Shadows of You

What do you see in your reflection? Are you a monster? A saint?

It’s night. You just got out of the shower. The tiles beneath your feet are ice. You step onto the rug and let the water drizzle down your body.

 

No towel.

 

You stand before the mirror. You stare at yourself. Minutes go by. You hold your gaze. But soon it wanders. You analyze yourself. Hate or love the piece of flesh you were molded from.

 

You smile, you frown.

 

You add, you subtract.

 

Your body is your focus, nothing else. If you stare long enough, the image before you changes. You’re older. A year or two. Changes have taken place. Things added. Things removed.

 

An unknown scar. Where did that come from?

 

Bags beneath your eyes, they contrast your pale complexion. Just as you think you’ve taken the changes in, the image changes again.

 

A decade passes. You’re older. Wrinkles here and there. Graying or thinning hair. More scars. More war wounds. More stories.

 

Now the image of you stays the same, but the scene of the bathroom leaves you. You notice the dead pan look in your eyes and you stare at them.

 

Are they lifeless?

 

Cold?

 

 Full of hatred?

 

The image around becomes clear.

 

Atrocity. Horror. Corruption.

 

Each one leads to you. A monster.

 

You?

 

Abuse. Murder. Genocide.

 

The sins of your past.

 

 As you stand there and glimpse your future self, what are you thinking?

 

Will you try to change it?

 

Or do you deep down feel that this is right? You, after all, are not at fault. What was done was right by you.

 

Do you see yourself as a monster or a saint?

 

As these thoughts linger in your mind the image fades, vanishes. You’re left with yourself. A body. A spirit. Yet to be fully molded. For now your slate is clean.

 

You take one last good look at yourself and leave.  

 

Author's Note

Just a little something I wrote awhile back. Had it up at one point, but pulled it down for some reason I can't remember.

Reviews

[Glen marsh]

Interesting piece of writing here maybe deep down we all judge ourselves when we look in the mirror. short and sweet is not always easy to do. i would make one word change though and that would be thirteenth line you say 'right as you think you've taken the.....' i thought the word 'just' would be better where the word 'right' is. but overall it was well written and left one thinking which is always good. well done

[Sarah Hawkinson]

Interesting write and read. It's very simple, it has a lot of truth to it, really reflects how we view ourselves.