Katherine was her name, but everyone called her Kit. She was a pert 12-year-old who had an impish way about her. Kit liked to play little jokes on her younger brother and would make funny faces in class to make her friends laugh. She wore her ash-blond hair in a ponytail. Kit had a great curiosity about an old, abandoned, boarded up mansion at the far end of the street. Her friends were afraid to go close to the place. They claimed it was haunted and warned her not to go near.

However, one Saturday morning, her curiosity got the best of her. She harrumphed to herself as she thought, Haunted houses are only in stories. There are no such things as ghosts. Bolstered by her thinking, she went to the garage and opened her father’s tool chest. She sifted through each drawer until she found his flashlight. She flipped the flashlight on and said out loud,“I’m gonna find out what’s inside that place.”

The sun was beginning its journey toward noon when Kit walked to the end of the street and stared up at the massive old Victorian house. She admired the ornate painted spindles that circled the porch and gingerbread trim around the windows and up on the peak of the roof. She walked carefully on the overgrown stone path while grasshoppers flew up in front of her, scurrying into the yellow weeds. In the dirt, near the front stairs, a line of ants was on parade, carrying food to their hole. She gingerly placed a foot on the lowest stair slowly climbed. Each step had a unique creak or groan of its own. When she reached the wraparound porch, in a corner, rusted wind chimes tinkled from a slight breeze. Kit glanced back toward the sidewalk. No one was there.

She knocked on the front door, a nervous giggle popped from her mouth, thinking maybe a ghost will answer. Kit waited a few seconds and then pushed the door and, to her surprise, it slowly squeaked open. Her heart pumped like a piston. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and slipped into a large foyer. There was a dank odor and dust mites whirled in a shaft of sunlight squeezing through the slightly open door. Kit flashed her light about as she wandered through the dusty rooms. The owner protected the pictures and furniture using once white sheets, which now were a sooty gray. She tugged at a sheet, a cloud of dust rose, clogging her nose. She sneezed and sneezed again, grabbed her hankie from her pocket, and raised it to her nose just in time to stop another rattling blast. Kit, being her curious self, peeked under the sheet and discovered a weird-looking chair with two seats that faced in opposite directions. She dropped the sheet and continued to explore the mansion. Pushing open a set of double doors, the musty smell of old paper tickled her nose. The room contained an ornate desk with a large chair, oil lamps and shelves of leather-bound books. What a beautiful library. I wonder what else this house has. Kit was excited when she entered another a big room with two crystal chandeliers and a grand piano, without doubt she surmised it was a ballroom. She twirled about, pretending she was at a fashionable ball. Thrilled by all that she was discovering, she hurried to the next room. Immediately, she knew it was the dining room. Before her lay a long table. She peeked under the sheets. The table was set with fine china and tarnished silverware. She had the feeling she had entered a castle in a long-forgotten fairy tale.

As she left the dining room, her flashlight beam fell upon a winding staircase. She hurried and began to climb, each stair moaning as she stepped her way up to the second floor. Shining her flashlight along a long hallway, she spotted a door slightly ajar. She pushed the door open and entered a shadowy room. A flare of light emanated from a mirror askew on the floor in a far corner. Kit beamed her flashlight and moved closer to examine the mirror. It had a golden frame with intricate carvings of angels on top and demons below.

As she approached, Kit saw her reflection. Smiling, she waved to herself. But then, something strange happened. Her reflection became wavy and distorted. She inched her way forward and raised sweaty fingers and touched the now cloudy mirror. It felt cool and smooth. She thought, Wouldn’t it be great if it was a magic mirror, like the one in Snow White?

Kit impulsively called, “Mirror, mirror crooked against the wall, can you talk with me?” The clouds in the mirror swirled about, a murky figure appeared. A scratchy voice said, “Why have you summoned me? Who are you?”

“I’m Kit. I live not too far from this house. Who are you?”

My name is Erised. I got the name because my mother said I was her desire. Erised, is desire spelled in backward. Anyway, that is beside the point. Why did you call?”

“I wondered if you could tell things about people like the mirror in Snow White. I would like to know who I will be in the future?”

Erised said, “Well, Kit, who would you like to be?”

“Well, I thought of being several things. I thought about being a nurse.” As soon as that desire came out of her mouth, clouds whirled in the mirror and an image of an older Kit appeared in a white uniform and a nurse’s cap sitting pertly on her head.  

“Then, Erised! I thought I’d rather be a doctor and there she was wearing scrubs, with a stethoscope and mask.

 “You know Erised, I love to read. I think being a librarian would be fun. There she was reading a book to a circle of children. Finally, she said sometimes I think about being a nun and she appeared in the mirror attired in a black habit, large white collar, a crucifix about her neck and a rosary dangling from her waist.

Erised said, “Everything you mentioned was about a job you might hold in the future. You said nothing about the genuine person you wish to become.

Kit was taken aback and thought for a minute about what Erised said. “Okay, okay, let me ask you then, “Mirror, mirror leaning against the wall, will I be a good person after all?”

The mirror clouded and Erised answered in a somber tone. “If you must ask, my girl, maybe you have some doubt about who you will become.”

Kit was upset by the answer. She raised her voice and said, “What do you mean by that?”

Erised stirred in the mirror and replied, “Do you act in ways that are honest, kind, brave, and wise? Do you consider how your interactions and decisions affect other people? Are you careful not to be mean or hurt anyone? Or are you only concerned with satisfying yourself? A good person strives to be kind, help, and love others as herself.”  

Kit’s face flushed; perspiration drops formed at her hairline; her eyes pooled with tears. “I guess, sometimes I’m not nice because my friends expect me to lie, let them copy my work, cheat on a test, or say something mean, joining them in mocking less popular girls.”

A soft light flowed from the mirror and Erised quietly said, “Then you have your answer.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as Kit said, “You’re saying I’m a bad person.”

“No, I am not saying that at all. I’m saying things you have done are bad, such as lying, cheating and hurting others on purpose. However, you can change. You can make good decisions and choices. It is up to you. Be true to yourself, not your friends. If you act with kindness towards others, you will grow into a good person. Just do as the Bible says, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Think and be sure the results of your choices are kind and good and not bad or hateful. Kit, you see, you have the power within yourself to become the person you know you should be.”

Kit wiped her tears and thanked Erised. She turned to leave the room. Erised said, “Please wait, I have a favor to ask. I’m so tired, being on the floor in this dark corner. Will you please hang me back on my hooks near the window?”

Kit smiled and said, “Okay”. She raised the mirror and placed it back on the wall. Erised, said, “Thank you, my dear, for your kind act.” And then faded away.

When Kit arrived home, she told her mother what had happened. Her mom hugged her daughter and said, “Oh, my dear, you don’t need a mirror to tell you if you are a good person. You will know it when you feel a warm glow in your heart.”