Shattered

She awoke in a haze with her heart pounding and ears searching. The shrill noise that yanked her from dreams seemed too close to be so distant. Throwing the sheets aside she began the hunt. As she gazed through each window the sounds reverberation could be heard and it chilled her to the bone, yet nothing could be seen through the night-time fog. Too unnerved to sleep, she resolved to block the noise as best she could and absorb her mind with another world. At first this seemed to work, but with each passing sentence the sound became more insistent and the words lost any meaning to the mind. Suddenly the shrill noise surrounded her every sense and the book fell silently to the floor. She began to panic, as her face started to feel hot, and she broke into an anxious sweat.

The noise haunted her as she ran down the hallway. Desperately she flung the washroom door open and quickly turned the faucet on. Frantically she splashed cold water upon her face, yet the throbbing heat could not be tamed. As she looked up, her reflection revealed a face formed into a ghastly scream, a scream with such force it rattled and then shattered the mirror before her. The shards of glass raced toward her with unrelenting velocity.

With each slice she became less aware of any pain and the shrill scream that had awoken her finally stopped. Within an infinite minute the majority of the pieces embedded into her face, except one that burrowed deep into her heart. She collapsed upon the floor.

As she awoke in the morning, her bed beneath her, she reached for the small mirror she kept upon her night stand. After a few moments of observation, she decided it must have all been a dream. On her way to the washroom she tripped on an open book, but thought nothing of it until she noticed the absent mirror above the sink. Immediately she felt the pain in her heart as she remembered the tormented reflection that met her the night before.

She got herself ready and went about her day, without the full knowledge of what was happening. For now, besides the pain she must live with in her heart, she lived with a greater burden; Every man that looked into her face, saw the reflection of all his own sins and flaws with unflinching clarity.

Many years passed and, while the pain never became less, she learned how to deal with the pain and loneliness. That is until one fateful day, when she met the man whom was unafraid to be lost in her face, for this man revelled in truth and honesty. In her face, he received the blessing to become the man he was destined to be and the two formed a bond that could never be shattered.

-J.G.Smith(03/28/05)