Isaac looks at the mirror

this is a short story about a dog named Isaac, and his broken illusions. Feel free to check it out!

Isaac looks at the mirror

Nov.4 �"December.1 2015

“What a beautiful day” Isaac said. He had finished his lunch. Meat cooked to perfect rare with a side of vegetables cooked to perfect well-done. The cook had put his best effort today. Isaac was grateful he was handsome. If he had not been so handsome, the cook would have never started putting food for him in the silvery can of meals.

After eating, Isaac was drowsy. When he was about to fall asleep, a human girl approached him and patted him on his head. Isaac was familiar with the problem of being TOO handsome. Humans would not leave him alone in any occasion. Deep down, Isaac might enjoy this popularity. However, the girl quickly became annoying with the patting and gibberish.

A woman, presumably the mother of the annoying fan, took her away from Isaac. She scolded her for annoying Isaac because he was handsome. Finally, a fan who admired Isaac with respect!

Isaac was thankful, so he went on to say “thank you” very loud and clear.

As soon as Isaac said “thank you”, the girl and her mother ran away. One of them was crying. Isaac guessed they were so full of happiness they could not handle. What creature can handles the handsomeness of Isaac anyway? Being handsome fed not only Isaac but fantasy of others.

Isaac turned around and saw the billboard. There was a picture of a decent looking dog. Humans placed his picture because they admired him. When Isaac was a child, he always wanted to look like that dog. The dog had blue eyes that are looking down at Isaac, golden fur that is so bright, and the perfect body shape. In Isaac’s whole life, he had always strived to look like that dog, and now he was above the dog.

After his brief encounter with his fans, he lost any desire to nap. He decided to go for a walk. He started walking down the street as the humans made the way for him. Isaac did not forget to acknowledge his fans. They screamed with happiness and ran wildly.

Isaac stopped where all humans stood waiting for something. He knew they waited for the cars and walked across at certain time. Isaac still had no idea how this rule worked, but he knew he just had to go with the flow.

‘Go with the flow?’ Isaac thought.

Isaac’s mother always emphasized and advised him to go with the flow. She told him it was the only way to survive. Isaac did not just want to survive; he wanted to live a special life.

Isaac realized he did not have to wait like all the others. He was special; he would never go with the flow.

As Isaac walked across the road, the cars kept strolling away. Fearful of his life, Isaac lowered his body. The cars passed through him. Isaac was soon at the other side of the road.

Isaac watched all the humans who still stood at the opposite side of the road, and he felt entitled to the feeling of despise for those humans and exalted feeling of superiority and specialness for him.

Isaac stepped into the park. Humans read, ran, walked and ate in here. It was such a peaceful day with the blazing sun. The blue jays sang and the river flew. Humans minded their own business. Isaac felt almost sorry at the thought that he would be disturbing this peace with his handsomeness.

Isaac had walked for twenty minutes, but humans barely seemed to notice him. Isaac was happy with the respect humans gave him. Hence, he decided to thank them. He shouted at the top of his lung, “thank you so much”. He shouted so that even the humans at the opposite side of the park could hear him.

The humans seemed startled that such a handsome dog noticed them. Some even screamed. Soon after, humans went on to mind their own business, because they respected Isaac. However, a little girl who was beside him would not stop to cry. She was overwhelmed by sheer joy.

What a poor creature she was! She would never meet a handsome dog like him. To console her, Isaac approached him and started to lick her face. Most humans do not even dare to be close with hum, but this girl actually made a physical contact with Isaac. Her dream had come true.

Then, a tall man, probably her father, started to speak in high-pitch gibberish. His eyes were wide and he pointed his finger at Isaac. Soon, he started kicking Isaac. Isaac was familiar with this kind of fan. This kind of fans found pleasure in inflicting pain on Isaac. Because they felt inferior, they had to gain superiority by violence. Isaac knew what he had to do.

Isaac ran as fast as he could from the twisted man. In the end, there was no place like home. Isaac walked wearily into his house. He was full of expectation for his dinner after a tiresome day.

This tiresome day might still continue, because he found some guests at his house.

The guests looked scary. They were filthy and they drooled everywhere. The one who was brown had multiple scars, even in his right eye. The one with white fur had so much filth that he looked almost black all over his body. The one with actual black fur looked malnourished, since he was nothing but a skeleton. They all looked at Isaac with great hostility.

Struck with feeling of pity, Isaac offered them to join his dinner. They refuse, stating that they were here first. Isaac kindly informed them that the chef only cooked for Isaac because he was so handsome, and that the chef would never cook for ugly dogs like them.

They scoffed at him, saying,

“You son-of-a-b***h, you are a street dog, just like us. That is a garbage can behind you. That is where humans throw out food they don’t want to eat. You are not handsome. You are not special. Now, get out of here!”

The brown dog then bit his leg. The other dogs pilled on him. They bit him everywhere. His tail, legs stomach, face and back. Blood was everywhere.

After ten minutes or so, the guests talked to Isaac about how they were merciful to spare him this time and that they would kill him the next time they saw Isaac. Isaac could not hear most of it, because he gradually lost his consciousness.

When Isaac woke up, the guests were gone. It rained hard, but Isaac could barely move. He still did not understand the event that had happened. Isaac just guessed there were bad creatures who could not accept his handsomeness in this world. When he finally managed to stand up, he was surprised to see another scary dog in the water puddle. He shouted at him to go away. But he shouted back at him. The scary dog moved the exact way Isaac moved. The scary dog bled in the exact spots Isaac felt pain. Only after thirty more minutes of through inspection, Isaac concluded that the dog in the puddle was Isaac himself. The scary, filthy, ugly and pitiful dog was Isaac.

When he looked in the puddle again, he was one of the street dogs that bit him, not the handsome dog in the billboard. He was like them. He was not special at all. Isaac now understood what had happened. He had lived his whole life in an illusion, and the illusion had been shattered with cruelty. Isaac did not know what to do from now on. Isaac did not know if he had anything at all. He did not even know who he was.

Isaac looked up and there was the billboard. Isaac felt betrayed. The billboard represented who Isaac could never be and never was, yet Isaac lived his whole life thinking he was who he was not. Isaac felt a pang of anger. The billboard gave him the illusion he had lived his whole life, and now it shattered his illusion completely. Only because he could compare the reflection in the puddle to the billboard, he realized his ugliness. Isaac was full of anger, so he ran straight toward the billboard. Not realizing the billboard was sky high, Isaac head butted into a concrete wall. He lost his consciousness soon after.

When Isaac woke up, he found himself in a comfortable sofa. He had never felt this cozy and warm in his entire life. The fact that Isaac was weary and comfortable almost made him forget that he was in a place where he had never been. He had been abducted.

Realizing this, Isaac jumped up and tired to find his way out. He desperately scratched every corner of this place to find a way out, but it was to no avail. An old man soon stopped him and held him up. Reminded of the man who tried to hit him, Isaac struggle to get out of his grip, but the old man tightened his grip and hugged Isaac. Isaac felt warmth that he had never experienced before. Maybe Isaac was not special at all. However, this warmth was real and special. Isaac was just a street dog, but for this human he was more than that.

Later that night, Isaac was treated to a real meal. He never knew how much real food could taste better. Isaac was about to sleep, then the old man patted him on his head. He did not need his illusion now. This was real. The old man was real. Isaac felt special and he was happy at last.

Rejuvenated, Isaac woke up, full of plan for this day. Isaac shouted as loud as he could to wake up the old man. The old man did not wake up. Isaac kept barking.

It was only after three days of barking that Isaac realized the old man would never wake up. He knew this happened to every creature, but this was too early.

Isaac could leave if he tried, but he did not. He would just be a street dog again. Isaac had realized that the billboard he admired, or the illusion he created, or the love from the old man could not make him special. The billboard was a false creation that no one could achieve. The illusion was broken eventually. The old man was special, but all humans died. The old man was no God, and it would have been foolish to expect him to create everything for Isaac. Love could not last forever. Isaac thought that the only way to find specialness was to dig deep inside him. However, Isaac had no idea how to find it.

He was tired anyway. He had not eaten or drank for three days, because he did not know where the water or food was. He went to sleep beside the old man, feeling weaker and smaller than ever.

Author's Note

Please be honest!