Mirror, Mirror

I wrote this awhile ago for an absurdism assignment in English, and chose eating disorders as my topic, which I had been going through for the past several years.

Aggie and Stacy discovered the mirror one afternoon while combing the cluttered aisles of the thrift store downtown. The mirror, trimmed in white with gold accents and standing on two legs, possessed an archaic nature and a few scratches here and there, but was pretty all the same. It nested among some outdated, fading lamp shades and a few weathering jackets resting on a hook, which only increased the mirror’s enchanting appeal. So Aggie and Stacy found themselves purchasing the mirror, without a reason to do so.

            On the way home, Aggie and Stacy argued over who would acquire the mirror all while trying to cope with the burden of carrying the mirror, which they both agreed had gotten rather heavier, but they quickly ignored the increased heaviness and assumed their exhaustion from shopping had resulted in its feeling heavier. After a while, they both agreed that Aggie would take the mirror for there was more room in her house for it to stand. By the end of the night, the mirror found its new home between Aggie’s dresser and bedroom door. Both girls sat in front of the mirror commenting on the dullness of one’s hair or the puffiness of the other’s eyes, before Stacy spoke.

            “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of us all?”

            “Technically, the mirror is not on the wall but of course you are the prettiest of us two,” replied Aggie dismayed by her perception of the truth. “My eyes droop and they are crooked, too. Plus I am much bigger than you!”

            “Stop whining in pity. You cannot help but be that way.”

            That night, Aggie fell asleep to the lulling sound of rain outside, only to be awoken in the middle of the night by a hammering sound emanating from the mirror. Befuddled, Aggie crept to the mirror and peered inside. Trapped in the mirror, a colossal creature stood with gray skin, an overly pronounced hunched back, and gaping, oozing sores. The monster gnashed his teeth and grunted. After a while, the monster declared in a rough voice, “Let me out of this cage, and you shall be granted your greatest desires, but you must let me out.”

Aggie paced in front of the mirror, now hating it for the monster’s tempting but mocking question. Every now and then, she would turn, face the mirror, and look away, frightened from the monster that hid inside. Questions bombarded her mind, one after the other: What if the monster attacked her? What if the monster consumed her? What if the monster did not keep his word? She continued to pace, and the monster eyed her eagerly, freedom in his eyes. Again the monster spoke, “This mirror has enslaved me for so long and I only wish for a change of scenery. Grant me my freedom and I’ll grant you your wish. I am true to my word.”

Aggie soon gave in to the compelling offer and agreed to free the monster in return for a gorgeous body and face, similar to the models of the magazines that covered Aggie’s floor. At once, the creature heartily agreed and Aggie reached in and pulled the anxious monster into her world. He surveyed the room, pictures and everything, before turning back to Aggie.

“In due time, you will have a body of envy, I guarantee it,” grunted the monster. Rather soon, he disappeared underneath the bed and Aggie resented her decision in fear of the monster breaking his promise. After accepting that the action had been done, and no resenting would reverse it, Aggie finally allowed herself to sleep. She had not noticed the mirror had gotten bigger until the next morning.

The next afternoon, Aggie and Stacy gathered in front of the mirror, which had once again increased in size throughout the day, though neither commented on the known fact. Instead they commented on each other’s appearance from their figure to their hair and from their fingers to their nose. This time, Aggie asked, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of us all?”

            “Of course, I still am,” answered Stacy matter of factly. “My eyes are not too close together such as yours and I do not have nubs for toes.” Disheartened, Aggie agreed and cursed the monster for not fulfilling her wish.

            Before Aggie fell asleep that night, the monster appeared to keep true to his promise and cast his magic all over her. Before laying down again, she noticed that the mirror had grown twice its original size, and she herself had shrunk at least two inches in all directions. For once, Aggie thought: This is pretty.

            The next day, Aggie and Stacy gathered once again in front of the mirror. It had become a ritual. Similar to the days before they remarked on each other’s appearance, though nothing was said of the mirror that now blocked Aggie’s dresser, or the fact that Aggie’s clothes hung on her like drapes, that were even too big to hang over the windows. Near the end of their conversation, Aggie asked “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of us all?”

            Like clockwork, Stacy answered, “Of course I am, silly! My eyes are blue and yours are brown.”

            The monster appeared again that night, and Aggie cursed him saying that the magic had not been enough and demanded he cast more magic, and he obeyed and started to chant strange words. Aggie smiled in satisfaction, knowing soon she too would be beautiful, perhaps more beautiful than Stacy or the models in her magazines. She ran to the mirror, and saw in her place a girl three times smaller than her previous self with long hair of gold and legs like towers. Again she thought, This is pretty.

            The following day, Aggie found it rather difficult to walk on her newly formed legs. She stumbled and often fell over, requiring the help of others to put her back on her stilt-like legs. Her long hair even became a burden in the wind by wrapping around her neck almost cutting off all her air. Sometimes her hair flew out and grabbed the throats of those near her. All in all, it became a hassle for her and everyone around her, but instead she ignored the complications and went on her way.

            That afternoon, the girls saw that the mirror took over the whole side of the wall, and the furniture had to be moved to allow it more room. Once again, neither commented on it’s overwhelming expansion. Rather each girl discussed the repulsiveness of each other. Stacy turned to the mirror and asked, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of us all?”

`           Searching for an answer, Aggie scrutinized herself in the mirror and rather than the stunning girl she saw last night, she saw in her place, a frumpy old lady with wrinkles winding like rivers through her skin. In horror, Aggie proclaimed, “Stacy, you are still the prettiest of us all!”

            Later that night, Aggie waited for the monster and when he appeared she drew on her anger, and demanded she be made beautiful at once. The monster agreed, and cast his magic on her and she observed herself as she transformed into a model with a dynamite appearance. Her bones protruded from yellowish skin, and hair lay limp and in some places, patches began to fall out. Once again Aggie thought, This is pretty.

            The day after, Aggie found it difficult to walk and often coughed blood, but of course it did not matter. Why would it? She was finally pretty. No one spoke of Aggie’s new found beauty or the fact that a monster now followed her wherever she went.

            During their, now, typical afternoon in front of the mirror, neither girl spoke for nothing could be said. Aggie had achieved beauty, and no criticisms could be made. Instead, she continued to cough. Every second she worsened, but neither girl mentioned it. The monster sat in the corner smiling. Aggie writhed on the floor, coughing and coughing with no end.  Eventually, Aggie did stop coughing and even moving all together. Stacy sat in silence but seemed to know it would happen all along. The monster grinned even wider and with a satisfied expression proclaimed, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the deadest of us all?”

 

                                                                   Author’s Note

            Magazines, movies, advertisements, and basically anything in the media portray girls that have generally unrealistic figures that society has come to accept as beautiful. As a result people will go to the extreme to obtain this idea of “perfection”, and often times become anorexic or bulimic in the process. My story serves to portray the devastating effects that the monster, or disorder, can have on an individual and those around him or her. People constantly compare themselves to their friends or the faces in the media such as Aggie does with Stacy, but no matter how “pretty” she thinks she gets, it is not enough. Stacy represents those who can obviously see that there is a problem at hand but decides to do nothing about it and at times worsen the situation. The increasing size of the mirror illuminates the increasing need to reach this false idea of “perfection” in our society, while Aggie’s death represents the real consequences of such dire disorders.

 

 

Author's Note

I wrote this a while ago, and I would like to redo it in the future to fine tune it and what not.

Reviews

[Spotted Hyena]

Your descriptions are great, but watch out for run-on sentences. And try adding some descriptions of the characters. Also, try mentioning Aggie's desires earlier and expanding on them during the scene where she is deciding whether to let the monster out. I like the symbolism and the use of fantasy to illustrate reality. I don't think the author's note was necessary because I understood the story pretty well.

[Angel Alli]

Thank you for your comments. The author's review was included because it was a requirement for my assignment a couple years ago and I decided to just keep it in.

[Charles Leighton]

-cluttered aisles of the thrift store downtown-
Try: cluttered aisles of a downtown thrift store. Reads better.

The second paragraph is something else. I agree with everyone else. Break up the run on sentences. Give us a chance to breath. Plus show us the argument. Too much tell not enough show.

Delete 'in pity'. Not necessary.

Try reading the story out-loud. I think you will hear how hard it is on the minds ear. I think it is a good story and will be fantastic after a few rewrites.

[Ania L]

Such a sad story. Your employ language akin to that in a fairy tale, which I think works in this story. I like the idea of a literal monster for the disease that is anorexia. I kept reading even though I don't really have the time, nice work!