The girl in the mirror - By Tobias

Caldwell December 28, 2022 at 01:53 550 views 8 comments
I like this new family. Mother, father, oldest brother and two sisters. All of them keep me company for a while, unlike the previous occupants. They always rushed. Brushed their teeth, quick shave, hardly applying makeup. They had no children too, which was most annoying. Children sometimes talk to me. Adults never notice. They have their funny ways too, these new ones. Bro is what they now call a jock and admires his own musculature. Mom spends ages getting rid of her wrinkles, to no avail. Dad meticulously shaves as if taking care of each hair individually. Big sis is the funniest. She is so scared of her own body that she wraps herself in towels before the last drop of water has hit the floor.

As if I haven’t seen it all. You have no idea what people do in front of mirrors. Well, probably you have, because you all do it. There is no body part I haven’t seen or act I haven’t witnessed. Sometimes you look at me so guiltily after. I wish I could reassure you. You are not alone. Trust me, I know. I live here since that fateful summer day during the Civil War.

Comments (8)

Vera Mont December 28, 2022 at 03:10 #767037
I hope there is a next story about that fateful summer day.
Hanover December 28, 2022 at 04:40 #767051
I actually thought the last line was out of place. The story was about a talking mirror that validated everyone as normal by telling us what she (I felt like she was a she-mirror) saw over the years, and she saw we're all pretty similar in terms of our concerns and behaviors.

But then she stopped waxing philosophical and hinted at what she saw go down at the Battle of Antietam or some such shit.

Then my mind starting wandering and I thought of Alice and the looking glass, then of white rabbits, then of Jefferson Airplane, then of go go dancers, then of Austin Powers, then of my friend Mike, who looked like Mike Meyers, then of college days.

That story really sparked some crazy connections. Nice work!

Amity December 28, 2022 at 08:31 #767083
The girl in the mirror

What girl and how is she in a particular mirror? As a reflection or inside the mirror? Both?

Quoting Caldwell
like this new family. Mother, father, oldest brother and two sisters. All of them keep me company for a while, unlike the previous occupants


It seems the mirror is stuck as part and parcel of a house structure.
She sounds lonely as a vehicle for the vanity or vulnerability of others; loves children who talk to her.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall...who's the ****- est of them all?" The magic of it all.

The girl in the mirror could be looking at herself. She seeks to reassure us that we are all the same.
She's seen it all since:

Quoting Caldwell
[...] that fateful summer day during the Civil War.


What day is she referring to? We want to know more!

Quoting Hanover
...hinted at what she saw go down at the Battle of Antietam or some such shit.


Did she hide in/behind the wall mirror to escape capture only to die there?
Is what we hear now her spirit...?

***
A magical mystery tale. We are left with questions; wanting to know more about her reflections...
We want to know what people do in front of mirrors - what we look like from another point of view. How she got there...what was she like...
Lovely work :sparkle:



Benkei December 28, 2022 at 09:19 #767099
I thought the word usage was slightly inconsistent. With Bro and sis but also meticulously and musculature. Especially that last one somehow pulled me out of the story.
Amity December 28, 2022 at 09:52 #767104
The more I think of this girl in the mirror, the less I am convinced of her apparently mature reflection on humans.

Hers is a one-sided, narrow view. She only sees part of the being before her.
She is amused by the 'funny ways' of the family.

Quoting Caldwell
Big sis is the funniest. She is so scared of her own body that she wraps herself in towels before the last drop of water has hit the floor.


There's a lack of a deeper understanding...an inability to empathise, no matter what she says.
So, yes. Perhaps the immaturity of a child locked in herself; stuck at a certain age.
She hasn't seen it all.

Quoting Caldwell
They had no children too, which was most annoying.

It's all about herself. Perhaps she should have been a he. The mythical Narcissus.

Jack Cummins December 28, 2022 at 19:18 #767198
Reply to Caldwell
I liked the description of the lonely woman, abandoned to a life of reflection. She seems rather like the lost soul of Miss Haversham with the endless memory of the wedding which never happened. Mirrors say so much about one's sense of self going back to Narcissism. The way that ths character is by herself, thinking of how others perceive her says a lot about the fragility of self image and self esteem. I like the way the narrator speaks of the body in front of the mirror, conjuring up ideas of seeing oneself as a sexual object, possibly in connection with some sense of shame, and a hint of anxiety of how one is perceived in the fantasies of the perceiver.










180 Proof January 02, 2023 at 09:09 #768576
I'm a sucker for intriguing ghost stories. Which "Civil War" by the way trapped her voice in that mirror? So few words raising so many questions; it would take at least ten thousand more words to answer unless, of course, the answers would raise even more (since now – how long? – she only reflects but cannot be reflected). :clap: :cool:
Nils Loc January 02, 2023 at 21:37 #768725
Nice one.

Plenty of room for more tales from the girl in the mirror. Would like to imagine a mirror world in which she moves around but can only see across to the living through a mirrored surface. Hopefully she knows other ghosts.

(Un)fortunately my mind has gone off on an erotic tangent. I'm now imagining every thing this girl has witnessed as a voyeur of the living. She knows that best interface is the bathroom's mirror. :rofl: