She enjoyed talking to her own reflection in the mirror. She would turn out the light and light the candles, then  put them on both  sides of the mirror and start to talk.
She would do that only in the evenings.  She would tell her reflection about her day,  how she spent it   and with whom.  She would  even argue  with the reflection sometimes.  She treated her own reflection like a real person.
She looked forward to talking to her reflection today.  It was already the evening at last. She got ready,   sat down at the mirror and began to talk.
“You know, I met a very nice guy today. I liked him at once. He is tall, cute, and  well-bred. If you saw him you’d like him as well.”
“Are you going on a date with him?”
She gave a start. It was so unexpected to hear  it talk.
“You talk? But you are just a  reflection?”
“As you see,  I can. It’s just so interesting.”
“Yes, it’s  interesting, but rather strange” she thought.
She was surprised however she was talking briskly  about her new  friend .
They were going to meet each  other  next day. She could hardly  wait.
They spent a wonderful time together.  They went to a park,then to the cinema.  As it turned out they had much in common.
“I think I love him.  I wonder  what he thinks about me?”
she was sitting in front of the mirror   as she  usually did.
“I am waiting for a declaration of love from him , because I think he likes me.
What do you think?”
“I think he loves you but he doesn’t dare tell you about his feelings. Just don’t hurry him, give him time.”
As the time passed they started to  think about the wedding. She was shining with happiness.
“I wish I were your bridesmaid.”
“Yes, it’s a pity that you can’t be one. You are my only friend . I love you so much.”
The wedding was celebrated in the family circle. The bride’s dress was very beautiful.
She went over so many dresses until she found the one she was looking for. Her reflection liked it too. It really outshone  the other  ones . She didn’t want to rent a dress because of a strange  thought that haunted her all the time;  “a  dress for  rent  is like a  husband for rent.”   

“I will buy this dress no matter how much it  will cost me. The dress will  be mine and  he will be mine as well.”
 Spending two hours every evening alone to her heart's content was the  only condition from the start of their life together.
She did not   tell him anything  about  her  conversations with the reflection.
“What if he doesn't understand?”
Her condition was approved  by her husband. At least she would be at home close to him.
Of course he was curious to find out  how she was spending those  two hours  alone but,  he kept his promise and didn’t ask her about it.
Once, while  being   alone in their room  she heard  a phone call.  Somebody was  calling  her husband. She heard him  tell her later;
“ I’ll be back soon, darling.”
Having talked to the reflection, she decided to take a bath.  While lying in the bath she heard  something that was like  the rustling  of leaves  or even  squeaking of a door. However she didn’t pay any attention to that sound  as she was reluctant to get out of the warm bath.

Shortly after her husband came back.
“I thought I would come back earlier. I am sorry to have made you wait  for me. I have been offered  quite a  profitable deal for both of us, but I would have to spend most of my time at work if I accept it. If you  are against it I will decline it."
“But it’s a good chance for both of us. Why should we miss it?!”
“I saw  you in a shop today while you were trying something  cute on. Will you show me that?”
“I  spent all day at home. I didn’t  go out today.”
“But I saw you. You bought a dress of  rather a bright color but  I think it’s okay  for a change. You even waved  to me. I was  surprised to see you there. I assumed you were bored because of spending all the time at home and decided to go shopping.”
“No, I was at home. Perhaps you saw somebody who looked like me  from  a distance.”
“Well, maybe. I didn’t think about it.”
She could hardly wait  for nightfall. This was the only time when they could talk.
“That was you!”  She asked the reflection in a curt tone of voice.
‘’Yes, it was me. What if it was me?”
“Why did you do it?”
“I didn’t do anything.  I caught  his eye   and  he  took me for you. What’s so bad with it?”
“But that’s impossible.”
“You don’t know anything about what is possible and what’s not.”
“I don’t want to talk to you  anymore, I will destroy you.”
“You can destroy me here but what about seeing me outside in the streets or  what about  in your pictures?
You can’t  destroy everything and you've  got so used to me. We had better not fight. You will know everything soon.”
Her husband never  read newspapers.
“They are full of  lies. Why should we read people’s fantasies.”
He never bought newspapers  himself nor  let his wife  buy them .  As for  Magazines  they were not banned and he knew  that she  read  only the society columns .
She wasn’t able to take her eyes off a picture in a magazine. She read the article several times.
The article was about a businessman who  was going to get married eventually.   She was shocked,  as the businessman in the picture was her husband.
It could not  have been just a coincidence that  that man had the same  name,  he was of the same age as her  husband, and that they worked at one and the same place.  There was only one difference. Unlike her husband that man was very rich.  Her husband could only dream of such wealth.
She decided to  go to his work immediately.
“Wait, let me explain  everything to you.”
The  reflection had never tried to talk to her  by day before.
“He was right when he didn’t let you read newspapers but he should have forbidden  you to read  magazines as well. If it had  not been  for this failure  you would never have learned the truth.
Haven’t you ever thought that  there might be other people who can talk to their reflections just like you and that not only your own reflection can lead it’s own life.
You see,  the reflection of that man   even married you.”