Broken Mirror

giving a voice to the oppressed

   Shards of glass, from a broken mirror, laid scattered around her. The cuts in her knuckles left her with pinches of discomfort, but mostly, regret. She sat on the cold, damp floor with her head between her knees, over shadowed by the darkness of inner demons. All their words kept replaying in her mind; each feeling like a stab to the heart and nourishment to the growing self-hate. She remembered the day; the boys mocked her feminine clothes and the tiny ragged doll she clenched tightly in her little fists. When she finally made it to college in her late teens, she was derided for wearing a crimson shaded lipstick on the very first day; and so, like a delicate rose crushed by the weight of a strangers step, she sat in an isolated corner with no friends and an abandoned dignity. She remembered it all. The memories replayed themselves over and over.  

   Life in the real world became worse. Her educational achievements were never appreciated. The most she could land with was a job as a tailor's assistant, at a shop resting in the untouched part of Karachi. Customers sneered and ridiculed the owner for hiring such a blasphemy, business was lost to a pool of ignorance; so she ended up on the streets of the city that gave her nothing but misery. Her education was never approved, nor was she. She didn't know who she was anymore. In her youth, she saw herself earning a decent living with the degree she held; a degree that sat on a shelf, filled with the dust of forgotten dreams. It was of no use to ‘someone like her'. To society, this person was a joke. She found others like her, living in the darkness of this, ‘City of Lights'. The job she found was associated with illegal means and the taste of a night life. Work was needed to meet ends, and if the world saw her as nothing but a social pariah, she decided to live with that label; a label that gave her nothing but abuse, pain, and degradation. 

   The cuts and bruises on her body came together like a distorted map with each road leading to a memory of the worse kind of customer she experienced. The constant shame rang like bells in her head. With the incessant ringing in her head, she got up from the floor and collected the larger pieces of the glass. She approached the broken mirror and tried fitting in whatever piece she could find with some glue.  It took her a while to repair the broken mirror, but it still had pieces missing and irreparable cracks. All she saw was her twisted reflection.

    Suddenly her eyes caught a glimpse of a photograph dangling helplessly in between the mirror's glass and its hazel colored border. She held the wrinkled photograph, delicately between her fingers. It was a dated photograph of a little boy shielding himself from the summer sun with the help of books. A school bag seemed to weigh his tiny body down, but he still managed to crack a toothy crooked smile in this photograph. The girl recognized this little boy smiles and the brightness in his eyes. She looked into the broken mirror and noticed the brightness had faded away. The sun's rays peeked through the holes of curtain's cloth as dawn approached. The light rays gently touched her back and continued to illuminate her body as she removed her wig and rubbed the mascara smudges from her cheeks. As she continued to stare into the broken mirror, she finally managed to crack the same toothy crooked smile.   

Author's Note

the treatment of transgenders in Pakistan is horrifying. Many are pushed towards begging on the street or prostitution. Various NGO's and welfare groups however, work towards giving them a better and respectable life.
( for some weird reason the font keeps changing itself every time I try to edit it
please try ignoring it)
hope you enjoy :)

Reviews

[.]

Wow, Pia! A very deep story!

I suspect this is a fictional piece with a realistic slant?
Whatever your angle this is an extremely well written and emotional piece of writing.

You have deftly described the emotional turmoil that your character has gone through in life; the rejection, isolation, degradation and loss of self worth inflicted on her by the remnants of a strict society. One cannot help but feel sorrow for this character you have created and that in the end you can give her reason to smile, despite all her woes, is the mark of a quality writer.

I enjoyed this story very much. For the fiction it is and the realism that it is grounded in. You are quite the social justice warrior, Pia. Words are your pathway to change. Very well done.

[pia]

thank you so much for such a nice analysis !!

[Fanicia E.]

I appreciate how your writing draws attention to civil issues most either are not very informed of, or may ignore because they see said issues as affecting a minority, and subsequently not as high of a priority. The emotions in "Broken Mirror" are conveyed well enough for the reader to identify with, regardless of their background,This helps in the fight for trans rights, because it humanizes transgender individuals to those that believe their identify to be wrong or false. The similes and imagery provided paint a picture as clear as a photograph. "Broken Mirror" is an excellent read, despite, and in this case, BECAUSE of it's overall dark tone (which drives the point home).

[pia]

You are so right !!
Most of the people I know who read this were relating the story to themselves, it was until the very end they realised and immediately felt something for the protanganist in the story. The point was to draw out a image for such people as being just another human being, instead of a monster. Thank you so much for reading

[Fanicia E.]

You're welcome. As long as you're writing I'll be reading it :)

[G. B. Banks]

important plea and even in developed countries it is a heavy subject ... cheers Pia

[pia]

cheers to you too !!

[Hope]

I hate the societal views which isolate transgenders.
And I appreciate you for writing about such a needed but often ignored topic.
Bravo!

[pia]

Thank you so much !!

[Hope]

I am glad:)

[Bear]

Critique: (Life in the real world became worst) worse
(a degree that sat in a shelf,) sat on a shelf - "in" is not the right preposition to use in this context.

Review: I can't say enough good things about your story, from the vivid imagery in your descriptions to the powerful moral ending. This is the best thing I have read this year and hope you consider submitting it for publication. You could try magazines as a short story or you could tell the rest of her story and turn it into a novel. I do have a suggestion, give her a name so people can relate better to her (both a male and female name). Bravo! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! I feel your story is worth extra Clap! Clap!
I would also like to offer you a link to the best online writing tool I have come across https://app.grammarly.com I hope you find it as useful as I have :~)

[pia]

ironically, i had those written correctly before, had them edited by a friend *oops* llol
Your reviews always help me learn and grow. they mean a lot to me, thank you so much

[pia]

There are a lot of stories I have here i could consider for a novel and this is one of em
well hopefully someday *shrugs* and itll be because of all the wonderful motivation i get from reviews like yours

[Bear]

Writing in English is tricky I hope Grammarly can help you :~)

[pia]

its a really good site
thank you for letting me know about it !!!

[Bear]

I am glad and it feels good to think I am helping the next generation of writers :~)

[pia]

this is why i love this site. Its helped me improve in so many aspects. My previous works are absolute cringe lol

[Bear]

I was lucky I had an Aunt who wrote song lyrics in the 40's and 50's who took me under her wing along with her circle of friends from the writing community. So now I am trying to pass it on to novice writers.

[pia]

my aunt is also a literature crazed fan. she helped a lot in making me better. Here in Pakistan, English is kinda a first language for school going kids, no excuse for me to be bad at it
though i always had my own style of writing, my teachers never liked it. always told my parents i sucked lol

[Bear]

Most Americans don't know or understand most of the rule of writing so don't feel bad. I leave mistakes in most of the poems I post to see how long it takes before someone to spot them (don't tell anyone)

[pia]

I'm glad your here to help us young ones.
Keep writing !!

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

This is a deeply tragic and moving story that makes an important statement. The isolation and ostracism of transgender people in society is a dark stain. You so well describe your protagonist's forced social and psychological dissolution to a life on the streets. Thank you for giving these innocent victims a voice.

[pia]

Thank you so much Annette (hugs)

[PandaPeaceful]

Honestly wow. I am speechless- truly and utterly speechless.
You were able to create something so profound and sad and just, beautiful. The world is a miserable place, and it is time that it starts to accept everyone. Your story was like a light- making it's way to my brain and slowly, yet surely, triggering my thoughts to simply flourish and look behind Earth's standards. It was a pleasure to read this.
I really was fascinated by this. I look forward to your next story.

[pia]

Your review has made my day !! I'm so glad you enjoyed this

[PandaPeaceful]

I'm glad I found your story! Thank your for sharing your work.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

This one took me completely by surprise. You once again take a topical subject of social oppression and feed us with it until we realise it is simply inedible. Quite masterful.

[pia]

thank you so much!!!!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You are welcome!

[Najam Us Saher]

Descriptive write. Very moving.

[pia]

Thank you !!

[Najam Us Saher]

You're welcome.

[Lydia Shutter]

A write of empowerment....she realized she still had reason to smile...she knew who she was. Inner hope...that is what propels us. Beautifully written. Lydi**

[pia]

thank you so much Lydia

[Carol Cashes]

Love, love, love that the discovery of a version of herself as happy, whether male or female brought a moment of joy, however brief, and the boy should stand as her savior, even as she transitions to a "girl" (I use that to stay in keeping with "boy"). Wonderful little spark of hope from an unlikely source - her/him-self. A lot of transgender writing is angst from beginning to end and the source of her, however small, ray of hope is refreshing and should be inspiring to others who are transitioning with a lot of difficulty, whether culturally or socially. Very well done.

[pia]

im so glad you liked this !!! thank you