Mirrored reality

I barely remember it, I don't want to remember it but every summer when I'm on my next
trip and when the evening falls and the fire burns I can't escape the fire of 1968.

This summer and all other summers after 1968 I wasn't with my family anymore mainly because they've left
me after continuous hauntings of my guilt before I became that camp supervisor. I had to decide to leave them permanently and ban them from my mind.

This summer could be that opportunity it might turn around forever?
Coming back to my senses hearing some of my students asking me something
while in trans by looking into that big campfire what we had started this evening.


Mr.Cobins, Mr.Cobins?
What happened in 1968 sir, Alex asked?

What, Mr.Cobins replied?
I don't want to talk about it now, Alex!
Just throw more wood on the fire it has to burn correctly and high.

C'mon, Jamie asked.

I really couldn't do it anymore they didn't deserve it and they couldn't be around me anymore not even in memory to dangerous, and I was irresponsible ever going that far with them.

No, I don't want to stir up those memories because if I talk about it, it will mean I broke my
oath, and breaking the oath means big trouble, so I rather do not.

Alex and Jamie and all the others sitting around the campfire leaving them simultaneously questioning looking at Mr.Cobins.

Oath problems eh, then Alex says, I am big trouble Mr. Cobins, everybody here knows that!

Those hearing it started laughter immediately.

We know the story Mr. Cobins, everybody knows the story here on this camp sixteen and at camp thirteen and nine they know it too.

You completely know nothing Alex Mr.Cobins said, you know bits and pieces of the story but all the way, no I have never told anyone, anyone, do you hear?

But fine you'll get it.



As Mr. Cobins looks at all the questioning faces he then looks down the muddy ground, mumbling some crazy words, at the same time drawing with a thick broken tree branch weird big looking symbols on to the ground.

Then he stands up and pulls a line way around the campfire in a circle connecting the strange symbols he wrote at the start.

As all other camp members look at him with strange faces, Jamie tries to interrupt Mr. Cobin's strange writing behavior.

Don't Mr.Cobins you don't have to do it!

Sssst hush says Mr. Cobins don't interrupt my ritual you all started this at the beginning. And I will satisfy your hunger for mysteries, but don't blame it on me when it's going to be scary!

Alex starts to get nervous and losing control and patience yelling,

what the hell are you doing man, it's only a frickin story ain't it..?

Mr. Cobins yells back at Alex ensuring him that it's not! And elaborates on his strange behavior about this ritual he's performing.

So sit down and keep your mouth shut he says.

Do you understand that when you want to hear the story the only way to protect you all it's my ritual performance, ritual only do you understand?

Jamie tries to calm Alex down so does Jim and Alice talking their way through this mysterious behavior of Mr. Cobins with some of her knowledge she once learned somewhere.

Let him be it's probably all one class act of something I probably already know to scare us or to draw all the attention to himself to be important around us and his sixty-eight mystery?

Then Mr. Cobins runs up to Jim who probably tried to embarrass him in front of his friends.
You want out Jim? Go if you don't like what I'm doing!


Alice walks over to them and says, you all asked about it didn't you,
so let him be now!

They don't have a clue Alice, Mr. Cobins says, but what about you? You seem to know what I'm at, don't you?

Tell me what do you know about those symbols, the language I wrote, because I could see you following me and try to decipher my symbols?


Alice replies and says, I'm having this strange Déjà vu and it's old Celtic I know a little about this Mr. Cobins.

Déjà vu of what, Mr.Cobins says .

I don't know, what happens here and now has happened before?

What are you saying Alice, Mr. Cobins asks?


Both Alex, Jim, and Jamie raising their shoulder and nodding that they completely don't understand what's happening around them anymore?

Alice starts to explain her early encounter with a boy she'd met ten years ago who went deeply into some dark gothic witchcraft stuff and strange old library books with a Celtic history about angel mages and wizardry with talking stones and moving trees and all surrounding creepiness
to the group.

That she did a ritual with that guy and passed out and she could swear that some elements of this evening happened but could hardly remember it and hesitated that it also might have been a dream she remembered?

Now Mr. Cobins was the camp supervisor on camp sixteen at Hoia Baciu forest where he supervises one of the expeditions from different countries to bridge international students together from five high schools out of five countries.

A bunch of young survivalist students with a passion for thrills.

They yearly travel around the world to forests that have a particular interest to go there and students who've been picked out can vote where to go every year.
This year they chose to camp at Hoia Baciu Forest, Romania.

The Bermuda forest triangle by nature. Or as some students stated skinwalker forest.

Many strange things happening here that let reality behind as you know it. Because of that, they insisted to go there on a major vote.

The rumors that are known here go like "

From the moment a military technician captured a photograph of a UFO hovering over the forest
in 1968, Hoia-Baciu has gained paranormal notoriety around the world.

The area has become
known as the "Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," as some believe it to be a portal that causes visitors to disappear.

Other people who have passed through the forest (without being zapped
into another realm, that is) reported rashes, nausea, and feelings of anxiety.
The curved trees in some parts of the area further lend to the off-putting aura."

So you believe all that s#it, Jim asks with a bit of insecure trembling voice?

I don't just believe it, but I completely experienced it back in sixty-eight.
A guy named Besku who had a deep knowledge of the old Celtic Romanian ritual preparation learned me all about it, to set up a mirrored fire.

This ritual has been performed by the crusaders in twelve seventy-one AD. As the crusaders encountered a group of Transylvanians who were demonized and rogue hunters against the church and after capturing and killing of the captured evil crusaders the survivors had to perform a ritual of the lume oglindită, or known as " The mirrored world".

A what! , Alex and Jim simultaneously reply, for what purpose?


I don't know I just know how to start the ritual

And as Mr. Cobins starts his second circle, drawing to the opposite side another set of weird looking symbolic scriptures connecting them to get a whole second ring with a spacing of five feet from the other one he previously had drawn with different set Celtic characters.

Give me the lamp oil if you will Jamie he asks

As she passes the lamp oil to Mr. Cobins, Mr. Cobins asks if everyone wants to sit around the fire with even spacing of ten feet from each other so we get like a five-pointed star within the two rings.

Strangely everybody commits to his instructions and you can see the nervous smiling on their faces, but still, they think it's a joke.

Then Mr. Cobins pours the lamp oil into the first drawn circle behind everyone who's sitting between the two circles. As the oil fills the first ring and ignites, the fire quickly starts to set the entire ring on fire.

Sian, the protection ring of sian says Alice to Mr. Cobins

as he turns his head to her looking with questioning eyes of knowledge.

The other I don't understand she says.

Mr. Cobins explains and starts to tell that he will speak several words after pouring the oil into the ring of symbols in front of them. And when igniting it he will speak out another set of words to unlock the portal.

Yo, wait!
as Jim interrupts.
What portal, you never mentioned any portals John Mac Grierson Cobins!

As he calls out Mr. Cobin's full name.

Did I say portal, then I meant something else, Jim!
as he quickly takes five stones out of his pocket, sealed inside a guild bag with strange branded marks on the side of it.

The five stones as they seem to appear aren't stones but five colored crystals. One pink, red, purple, green, and blue crystals.

Then he says,I put these crystals back into the guild bag and every one of you has to take out one crystal and place it in front of one another while sitting face forward to the fire between the rings and spaced out as what I told you to do before.

Then he put back the crystals inside the guild bag closing it with a leather strap, he tosses the bag to Alice and says,
do you still know what I'm doing?

denyingly nodding that she's completely lost what will come next she takes out a pink crystal closes up the bag and tossed the bag to Alex.

Alex nearly misses the catch and the bag almost landed outside the outer ring.

Alice screaming, no!
That was close she said.


What could happen, Alice?
as he eagerly wants to know?

Mr. Cobins starts to explain that when the bag would fall outside the outer ring, protection would be lifted but couldn't tell what the consequences were only known that it would be bad and dangerous for all of them.

Also hiding the full truth from them because it would remember him about the real story of nineteen sixty-eight.

When they all sit cross-legged and evenly spaced apart from each other and having placed the crystals in front of them, Mr. Cobins starts to explain that he will cast some spells and after he has cast out his last spell they all have to throw their crystals into the fire.

Stop! Jamie screaming, I want out and I don't like this anymore I just thought it was some kind of stupid game to scare us around this campfire but I get this eerie feeling that it isn't a game anymore, and I want out now!

Jim, Alex, and Jamie start yelling at each other and accusing each other that they all agreed to do this together for fun.

While they all screaming at each other Mr. Cobins resumes his proceedings but stops for a second telling them just to play along for fun ensuring them that it was a game from the beginning.

All stop immediately looking amazed and fooled at Mr. Cobins
As he's starting to laugh real hard.

Then they all start to laugh and relief can be seen on their faces.Then he resumes and says,boy did I fool you all there, can we play along, please?

All agree, only Alice seems a bit quiet and confused.
Mr. Cobins resumes his spells speaking out some never heard before language,

bheir e còignear fuireach beò
They all follow his clues and resumes his last spell,

Nooo,! Alice shouted in a loud voice.

At the same time, they all except for Alice throw in their crystals into the campfire while moving their heads towards Alice with clueless expressions.

Too late Mr. Cobins says!

A bright light explodes above their heads and beams down a strong bundled bluish-colored light, the whole area lights up and streaks of pure white flaming light hit a domed barrier just
before their feet.

They all take a step back some protect their eyes as others turn away from the light.

The following happens that the fire collapses inward the opposite from the initial campfire and above their heads, the same fire appears burning downwards with glassy rippled and what looks like a mirror, as you can see all of them standing around that fire when looking up.

The top of the fire touches the inward burning fire creating a big hole one can see through.

The mirrored fire, Alice mumbles as she continues speaking.
You fooled us all Mr.Cobins as she looks into his eyes filled with fear.

I'm Sorry Alice as he turns towards her.

And turns back looking up at the mirrored fire.

Alice looks at all the others who all look down into the fire hypnotized, with some strange energetic entangled fluid-like strands connecting the barrier.

It takes five to stay alive she then mumbles questioned looking back at Mr. Cobins?

Yes Alice, and four to open the door he resumes.

So your family didn't leave your side she says

No my dear Alice, they were all taken to the other dimension back in sixty-eight and the only way to be with them was through you guys.

you all took the bait I was hoping for.


As she looks up into the mirrored fire she can see his wife and son standing at the other side
reaching out their arms to him, waving to him to cross over.

But, but they are still so young? she answers back at Mr. Cobins with a stunned but also questioning face?

That's right Alice my dear, you don't age on the other side he answers.

Never, Alice says.

Never Mr. Cobin's answers.

Then Alice says, but I never cast my crystal into the fire?

Mr. Cobins, That's the only part you understood well from all of this he answers.

What will happen to those who did throw those crystals, Alice asks?

But before Mr. Cobins could answer her question a big bright explosion with a loud bang interrupted her conversation.

As blackness enters her sight and blows her away from the fire she passes out....


The end