Mistaken

Markus had just started brushing his teeth, taking great care to reach the molars way in the back when the lights flickered once, twice then went out altogether. He grunted with frustration at yet another DIY project for the house -- the house that had supposedly been repaired and refurbished by the previous owners before they moved out. It figured that the lights would start to fail on him. Same as the water pressure in the shower. And the rotted beams on the back deck. And the bird's nest plugging up the outside vent for the heater.

He pressed the large button on a night light stuck into the electrical outlet and continued brushing his teeth by the bright blue-green glow. A short, dark object standing next to the toilet in the mirror made him stop. He spun quickly looked over his right shoulder and sure enough, nothing stood beside the toilet. Turning back to the mirror, he almost swallowed his toothbrush when he saw the woman standing just behind his left shoulder in the mirror.

Long, scraggly dark hair. Withered face with patches of grey skin flaking away. Rotted teeth sharpened to catlike points grinning back at him. Her bony claw of a hand darted up to his reflection's neck and grabbed hold.

Markus felt fingers around his throat, squeezing, squeezing.

"Three times and I will come." she cackled and smiled. "You should know better than to call for Bloody Mary."

Bloody Mary. His brows furrowed. "Bloody . . . I didn't --" he gasped, "didn't call you."

The sensation of fingers loosened. "What?"

Markus inhaled deeply a few times. "I stepped in here a moment ago to brush my teeth."

The lights clicked back on."Hold on a sec." He watched her riffle through the folds of her tattered once-white dress. "Ah, here it is." In her hand, she held a well-worn piece of paper. "It says here '1804 Erie St.'"

"This is 1802 Erie."

"1802? Christ!" She crumpled the piece of paper and hurled it to the floor. "This is the third time this week that Murray in traffic's given me the wrong directions. I am so sorry. We have a new guy, and he's still not getting the hang of this."

She placed a hand on his reflections shoulder, and Markus did everything he could not to scream when he felt them on his real skin. "That's, um, okay?"

"When I get back, I'm going directly to his supervisor." She stepped back and began to fade away. "Please accept my apologies." And she was gone.

Markus stared at the mirror, too shocked to continue with his brushing. He hesitantly touched his neck, trying to feel for any scratches or anything swollen. Assured that he was okay, he slowly continued to brush his teeth.