anything to worry about.

However, Layla didn’t feel normal, something didn’t feel right inside her. She felt that something was growing inside of her, waking up inside of her, something very powerful. Whatever was happening to her felt as if it was poisoning her body so Layla decided to research cleansing rituals, rituals to expel demons and evil spirits and try them out. Maybe one of them will work.

Researching the rituals and gathered the necessary components took a lot of time. So much time that Layla’s whole right hand turned black ad her left pinkie finger started to turn black. She even started to feel the need to go into textile stores and buy specific types of fabrics. She didn’t know why she had the urge to buy fabrics and how she knew which fabrics to buy, but the urge was so strong that she spent most of her allowance on the fabrics. The rest of her allowance Layla spent on the components for the rituals.

Layla tried a few of the cleansing rituals, the demon expelling rituals and the rituals to drive out evil spirits. None of the rituals she tried worked, but she didn’t give up, there were many more that she could try. 

“None of them will work.” She heard a female voice inside her head and started looking around her room. “I’m not out there.” The voice said.

“What do you mean by that? Who and where are you?” Layla said.

“Pick up the hand mirror beside your bead.” The voice said.

 Layla picked up the hand mirror and brought it closer to her face. Her hand was shaking but she looked at herself in the mirror. She saw her face looking back at her with a serious look. The face in the mirror said. “None of the rituals you have planned will work.”

Layla screamed and threw the hand mirror as far away as she could. ‘This can’t be happening. I’m hallucinating. I must be, there’s no other explanation.’ Layla thought.

“You are not hallucinating. I can talk to you like this if you don’t want to talk face to face.” The voice said.

“You are not real. I’m hallucinating.” Layla said.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“You humans are all the same. You are just in shock, you will get over it, trust me.” The voice said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need your body for some time to make some things right. When I do that I will leave you alone.”

“What? You need my body? You are the one turning my body black?” Layla asked.

“Yes.” The voice said.

“Stop it! I’m not giving you my body!” Layla yelled.

“You don’t have a choice in this matter. I make things right and for that, I need a body.” The voice said.

Layla ran into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. “I will not give you my body!” She yelled angrily.

Layla’s reflection looked back at her with a condescending look on its face. Her both hands were now completely black.

“Stop that! Stop spreading your poison over my body!” Layla said harshly. “I won’t let you take over my body!”

“Then let us make a deal.” The reflection said. “Just give me control over both of your arms, when I need them and get the things I ask you to get. I will let you control your body for the rest of the time.”

“How do I know that you are not lying?” Layla asked.

“You do not. But I will tell you my name. If you know my name you can call Papa Legba, tell him my name and he will give your mind control over your body back to you. He will not banish me from your body but he will temporarily give you control. Do we have a deal?” The reflection asked.

“Who is Papa Legba?” Layla asked.

“He is the intermediary between beings like me and humanity. Do we have a deal?” The reflection asked again.

“And you promise you will leave me alone after you finish whatever your planning?” Layla asked.

“Yes.” The reflection said.

“Then we have a deal. Tell me your name. ” Layla said.

“My name is Marinette.” The reflection said and Layla’s arms, in the mirror, turned black all the way to her shoulders. 

“Now it is time we get some cloth.” Marinette said.

Layla got dressed and headed to the nearest textile store. At the store, her hands started touching the fabrics by themselves, Layla had no control over them. After a while, they stopped at one of the fabrics and took it off the shelf. The saleswoman asked Layla how much of the fabric did she need and Marinette told Layla to get the whole roll of the fabric. Layla did as Marinette told her and bought the whole roll of the fabric. It wasn’t expensive, but she still spent most of her allowance on that roll of fabric.

At home, her hands started cutting out human-shaped pieces out of the fabric. 

“What are you doing?” Layla asked.

“Making things right.” Marinette said.

“Can I at least watch something on my laptop while you are doing this?” Layla asked.

“Do what you want.” Marinette said.

Layla knew that she wasn’t going to get any details about Marinette’s plan. Maybe that was for the better. She let Marinette get on with cutting out human-shaped pieces out of the fabric while she watched a movie on her laptop.

After about an hour, Marinette said. “Go to the bathroom to the mirror.”

“Can you wait twenty minutes, the movie is almost over.” Layla said.

“Go to the mirror now.” Marinette said.

“Just let me watch the movie and I’ll go.” Layla said but her body started to move by itself and headed towards the bathroom. It stopped in front of the mirror.

“Sumac, Hex come here.” Marinette said into the mirror, and after a few moments’ two black spirits, with white painted skull faces, came out of the mirror and started flying around Layla.

“Come to me.” Marinette said and the dark spirits floated in front of Layla. Marinette put Layla’s hands on the heads of the black spirits, chanted a spell and the eyes of the two spirits glowed while she chanted. “You have your orders now. Find them and bring it to me.” Marinette said and the black spirits flew away.

“What was that? Who were they?” Layla asked.

“Those are my servants Sumac and Hex. They cause more harm than good but at least they are loyal and obedient.” Marinette said not giving away any more details about what just happened and what she did to them. Marinette gave Layla back control of her body and Layla returned to her room to watch the movie to the end. She had the feeling that Marinette wouldn’t tell her what she did even if she insisted. Layla felt that something there was something eerie and unnatural about Marinette.

Marinette rearranged a part of Layla’s body to a workshop for herself. The workshop had a table full of human-shaped pieces of fabric, needles, threads, boxes and jars where Sumac and Hex put in pieces of human hair, skin and other parts of human bodies they collected. Finally, summer came and one summer day Marinette took over Layla’s body and went into a field of dried grass. Marinette collected three big bags of dry grass and released gave Layla back control of her body.

“So you want me to do the dirty work and carry these bags for you? Why didn’t you do it yourself?” Layla asked but she didn’t get an answer so she headed home. She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her arms were still black, but now the right part of her neck and her right eye were also black.

“Didn’t we agree that you just needed my arms Marinette?” Layla asked. 

“I need to see for the next phase of my plan so I need your eye.” Marinette, as the reflection in the mirror, said. “I will not take both of your eyes, I will just take one when I need it.”

“Do I have a choice?” Layla asked.

“No.” Marinette said. “But it will accelerate the realization of my plan so I can leave your body.” Marinette said.

“Hmmm… Ok.” Layla said but something inside of her told her not to trust what Marinette said. Each day Marinette seemed more and more abnormal, at times even monstrous. Layla noticed that each day Marinette’s voice seemed colder and emptier and that started to scare her. 

Summer was Layla’s favorite time of year, no school, no homework, just long sunny days she could spend with her friends. But this summer Marinette yelled at her every time she went out to hang out with her friends. Marinette even took control of her body a few times and took her home to make dolls out of the human-shaped pieces of fabric and the dry grass. This summer Layla constantly fought with Marinette over the control of her own body. Marinette thought that Layla’s urge to hang out with her friends every day was just a waste of time and didn't approve such behavior. There were more important things to do, more important things to make right. 

At one point Layla became so mad at Marinette that she threatened Marinette with Papa Legba. Marinette realized that she overestimated her authority over Layla, that she acted towards Layla as if Layla was one of her servants, like Sumac and Hex, and backed off a bit. Marinette agreed to leave Layla time to spend with her friends. Layla was suspicious that Marinette backed off so fast but she got her way and that was what was important. Layla was happy that she won the fight and that she could enjoy summer with her friends as she always had.

What Layla didn’t know was that during the night, as Layla she slept, Marinette took control of her body and made her dolls in her workshop. Each day Layla felt more and more tired but didn’t know why. She went to bed earlier and woke up later than usual and still felt tired. She never felt like that before. At first, she thought that she was sick, her parents took her to the doctor, but the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with her and he sent them home. The only other logical reason was that Marinette had something to do with this.

That night Layla drank a whole bottle of water before going to sleep, hoping that the need to go to the bathroom will wake her in the middle of the night, she went to bed and fell asleep. Her plan worked and she woke up in the middle of the night. However, her body wasn’t in bed, it was sitting at the table in the workshop making dolls. Sewing two pieces of human-shaped fabric together, filling them with dry grass and putting pieces of human hair, skin and other parts of human bodies that Sumac and Hex had gathered.

“What are you doing?!” Layla yelled.

“I am making the dolls, the next step in my plan.” Marinette said.

“No wonder I feel tired all the time. You are doing this to me!” Layla said angrily.

“I gave you your time with your friends and I am taking my time for my plan.” Marinette said calmly.

“Why do you need so many dolls for anyway?” Layla asked not expecting an answer.

“For some time I have been watching you, humans, killing animals. I have no problem with you killing them for food, but there are those amongst you who kill animals just for sport or prestige. The worst ones are the humans who kill the animals to use one piece of the animal and sell it for money. Those humans are responsible for the extinction of an entire animal race. It must be made right.” Marinette said calmly. Layla was astonished that Marinette explained her reasons.

“You care so much about the animals. You did all of this for them?” Layla asked.

“I am usually not cruel. But when I see animals suffering at the hands of man my rage and cruelty have no end.” Marinette said. “Each of these dolls is a man responsible for the unjust suffering of an animal and I will make it right. If this disturbs you, then walk away, give me control over your body and I will finish this myself.” Marinette suggested.

“No, it’s ok. I understand why you are doing this now. I’ll cut down my time with my friends so you have more time.” Layla said.

“Thank you.” Marinette said and kept making the dolls.

Sumac and Hex kept bringing human body parts and pieces and Marinette kept making dolls. This lasted until the middle of autumn. During this time, Layla’s whole torso became black in the reflection and when Layla asked Marinette about it, Marinette just said she would need it for the next part of the plan. When all dolls were completed, Marinette took an ax from a shed behind Layla‘s house and went into the nearby forest. Marinette looked at the trees and stopped at one tree.

“That’s a big one. I don’t think I have the strength to chop down such a large tree.” Layla said.

“I do.” Marinette responded and started chopping the tree down. After it fell to the ground, Marinette chopped off a large chunk of the tree trunk. Marinette carried it all the way back to Layla‘s house and put it upright in the backyard. Marinette gave back control over the body back to Layla and Layla fell to the ground, every muscle in her body hurt like hell.

“Ahhhh… Ouch! You monster! My body hurts like hell. I feel like a truck ran over me!” Layla yelled at Marinette.

“It will pass.” Marinette said calmly. Layla slowly dragged herself up to her room and slept for almost a whole day.

The next day Marinette took control over Layla’s body, took a box off her workshop desk, carried all the dolls into the back yard and put them next to the tree trunk. Marinette went back to the house, took a mirror, wrote a symbol on it with paint and carried it to the back yard. Marinette opened the box, which was full of needles Layla never before saw in her life, each needle had a different color and a different symbol at the end of it, they actually looked beautiful. 

Marinette took a doll from the pile next to the tree trunk, put it against the tree trunk, took a red needle and pierced the doll through the place where the human heart would be until she nailed the doll to the trunk. Marinette took a withe needle, repeated the process, but this time she pierced the head of the doll. With two blue needles, she pierced the arms, with two green needles the legs and with the black needle the groin. Marinette repeated the process for all the dolls she made until all the dolls were nailed to the tree trunk.

When all the dolls were nailed to the tree trunk Marinette collected fallen leaves and said. 

“What does that symbol on the mirror mean?” Layla asked.

“I suggest you look away now Layla. It means that, when the soul sees itself in this mirror, it won’t find a resting peace for a year and a day. After then, a ceremonial celebration that commemorates the deceased will not be able to release them into the world to live again, to reincarnate. They will disappear into the spirit world and remain there till the end of time.” Marinette said. “This part is not for the ones faint of heart.”

“I’m ok. Don’t worry about me.” Layla said.

“As you wish.” Marinette said and took a box of matches out of one of the pockets. She lit it and light the leaves around the tree trunk on fire. As the fire started climbing the tree trunk burning the dolls Layla could hear screams coming out of the dolls as they burnt. As each doll burnt to ashes a misshapen soul came out of it, screaming, flying around the tree trunk for a few moments until it saw itself in the mirror and vanished, screaming in agony. 

After all the dolls and the tree trunk turned into ash, Marinette stepped out Layla’s body. She looked like Layla but was completely black.

“As we agreed. I release you.” Marinette said.

Layla felt a sudden emptiness, she got used to sharing her body with Marinette that the sudden absence of Marinette felt like a part of her was gone.

“As we agreed.” Layla said.

They nodded to each other and Marinette disappeared leaving behind a small black doll on the floor. Layla went into the house and saw her parents watching the news. The news report was about people all over the world reporting that hundreds of people died from self-immolation today at the same time. Layla looked at the small black doll and went to her room. She put the doll beside her bed and said. “Your plan worked.”

“I know.” The doll answered.