I'M FINALLY DONE.
-_-_-
Portrait of Narcissus: How I fell for, loved, and lost myself.
Many people say summer is the best time for romance. I certainly don’t deny it. I feel summer is the absolute greatest time for romance. It is, however, the time I met my true love.
It was mid June. Very hot. So, naturally, I shed most of my clothes like any normal person. Now, I am quite the looker; tan, toned, lovely hair, and intense, alluring eyes. I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked out, by men and women alike.
So I was at the beach. The boardwalk, to be exact. It was particularly hot that day, and I was sweating buckets, but that made all the more eye-catching. All I had on was my usual swimsuit, and nothing else. I passed a store window, one for a self-help store. Of all the stores on the boardwalk, it had to be one of those. How tacky.
But that didn’t stop my eyes wandering to the window, in which sat an intricate polished mirror, with gilded edges and intricate carving. A banner above the mirror read “ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOURSELF?” Of course I am! Naturally, I decided to catch my reflection. I walked up to the window, and stared at myself. A smooth, even face, alluring blue eyes, full lips and the most gorgeous nose. I noticed my chestnut hair was slightly off, and I fixed it accordingly.
That’s when I looked myself straight in the eyes.
The world was suddenly bathed in a new light. The person before me… I have never seen anyone like them before. They were beautiful. A sight to match myself. I don’t remember how long I stood there, staring at this person, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off of theirs.
Eventually, the sky began to darken, and a worried looking store associate came out and asked me if I was alright. “Yes,” I replied, my voice directed at her, but my eyes still on the mirror. “May I ask, how much is that mirror?” I pointed at the mirror.
“I’m sorry, it’s not for sale.” I turned to her, the spell of the gorgeous person broken. “What,” I said monotonously. She repeated her statement. I was crestfallen, but did not argue. I took one last gaze at the mirror, and slowly turned and walked away.
That night, I could hardly sleep. My mind was tortured, my dreams haunted by the face in the mirror. When I awoke the next day, I immediately knew I had to see them again. So I jumped from my bed and hardly made myself presentable, because I looked good at any time of day.
I drove to the boardwalk with no regard of speed or safety whatsoever. Thankfully, there was not much traffic, nor any police officers to hinder my progress. Upon arrival to the boardwalk, I made a beeline for the self-help shop, and the mirror that held the face I was in love with.
There. Right in front of me, it was. I slowly walked up to the transparent glass window, seeking bliss. There was my bliss in the mirror, the lovely face I admired so. I stared into their eyes, and they into mine, for hours. At closing, I departed, going home to a fitful sleep, and a harried morning of driving back to the boardwalk, for another glance at my soul mate.
A week later, still entranced by the face in the mirror, a person came out of the self-help shop. A man in his mid-thirties, not bad looking, but not really my type, if he ran a self-help shop. He walked to me and coughed, as to get my attention.
“Yes?” I asked, not taking my eyes off of the mirror. He explained how I came here every day to stare at the mirror, and asked if I liked the mirror. “I love it,” I replied with passion and honesty. What the man said next made me happy beyond my wildest dreams.
“Well, we don’t really need it anymore, because we’re closing, so if you’d like to buy it, we’d be willing to-”
“I’ll take it!” I exclaimed. The man, shocked by my outburst, just nodded his head and led me into the store. He unlocked the display window and took the mirror out, handing the exquisite thing to me carefully. He said that it was valued at about two-hundred dollars, but I stood firm.
I paid the man and left, carrying the large mirror down to my car. I strapped the delicate object in to the passenger seat, and climbed in to the driver’s seat, soon driving slowly; I wanted to cherish every moment I had with my sweet friend.
At home, I prepared a lovely dinner of pasta. I lit candles, I poured wine. I just had to celebrate the occasion. I set the mirror up at the end of the table, but did not serve it food. It was, after all, a mirror. I sat at the other end of the table and served myself, looking into the mirror, smiling as I fed myself.
As bedtime arrived, I carefully took the mirror and laid it on the left side of my king-sized bed. I got in from the right side, lying down next to the mirror. I stroked the gilded carvings tenderly, thinking how lucky I was.
Life was good.
Summer passed, and autumn arrived. As the temperature cooled down, our love heated up. It flourished. In late September, we made love for the first time. Were on such a level of comfort and security, it just seemed… right.
Autumn began to pass in a flurry. The dates became almost constant; we never left each other’s sides. I quit my job; I had enough money, anyway, to support the both of us. Mirror and I, we were in love, inseparable.
Autumn ended quickly, and winter came. But our love was as hot and passionate as ever. The month of December was particularly cold, but we didn’t care. Christmas came. We didn’t get each other much; just love.
And then January came. The brutal month of pain.
It was the tenth if January. People were still breathing in the New Year smell, still regretting the things they did at their New Year’s Eve parties. But Mirror and I, we never regretted a thing. Every moment in the New Year brought a new sense of euphoria to us.
But one night, one damn night, the euphorius feelings were stolen, extinguished, like a flame in the wind. The night of January tenth, someone broke into our house. They… beat me down; they tried to take Mirror away.
But I fought back! I took down one of the burglars, and the other was on his way out the window and into the fire escape. I rushed after him, trying to get Mirror back. As I reached the window, it happened. The burglar slipped, Mirror in hands, and fell over the railing of the fire escape.
My voice was lost in the howling wind as I watched my one true love tumble to the ground. I heard the burglar’s neck break.
I heard Mirror shatter.
Screaming, I nearly threw myself over the fire escape. But I stopped myself. Mirror wouldn’t want me to die to be there with it. I slumped down on the floor of my home, cradling my knees, rocking back and forth, crying.
I felt sick, very sick. I immediately got up and went to the bathroom, throwing the door open, and throwing my guts into the toilet. I sank to the floor, sobbing, a foul taste in my mouth. And I slept.
The next morning, I had no idea where I was. Then I remembered the previous night; the burglars, Mirror, throwing up… I stared into the clean bathroom mirror, and saw the face again. The face I was in love with. The beautiful eyes, the wavy hair…
It wasn’t the one I loved.
In a rage, I ripped the towel rack from the wall. I swung the rack at the bathroom mirror. The pole made contact with the mirror, and it shattered, much like my love did. The reflective surface shattered and burst outward towards me.
I tried to cover my perfect face. I didn’t protect my neck. A long, sharp shard of glass dug itself into my neck, blood spurting across the small room. Gasping, I fell, my head hitting the door behind me. I sank to the floor, lights dancing before me.
I lay, limp, on the floor, spots dancing before my eyes, blood, gushing out of my throat. I knew I was going to die.
But I smiled. I will be with my love now. Forever in the Afterlife. I’m coming, my love, I thought.
I’m coming.
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