Updated - Thanks to Stanman63 for sending me an edited version.

Authors Note: This is the original contest version of this story. I have since updated the story and posted as The Mirror on the Door - Revised. The new version is a revised and expanded version of this original story.

Jeffrey put the last of his boxes down in his new room. He looked around. His bed, nightstand, dresser and desk had already been setup by the movers. The room was freshly painted with a bright blue on the walls, with a white ceiling. His mother had already made his bed. The comforter and pillowcases had the NY Mets baseball team logo, and the curtains in the room matched.

There was a walk in closet, and on the outside of the door to the closet was a full length mirror. His mother had decided to leave it, although she was making certain that the rest of the room was as masculine as possible.

Jeffrey's mother and father's divorce had been finalized just over a year ago. That had been rough on both his mother and himself. That had been nothing though compared to the day, about six months ago, when he had been rather publicly caught dressed as a girl. There had been no school that day. His mother was supposed to work, so he had been home by himself.

He had taken the rare opportunity to indulge himself in dressing up. He had been down in the family room when he heard his mother open the front door. Worse he heard her talking to her friend Emily, and he could hear Tim was with them.

She was saying, "Thanks for picking me up, Emily. I think my car is totaled. Just what I need right now. Come on in, let me get you guys something to drink. Jeff, I'm home."

Jeffrey knew he was caught; he had no chance of getting from the family room to the bathroom or his room without being seen. Sure enough, his mother came into the family room a moment later. The scene that followed that was not one he wanted to remember.

Tim of course told everyone at school, and it was pretty bad for a while. Than his Mom's grandmother had passed away, and his Mom had been left this house. His mother decided that a fresh start would do them both some good, and had decided to move here.

"Oh good, that was the last of the boxes. Get a start on unpacking your things Jeff. I'll go make us some lunch." His mother said.

"OK, Mom." He said as he opened up the first box, and started putting his things away.

He came upon some clothes that he needed to hang in his closet. As he looked into the mirror, he was shocked to see that the room that it showed in the reflection was pink, and the bed had a ruffled bed spread. The thing that shocked him even more was that it reflected a young girl, about his age in a pretty dress. Jeffrey shook his head and wiped his eyes, and looked again, and this time all he saw was his own room and himself.

"What the heck was that all about?" he thought to himself.

His mother called up to him and told him to come and eat.

The days went by, and Jeffrey was sure that he had just imagined what he saw in the mirror that first day. He settled into the new town, met some new kids, and was enjoying school. He knew that he still missed dressing up, but his mother gave him no opportunity to do so again. He had tried to talk to her about it, but she just told him it was not open to discussion.

He figured that it was just his mind playing tricks on him because he had been thinking about when he had gotten caught.
A few weeks later, he had been asleep, when he woke up, having thought he heard a noise in his closet. The moon was quite bright that evening, so the room was fairly well illuminated, and he looked over at the closet, and saw the girl in the mirror again.

She was reaching out to him and making a motion for him to come to her.

Scared but unable somehow to refuse he got out of his bed and headed over to her. He put his hand up to hers and found that his hand went into the mirror. She took his hand and guided him through.

Once he was on the other side, he looked down and saw that he was no longer a boy. He was really a girl, wearing a pretty dress. He looked at the girl he had seen in the mirror, and she said, "Hi Joann."

"Hi… Where am I? How did I get here? And who are you?"

"Whoa… One thing at a time. I'm Lisa. I'm your sister. You came through the mirror; I don't know how it works. Grandma Larkin told me it was time, and I have been watching for you."

"Grandma Larkin… My mom had a Grandma Larkin, but she just passed away, recently. The house we are living in was hers."

"I know. But that was on the other side." Lisa said.

"Why am I a girl here?" Joann asked.

"Because that is who you really are. Something is wrong on the other side, and you have a boy's body, but here you are who you are supposed to be." Lisa told her.

"What about my mother? I have to go back." Joann said.

"If you wish to, simply put your hand on the mirror and you will go back." Lisa told him.

"Will I be able to come back here if I go back?" Joann asked.

"Yes. But at some point, you will have to choose one world or the other." Lisa said.

Joann put her hand on the mirror and found he was pulled back to the other side and looking down saw himself again. He looked back at the mirror and Lisa waved, and said, "Good Night," though he could not hear her.

"Mom, did you know Grandma Larkin well?"

"Not too well, Jeff. My mother died when I was quite young, and my father did not get along too well with her," Jeff's mother told him.

"When did you last see her then?" Jeff asked.

"I saw her a few years ago, at Aunt Joann's funeral."

Jeff started. "Aunt Joann? I don't think I've heard of her before."

"She was my mother's sister."

"What was your mother's name?" Jeff asked.

"Lisa. Her name was Lisa." She looked at Jeff strangely. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe I have, but I don't think you would believe me." Jeff replied.

"Try me." His mother said.

Jeff told his mother about what he had seen in the mirror.

His mother of course did not believe him. She got upset and thought that this was just Jeff's way of getting her to talk about his desire to cross dress again. She told him, "That's not funny, Jeff. I've told you that you will put this behind you. Don't bring it up again!"

Over the next few months, Jeff spent as much time as he could visiting the other side. He met Grandma Larkin.

She explained, "Joann, on this side, you are your true self. There are parallels, but you are not the same as the Joann that died on the other side, nor is the Lisa here your grandmother. Some souls are shared between each world. Mine for instance was shared by your great grandmother on the other side. Yours is shared with Jeffrey on the other side. But your soul is female, and that is making Jeffrey very unhappy. This mirror is special and is allowing both parts of your soul to come together."

The more time that he spent on the other side, the harder it became to return and become male again, yet he loved his mother and did not want to lose her.

He tried again one morning to tell his mother about the mirror. His mother said,"Enough! I'm late for work, but tonight I'm going to get rid of that mirror, and then we won't have any more talk about this."

Jeff went straight to his room after school. He had to choose. Lisa was waiting for him. He pushed through the mirror.

His mother came home and found him in his room. She cried out, "NO!!"

The police came and tried to determine what had happened. "It makes no sense. That mirror blew out from the inside. Its almost like something hit it from behind, and the fragments came and stabbed him right in the heart."

Later that night she went into Jeff's room, and saw a piece of the mirror was still sitting there, missed by the detectives. She picked it up and could see a pretty girl looking out at her, she was crying, she took a letter and pushed it toward the mirror. Amazingly, a letter came out of the mirror shard and into her hand.

Jeff's mother opened the letter, and read it.

Dear Mom,
I am sorry. I love you so much, but I had to choose, and on this side of the mirror I can be who I really am. Grandma Larkin sends her love as well, and promises that she will take good care of me.

Love you always,
Jeffrey.

She looked back in the mirror shard and saw that it was fading. As it faded out she saw the pretty girl say "Goodbye."