Rosetta lives in a society that has been through a lot because of a war. One major problem this society faces is depression. Her younger brother, Rudy, is in a special hospitial for the depressed.

Rosetta visits him once a month and when she does, she tells him a fairy tale story her mom used to tell her when she was a kid. But as she goes into his room for another visit, he is not there. Instead there is a mirror on his bed that is just like the one in the fariy tale stories. 

Depressed
I looked around and the whole city is full of fire, smoke, and screams. The whole place is complete madness. There are the sounds of gunshots everywhere. Then I saw another scene; two people were laying on the ground with missing body parts. I looked more closely and saw their faces- they were my parents.
I woke up panting. It has been three years since the war with the government had ended. Well I guess you can’t say it ended; the only reason why the war is over is because there is no one left to fight the war. Only a couple of people survived and they are staying here in the remains of the town of Brookewood. Brookewood used to look like a place you would see in fairy tale books. The people there were very friendly and every house was uniquely designed. But that was before the war.
For three years, we have been trying to rebuild our society, but it hasn’t really worked yet. The main struggle that makes it so hard to create a society is due to the fact that more than 95% of the 5000 people who survived are depressed. You couldn’t blame them though; I mean who wouldn’t be after going through a gruesome and hell-like war for ten years? The only way I make it through the day without depression is by thinking of a fantasy world full of happiness and hope.
Just like a smile is contagious, so is depression. Depression could spread so fast that if a member of your family was depressed it would spread like wildfire. There were five stages of depression: the first started with simply not being in the mood to smile or be productive that day and the last stage was when you woke up and all you do was stare dumbly at the wall for the whole day. When one reached stage five; you were sent to (what the mayor of this town calls) a special hospital. What I liked to call it was a prison for the depressed. Since the “hospital” had gloomy doctors, dim lights, and metal doors that locked up the person in their assigned room. I would know, my younger brother is in one of those rooms- room 174 to be exact.
Visitors were allowed only once a month. And today was that day. I force myself out of bed quietly so I wouldn’t wake up the whole orphanage. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, I starred at the mirror and touched the scar on my left check that I got when I was two. It frustrates me that I don’t remember how I got it. I brushed through my shoulder length brown hair, and looked down at my gray shirt and gray sweats, considering whether or not I should change. But came to the conclusion of “who cares?” and headed towards the door.
Since most of the town was depressed, it was almost always peaceful. As I started to jog in the direction of the hospital, I rehearsed the tale my mom always told me as a bedtime story. It was about a magic mirror that was actually a portal to a world with magic and happiness. I always imagined it as a fantasy, fairy tale world. I’ve told and retold my younger brother this story every time I visited him. As I walked into the hospital, the nurse who works at the front desk, Cleo, greeted me first.
“Hey Rosetta! How is it going?” Cleo asked.
“Everything’s fine, except more kids from the orphanage has been getting sent here from severe depression,” I replied with a sigh.
“You can’t blame them. It’s hard when you’ve lost both your parent in the war. I don’t know how you’re so strong. Here, sign in,” Cleo said while handing me the visitor signup sheet with the key to my brother’s room.
“Thanks,” I murmured, “How’s Rudy been doing?”
“Last time I’ve checked, your brother’s just the same; still stares blankly at walls,” this was one of the reasons I liked Cleo so much- she never lied about my brother’s condition just to make me feel better. I asked her about it once and she just said, “I think everyone deserves to know the truth no matter how hard it can be, no one can live life by a lie.”
Cleo continued, “He keeps having nightmares though, about your parent’s death I suppose. I think it was really hard for him seeing his parents dead on the floor like that.” Chloe said with a frown.
“Yeah, I know. It’s still hard for me too. Well I’m going to go see him now.” I waved at Cleo and couldn’t help but think of how pretty she is with her bright blue eyes and blond hair.
There were many floors at the hospital and only stairs to get to each floor. Since Rudy was on the fifth floor, stairs were my worst enemy.
I knocked before I unlocked the metal door to Rudy’s room. I slowly opened the door and stood there in shock in what I saw. Rudy was nowhere in the room. The room was really small, so there was nowhere he could’ve gone and there was hardly any furniture which gave him nowhere to hide.
I glanced around the room and my eyes landed on a small, shiny object on his bed. I picked it up and realized it was a mirror. It was in the shape of a circle and the edges were jagged so it looked like it was a piece of cracked glass; it looked extremely familiar. Examining the round mirror more carefully, I gasped when I realize I have heard a story about this mirror for so many years- I was holding in my hands the Magic Mirror.