As Masa Ed was raising his head in order to catch his breath after not finding his intended target, he caught sight of the reflection in the mirror and paused in shock after noticing how different it was from what it is reflecting.

  'What?'

  What he saw was the reflection of the hair brush on the dressing table—placed in such a way to complete the square orientation of the three notebooks positioned in L shape—that happens to be a white notebook in the mirror alongside the other three notebooks, making them four notebooks positioned in a square orientation in the mirror reflection. And he also saw that the reflection of the wooden hairpin at the center of the three notebooks and the wooden hairbrush is reflected by the mirror has a wooden pen holder that contains a white pen among three others with colors corresponding to the three notebooks.

  'I wasn't expecting this, but whatever this is, is definitely physically impossible, unless its an illusion trick I have not seen before.'

  Masa Ed thought in his mind, trying not to conclude that the supernatural is at play, despite all the strange things he has experienced so far, but at the same time the thought of how to go about getting the white notebook and white pen returned to him and made him turn to the ultra-clear reflection again with an earnest expression, thinking about the subtle puzzle that is involved and is to be solved before he can retrieve them.

  'Is it that the hairbrush is the white notebook and when I pick it up, it will turn to it and its the same for the hairpin?...'

  Masa Ed became stumped on what to do. According to the instructions of the nameless idiot, he must never touch anything inside the room aside the white notebook and white pen that he is expected to pick, but here he is, facing a situation where the two are not physically present but are instead reflections in a mirror.

  'So what should I do here? Should I just pick the hairbrush and the hairpin?...'

  Thinking further, he desist from the idea of picking the hairbrush and hairpin, which according to the instruction might lead him into trouble. Nevertheless, he became more confused on how to complete his tricky task that is becoming more unreasonable by the moment. And thanks to his ancestor, there is no time limit to it, and unless he make a noise or turn to look at the Seba person sleeping on the bed to his left, he shouldn't get into any trouble. Therefore, for the meantime, he has nothing to worry about, and he can think about the situation calmly and deeply, taking his time.

  'At the end, everything I can do is reduced to two and they both involve touching what might get me in trouble with whoever is sleeping.'

  Masa Ed sighed deeply but quietly. Then, out of frustration, he starts scratching his head as he resume his mental search for a solution to his uncanny predicament. However, at one point, an intrusive thought that persuade him to take a quick look at the Seba person sleeping on the bed beside him came to his mind.

  'Fuck no!'

  Masa Ed shook his head, vehemently rejecting the sweet temptation of his intrusive thought. Even if what it whispered is not just enticing but true, he dare not take the risk. And the idea of living an easy life, courtesy of a young and beautiful sugar woman who is the Seba person, as his intrusive thought actually whispered is not something he will entertain, unless he has no choice.

  'Who knows, no one might be there and even if someone is there, she might be an old hag in disguise... an old witch starving for a young handsome man like me but is under a sleeping spell that will only be broken if I look at her ugly face. I am definitely not looking at her... Fuck! Its kind of getting cold in here...'

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  While Masa Ed gaslight himself—trying to dissuade his subconscious to drop interest in whoever might be on the bed by constantly envisioning her as an ugly old hag—he starts to feel the temperature of the place strangely drop like when someone encounters a ghost.

  'Is there a time limit that I don't know of and its because of it, it's getting colder?... It shouldn't be...'

  Masa Ed moving on despite the changes, returned his attention to the snow white dressing table with golden vine motif inlaid on all its edges, including the mirror.

  Once again his conclusion came down to either picking the brush and hairpin that might turn to the white notebook and pen since its their reflection in the mirror, or he dipped his hand into the mirror, expecting it to give way, and pick the white notebook and pen that is the reflection.

  'Both are equally physically impossible. Its just down to which one won't result in me waking up the old hag. Fuck that nameless idiot. Why won't he just state things clearly. Even if his ink was not enough, he should have just listed everything he did in sequence, why add unnecessary stuff?... Remember, I absolutely don't want to wake her up, she is a very... she is a fucking what? Idiot... What a waste of ink... Wait this place is really getting colder... Fuck!'

  As Masa Ed felt the temperature of the place dropped further he suddenly sensed a gaze on him that paralyzed him totally. And although he is sweating buckets with his heart beating rapidly and his eyes widened in horror, he dare not move his tensed muscle but pray in his mind to his ancestors to protect him.

  So like a statue on display, Masa Ed stood frozen with his heart in his mouth for an amount of time he has no idea of but felt like forever to him.

  Meanwhile, anticipating how to respond to any unfavorable change that might occur at any moment at one corner of his mind, he repeatedly bombard his ancestors with unceasing supplications, expecting them to deliver him from imminent evil.

  And probably thanks to them, not long after, he felt the temperature of the room returned to usual as the gaze on him vanished like it was never there at all which resulted in his freedom from the paralysis that came with it.

  And from the relief that followed, Masa Ed took a very deep breath, but at the same time, a deep feeling of guilt and sorrow that is tempting him to turn to look at the Seba person on the bed who he thought the gaze might belong to, washed over him.

  'This old hag sorcery is strong. She can even pull at someone heartstrings remotely, fuck! Its getting colder again'

  As Masa Ed realized the temperature of the room is dropping again, he quickly make his decision which is, he stretched his hand towards the mirror after bending a little, and praying what he thought of is true, in one movement, he pushed his hand forward and as he expected and prayed, his hand passed through the mirror screen without obstruction to the space where the reflections are like there was no boundary to begin with. And thanking his ancestors in his mind while smiling broadly, he carefully picked the white pen first without touching the pen holder its inside and the other pen around it, and then in the same manner, he picked the white notebook, and gently and carefully, he brought both of them out of the strange mirror space, trying not to drop them or make his hand contact anything else.

  And Masa Ed having succeeded smiled in elation and triumph.

  'Fuck yes!...'

  Almost shouting out loud, and holding the white notebook and white pen tightly secured in his hands, Masa Ed with no delay, turned around in one motion and starts walking towards the opposite wall earnestly without turning his head a bit, despite all the strange whispers in his mind that are persuading him to turn around and peek at the Seba person on the bed that is accompanied by a deep feeling that he will regret not turning to look at her and is also making him second guess his stubborn decision.

  Then a moment later, he reached the opposite wall and turn to his right where the door that is wide opened is and he exit the room that is starting to strangely feel nostalgic to him amidst the feeling of pain and regret that lingers in his heart, and is the reason for the unceasing tears that has been streaming down his eyes.

  "That old hag is seriously a witch."

  Masa Ed muttered quietly as he stand on the corridor that is now minimally illuminated unlike before he entered the Seba person room that is behind him, despite the fact he couldn't stop panting from the lingering feeling of fear that has been at the bottom of his mind since he first stepped on the corridor.

  However, suddenly and immediately as he finished his statement the door of room 33 he improvised slammed shut super loud behind him, frightening him greatly.

  "Fuck!" Masa Ed jolted out of fear, and at the same time, probably because he dropped his guard, the white notebook and pen that was tightly secured in his hold flew away from him, further shocking him that he froze with a twisted facial expression like he ate shit.

  "Double Fuck..."