This afternoon, I was walking past a construction site and did a double take. Part of me could swear I'd just walked past a mirror, but hadn't seen myself in the reflection. After a brief moment of vampire-based self doubt, I stepped back a few paces and saw this:

It was just a hole in the hoarding, surrounded by a moderately tasteful frame. Contrast this with another hole about 10 feet further along:

It's strange how something as simple as a wooden frame in a particular style can so change our perception of things. In my head, those sorts of frames were always around mirrors (particularly mirrors above mantlepieces at my parents' house), so what I was seeing through it must have been a reflection. Even though half a second of thought dispels the illusion completely - the lack of my own reflection aside, a row of apartment buildings were opposite the frame.

The shelf with holes for tealights suggests to me this is a memorial of some kind. Or perhaps it's just a piece of disruptive art. Or students dicking around (NYU is everywhere around here). I'd love to know how it got there. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!