| General Fiction posted October 1, 2014 |
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Contest entry.
The Mirror
by Mystic Angel 7777
Darkness protects us from seeing the things we would rather not see. It is a simple statement with abysmal ramifications. Nonetheless, it has been working brilliantly for the legions of evil over the centuries. In man’s innocent need for self-preservation, such pithy sayings offer both comfort and much needed absolution. Comfort that will prove to be temporary. Absolution which will never come.
Michael awoke from yet another nightmare gasping desperately for breath. He finally managed to pull himself free from semi-consciousness. Peering into the darkness which surrounded him, his gaze settled on the one mirror in the room. Mirrors frightened him for they reflected light and forced him to see himself clearly. Yet, even in this inky haze he was happy for a physical object to focus on.
Slowly, he began to breathe normally once again and relaxed in the knowledge that he would make it through another night. Peering at his image in the mirror he was dismayed at how worn he looked. He still thought of himself as quite the womanizer and was not ready to give way to age or the deeply etched wages of sin that now marred his face. He attributed these physical flaws to tricks of moonlight seeping through the half-opened blinds and nothing more.
“Are you an angel?” he asked the visage which appeared in the mirror beside him.
“In a manner of speaking. Let’s just say I am related in a distant way.”
“Well, whoever you are, I don’t believe so you can find a more gullible person to bother”, Michael responded.
“Whether you believe or not is immaterial to me. It is time for you to make a choice and it is for that purpose I have come.”
“Choice?” Michael asked. His mind was racing, trying to find a logical explanation for not only seeing this creature but hearing it too.
“Would you change anything about the life you lived if you could?”
“No! I have taken what I wanted and had a good time.”
The ethereal image grew brighter almost erasing Michael from view. “You have no regrets then. Nobody you wish forgiveness of or words you would take back if you could?”
“I was always right in what I did and said even if others felt like they were hurt. If you are talking about the women I used, they deserved it because they allowed me to use them. I really only cared about one of them anyway.” As that last word was spoken the mirror filled with images of the twelve years he had spent with Marie. Tears filled his eyes as each and every one of the wounds he inflicted was replayed for him in stunning Technicolor.
“Stop! I do not want to see anything more and I do not want to feel anything more,” he cried.
“As you wish.” The room returned to its familiar stillness, but something was different. The mirror was blank, free from all reflection of the room or anything in it. The moonlight no longer streamed through the blinds leaving the room in complete darkness.
Michael felt a cold hand on his shoulder which sent waves of fear through his entire being. He knew it was time to atone and, for once, grateful for the darkness which prevented him from seeing where he was going.
Darkness writing prompt entry
Darkness protects us from seeing the things we would rather not see. It is a simple statement with abysmal ramifications. Nonetheless, it has been working brilliantly for the legions of evil over the centuries. In man’s innocent need for self-preservation, such pithy sayings offer both comfort and much needed absolution. Comfort that will prove to be temporary. Absolution which will never come.
Michael awoke from yet another nightmare gasping desperately for breath. He finally managed to pull himself free from semi-consciousness. Peering into the darkness which surrounded him, his gaze settled on the one mirror in the room. Mirrors frightened him for they reflected light and forced him to see himself clearly. Yet, even in this inky haze he was happy for a physical object to focus on.
Slowly, he began to breathe normally once again and relaxed in the knowledge that he would make it through another night. Peering at his image in the mirror he was dismayed at how worn he looked. He still thought of himself as quite the womanizer and was not ready to give way to age or the deeply etched wages of sin that now marred his face. He attributed these physical flaws to tricks of moonlight seeping through the half-opened blinds and nothing more.
“Are you an angel?” he asked the visage which appeared in the mirror beside him.
“In a manner of speaking. Let’s just say I am related in a distant way.”
“Well, whoever you are, I don’t believe so you can find a more gullible person to bother”, Michael responded.
“Whether you believe or not is immaterial to me. It is time for you to make a choice and it is for that purpose I have come.”
“Choice?” Michael asked. His mind was racing, trying to find a logical explanation for not only seeing this creature but hearing it too.
“Would you change anything about the life you lived if you could?”
“No! I have taken what I wanted and had a good time.”
The ethereal image grew brighter almost erasing Michael from view. “You have no regrets then. Nobody you wish forgiveness of or words you would take back if you could?”
“I was always right in what I did and said even if others felt like they were hurt. If you are talking about the women I used, they deserved it because they allowed me to use them. I really only cared about one of them anyway.” As that last word was spoken the mirror filled with images of the twelve years he had spent with Marie. Tears filled his eyes as each and every one of the wounds he inflicted was replayed for him in stunning Technicolor.
“Stop! I do not want to see anything more and I do not want to feel anything more,” he cried.
“As you wish.” The room returned to its familiar stillness, but something was different. The mirror was blank, free from all reflection of the room or anything in it. The moonlight no longer streamed through the blinds leaving the room in complete darkness.
Michael felt a cold hand on his shoulder which sent waves of fear through his entire being. He knew it was time to atone and, for once, grateful for the darkness which prevented him from seeing where he was going.
Michael awoke from yet another nightmare gasping desperately for breath. He finally managed to pull himself free from semi-consciousness. Peering into the darkness which surrounded him, his gaze settled on the one mirror in the room. Mirrors frightened him for they reflected light and forced him to see himself clearly. Yet, even in this inky haze he was happy for a physical object to focus on.
Slowly, he began to breathe normally once again and relaxed in the knowledge that he would make it through another night. Peering at his image in the mirror he was dismayed at how worn he looked. He still thought of himself as quite the womanizer and was not ready to give way to age or the deeply etched wages of sin that now marred his face. He attributed these physical flaws to tricks of moonlight seeping through the half-opened blinds and nothing more.
“Are you an angel?” he asked the visage which appeared in the mirror beside him.
“In a manner of speaking. Let’s just say I am related in a distant way.”
“Well, whoever you are, I don’t believe so you can find a more gullible person to bother”, Michael responded.
“Whether you believe or not is immaterial to me. It is time for you to make a choice and it is for that purpose I have come.”
“Choice?” Michael asked. His mind was racing, trying to find a logical explanation for not only seeing this creature but hearing it too.
“Would you change anything about the life you lived if you could?”
“No! I have taken what I wanted and had a good time.”
The ethereal image grew brighter almost erasing Michael from view. “You have no regrets then. Nobody you wish forgiveness of or words you would take back if you could?”
“I was always right in what I did and said even if others felt like they were hurt. If you are talking about the women I used, they deserved it because they allowed me to use them. I really only cared about one of them anyway.” As that last word was spoken the mirror filled with images of the twelve years he had spent with Marie. Tears filled his eyes as each and every one of the wounds he inflicted was replayed for him in stunning Technicolor.
“Stop! I do not want to see anything more and I do not want to feel anything more,” he cried.
“As you wish.” The room returned to its familiar stillness, but something was different. The mirror was blank, free from all reflection of the room or anything in it. The moonlight no longer streamed through the blinds leaving the room in complete darkness.
Michael felt a cold hand on his shoulder which sent waves of fear through his entire being. He knew it was time to atone and, for once, grateful for the darkness which prevented him from seeing where he was going.
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Writing Prompt Write a story where the first sentence is: Darkness protects us from seeing the things we would rather not see. |
Artwork courtesy of Angelheart.
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