"I wish you were free..."
There was a sudden powerful whooshing sensation and then I was looking out of the mirror again. "Ryan are you good buddy? Fake Jake should be coming, hide!"
A few moments later my former body entered and I felt myself reform. He sat before the mirror in a daze and uttered the words "I wish you were free." before gasping silently and remaining still. I felt the power within me well up and wished my curse upon this unknown entity. The swap was done an instant later and I stood up and stretched my body out but couldn't help but beam a huge smile.
"How? How did you summon me and force me to trap myself? It has already been 200 years, could you please destroy me?" The mirror entity began to weep.
"We did it squirt, you can come out now." My rich baritone voice already feeling normal.
"Uncle Jack?"
"Its really me, but I was only an adult for a minute before being sucked in the mirror, I think I'm still adjusting to the reality you're used to."
"Ryan?" the entity began understanding that we had worked together... "You're more cunning than I gave you credit for, boy... but you can't undo your own costs and whatever your wish, I will give you a new cost..."
"Yes, but we'd like it." I grinned.
"Oh? Care to test that belief?"
"I should probably tell you that the cost of your wish to free me was that for any wish that would result in pulling someone else into the mirror you have to give warning and cannot grant the wish without them accepting the cost, additionally while you are the wish granter any costs you exact must be something the person would like and appreciate." My reflection's face fell.
"You really got me good." the entity said quietly... "Could you paint over the glass that I might fade away and never return?"
"I could, but I'd rather find a way to free you without getting anyone else stuck..."
My reflection looked surprised and confused. "Why would you..."
"Because my family has this awesome magic mirror that grants wishes, but its inhabited by a bitter and resentful person who hates my family... I'd much rather have the mirror free of inhabitants and not act like a prison. In fact, that's my, hopefully final, wish to you. I wish the mirror no longer required an occupant and people can simply come and go from the mirror as they please to take on the role of wish granter whenever they liked, returning to their form when they exit the mirror. No more of this weird body swapping business."
"It's granted." My reflection said with trepidation in my voice...
"Interesting, and you didn't give me a warning that someone would be trapped... did you want to try stepping out?" I said with a compassionate smile.
My reflection closed the gap to the mirror and placed his hand upon the frame, cautiously, a shadowy haze stepped from the mirror slowly reforming after centuries of not existing in a corporeal form, the reflection that was mine twisted into a haze as the entity exited revealing the soul that had been trapped there was …