The grandfather clock sounded again, shooting me back awake for the third time that night. I rubbed my eyes tiredly and moaned. When would I finally fall asleep?! To make it even worse, my dad and brother were snoring in sync in the room beside me. Yeah, it was great. I crawled out from under the scratchy, cotton sheets and trudged to a chair by the window. There was no going back to sleep for me. Though my eyelids felt like a weight was pulling them down, my mind was as energetic as ever. I flicked on the bedside lamp, then began to search the room, hoping it would make me sleepy. My grandparents had always kept cool trinkets in the drawers and armoire, so maybe I could find a couple. I slid open one of the desk drawers, and it screeched on its rusty hinges. There laid a multitude of different small objects: a faded pink comb, a couple mix-match marbles, a wooden horse, antique rings, and much more. I grabbed what appeared to be a pearl and held it up to my face, squinting to make it out in the small light. I began to roll it in my palm, but as soon as I did, it slipped between my tiny fingers and rolled across the floor. "Come back," I whispered, as if it would stop and listen to me. It rolled until it was under the armoire and out of my sight. I groaned and got down on my hands and knees, and began to feel in the dust underneath, hoping that a bug wouldn't crawl over me. Instead of the pearl, my hand fell over another object, and I dragged it out. It was a handheld mirror. I stared at it in curious wonder, and examined it. It was silver, with a gold border around the mirror. It was beautiful. I peered into it, and tried to make out my face. I scooted closer to the lamp, hoping to get more lighting. This time when I looked into it, I jumped. It wasn't my reflection. It was a boy's. And last time I checked, I wasn't one. I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows. As did the boy. I stuck out my tongue and held up one finger. He followed. I leaned closer and looked at his features. Our hair color was the same, along with our eyes. He had a scar on his cheek and a slight lazy eye, like me. I broke my gaze from the mirror and looked down. My hair was still long. I still had, you know, feminine features. But when I looked, he was still there. Why?

"Who are you?" I asked.
His lips moved the same. Maybe this was all the mirror showed, you as the opposite gender. I shrugged and watched as he imitated my every move. I did this for a couple of minutes, until I became bored. I was about to set it down, when something caught my eye. The background. It wasn't the same. The wallpaper in my room was pale green, his was brown.
"Who are you?" I said, trying to communicate. "My name is Bonnie."
What happened next both surprised and intrigued me. He smiled. I didn't.
"Hello, Bonnie, I'm Bodi," a quiet voice spoke through the mirror.
"You- you talk?" I questioned.
"Well, it isn't uncommon. Loads of people talk," he answered with a small laugh.

"But you aren't real," I said.
Bodi knitted his eyebrows and replied, "What do you mean? I'm as real as you are, aren't I?"
"No," I returned, "You are me, in a mirror."
"But you are me as well."
I shook my head with disbelief. This couldn't be happening. I must be hallucinating from lack of sleep.
"Look, I don't know much about you, but I feel like we're the same person," he said.

"We are the same person!" I said loudly. I glanced at the door, then back to him. "You see your reflection in the mirror. You are my reflection, and I am yours."
"We're the same?" Bodi asked.
"Yes."
"Odd."
"Indeed. So, where are you?"
He held the mirror further from him and spun it in a circle for me to see. I felt my stomach tighten. Our rooms were identical, except for the colors.
"I'm at my grandparents house with my mother and sister," he said. "They are in the other room."
I tried to remain calm, despite the horror I felt.
"My brother and father are here with me," I said.
His face grew with bright wonder and he asked, "You don't suppose we are in alternate universes, do you? Where every person is the opposite gender?"
"Hmmm." I thought for a moment, then said, "What are your parents names?"
"Parent," he corrected, "and her name is Maisy."
"You only have a mother, and I only have a father. His name is Myles."
"It must be true then!" he called with excitement. "We have discovered a wondrous mystery!"
"Shhh," I hissed. "We can't tell anyone."
"Well, why not?" Bodi asked.
"Because other people might think we're crazy. Or they might try taking the mirrors from us... And I quite like talking to you."
He grinned from ear to ear and said, "Oh, you're right. I just think this is so amazing."
"For more confirmation," I said, "What planet are you on?"
He chuckled and asked jokingly, "What planet are you on?"
I frowned and said, "I'm just checking."
"Earth."
"And what country?"
"The USA."
"And..." I paused, almost afraid to ask. "What state?"
He paused too, then said, "Alabama."
I felt my heart sink low in my chest. Maybe it wasn't the same. Then he smiled wide.
"Only kidding!" he said with a laugh, "I live where you do! In Iowa!"
I let out a small sigh of relief and grinned.
"Don't do that," I demanded.
"Hey, you can't tell me to do anything, because it's like you're telling you to do something," Bodi reminded me.
Suddenly, a knock thudded on my door. I turned, as did he. The person let themself  in. It was my grandma. I set the mirror down and watched as Bodi set his down too, our eyes locked.
"I see you've found my old mirror," she said, walking over to me.
"What mirror?" I asked.
Bodi's voice said the same.
My grandma smiled and said, "Oh, it's okay, dear, I won't take it from you. I was hoping you would find it."
"Why?"
"Because it meant so much to me."
She bent over and lifted it up. I stood up to look in it with her. On the opposite side was Bodi and his grandfather.
"Hello, Grant," my grandmother said.
The old man nodded his head and answered, "Hiya Gina. Long time no see."
"Yes, and I think that it is best that it stays that way."
"I agree. Maybe our grandkids will end up better than we did."
My grandmother nodded and handed the mirror back to me. I saw Bodi's face on the other side.
"What happened, grandma? Why is it best that you two don't talk?"
"Well, Bonnie, you see, we fell in love. And it's just not normal to fall in love with yourself."
I turned back to Bodi, and we both made eye contact.
"Don't worry, I won't do that. I promise," I said as she started to open the door.
"I know you won't. You're different than I am. You're more curious."
"I guess."
When she left the room, I turned back to Bodi. He was frowning.
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.
"Bonnie, I don't think we should keep these mirrors."
I felt a pang in my heart.
"Why not?" I asked.
"What if they fall into the wrong person's hands? I know we'd both use it wisely, but there is no promising someone else won't. I think it would just be better if we..." he trailed off.
"If we..." I couldn't say it either.
"Broke them," we said in sync.
Bodi gave me a quick smile, but them returned to being sad.
"We really should, but this is the first time in a long time that I've actually felt alive. Like I actually have a friend in the world. Well, not my world, but you get the gist," I said.
"Yeah. But we have to. We both know that we should."
I sighed and looked down with closed eyes.
"Hey," he said, "don't be so sad."
"Why? I'm going to miss you."
"No you won't," he said as the corners of his mouth turned up.
"How do you know?"
"Because you can't really miss yourself, can you?"
I laughed and answered, "That's very true."
"Besides," he said, standing up, "I'll always be with you, right? And now that we both know that we have another side, maybe we can see each other through other mirrors."
"Maybe," I said, lifting myself off of the floor, but I doubt it."
"Either way, we should get this done before the house starts waking up."
I nodded and picked up a ring with a large, fake diamond on it. I squeezed it tight and set the mirror on the side table, still staring at Bodi.
"On your count," he said, holding up a stone bust.
"Alright. One."
He held it higher.
"Two."
I tightened my grip.
"Three."
I watched as we both slammed our objects onto the mirrors. Mine instantly spread tiny cracks through it, but I didn't stop there. I struck it again and again until it was in tiny pieces, knowing that he was doing the same. When I was done, I shoved it into the garbage bin and ran to look in my bathroom mirror. I flicked on the light and peered at it, hope filling me. But I was quickly disappointed. The only person that stood there was me. The real, girl me. I sighed and hung my head low. But as I reached my hand up to turn off the light, a voice said, "Hey, Bonnie." My head snapped up, and my heart rose again. Then, a wide smile spread across my face.