Ohkay, things happen, he pulled off his shoes in the bedroom, a normal thing, but he may have been overly tired... one shoe went flying into the mirror ... 'Crackle. . Pop', it broke into a thousand pieces.
"Sorry, Hon, go and get another one", he said.
The Mirror wasn't such a big deal...standing alone from the rest of the bedroom suite. Was about 5'6" tall, a Cheval Type, adjustable for angles soas could get an 'overall view' of oneself before meeting the onslaught of daily workin' stares.
Friday afternoon . . . the local Auction Room, 'The Shed' as it was known...looking for a replacement...spent all week at the local Shops and Mirror suppliers...jeeze!!! , . . . The cost of replacement! Insurance..(Yes.Tried first. But I had to pay and they will re-emburse me, maybe, depending upon liability, they said)!!... so . .I am not a liar . .plus premiums would probably go up next year to 'Compensate' for 'Their Loss'!!.
The auction room was packed . .with people bidding for what I considered was over-priced junk. All done, the room cleared . .I wandered around amongst the dust and dirt of the rear shed...a ray of setting sun glanced against something.. blinding me for a moment.. clearing my eyes the sun had now placed a ray of light onto the ground at my feet.. and was slowly moving towards the rear of the shed.. being a woman, curiosity got the better of me!, I followed it.. coming to rest upon a very dusty encased piece of . .Furniture?, before leaping into the sky..lost amongst the evening twilight.
The 'Furniture', upon closer inspection was about 6 foot tall by 18" wide, a panel?, of sorts, with wide base and obviously a swivel..along the side were . . ornate handles, curvatures of odd design and obviously very old. A Tarpaulin covered the front of it.
Upon lifting a corner of the tarp I saw what was indeed a mirror, a full - length one at that, just what I was seeking!!. Coughing with the dust I pulled the tarp off.. the mirror surface had a thick grimy coating on its surface, using a tissue I wiped off a corner and knew I just had to have it.. the glassed surface shone like a jewel.
I approached the Trader and made enquires. the man was not too helpful,
complaining that he had to move a lot of old and dusty furniture to 'dig it out', besides, the last person down there from memory, he said, had been his departed father, many years ago. I looked back at the mirror in the distance.. it seemed to have an aura around it, distinguishing itself from the nearby dusty furniture. Rashly I negotiated to give him a few dollars extra for the trouble of loading and shipping it to my home. Reluctantly he agreed, requiring time to deliver. The overall final price being what I would have paid for one 'as new'. But the compulsion to own the mirror overtook my usual sensible attitude.
It actually took about five phone calls and a week before the mirror arrived, the two men who lifted it to the bedroom hadn't even bothered to clean it, as it was still in the same grimy condition as when I first espied it, the tarp still in place. Paying them off I placed newspaper around its base and removed the tarp. Looking at last through the grime I could just see the image of myself, blurry and fuzzy. The framing of the mirror was even more ornate than at my first inspection, the wood, smooth and polished, and reminded me of a man's thigh to the touch.. musculey, a firmness, but yet a softness about it.
I eagerly set about removing the grime, starting at the top with a household window cleaner. .I cleaned enough to finally get to see into it .. looking . .and reeled back with shock!! . .the image was not me!! . .it was somebody else!!.
I backed away . .soas not to see the image, my mind reeling, and feeling giddy, trying to comprehend what I saw, the common - sense in me telling me that it was impossible!! ..steeling myself, I walked up to it from an angle and placed my hand to the cleared spot, and looked at the image . .I reeled again . .the image was my hand alright, the wedding ring in the image proved that, but the hand was slim, dainty, flawless!! . .I turned my hand over, the image did the same, the reflection still showing an absolutely perfect hand, feeling bolder, I thrust out my arm, covered in grime and dust. The arm in the image was also covered in grime and dust, but the arm was long, slender and perfect!! . . .. Amazed I went to the kitchen and made a strong cup - of - tea, reflecting upon this transformation that the mirror image could give.
'Was the whole of the mirror like that', I thought.. Trembling slightly at the absurdity of it 'supposing it was, then what. . Would I see a perfect? . 'Me'?
Now I'm not a raving beauty, by any means, but am considered. . Well. . Attractive, after all, I am married and had my fair share of Boyfriends prior to being married!!, and like any other female, takes pride in her appearance and dresses, well . .to the best of what one can afford, though I must admit that some outfits fit the bottom bit better than the top!!, sizes being what they are!!. I looked at my arms and hands . .ohkay, they had had their fair share of the weekly washing, ironing and gardening, with the usual 'dishpan' look and scratches, but all -in - all were, to me anyway!, in a pretty good condition considering my age, and what I spent on conditioners to prove it!.
Feeling slightly silly and fortified by the tea I went up to the bedroom, looking in at the mirror. It was at an angle to the door, and I couldn't see my reflection. The part I had cleaned seemed to have a pale bluish glow to it, jewel -like. Steeling myself, and trying to avoid looking into it, I furiously removed, scraped and cleaned its whole surface, revealing finally its surface. Avoiding looking into it again I lined it up with the bedroom door, it being far heavier than one would imagine to move, and putting my back to it left the bedroom for the kitchen, making myself yet another strong cup -of -tea.
'Now what', I says to myself, 'after all, it is a mirror, which I wanted to replace the one that was broken, 'why the problem of looking into it, after all, that's what it is for'! Washing my hands I self -consciously tidied my hair and put on a bit of lippy, smiling inwardly, ah! women!! . I nervously laughed out loud, which uplifted me went to the bedroom door.
I peeked around the doorjamb, and yes!, could see me!!..I giggled at the sheer stupidness of what I was doing, creeping around my own home!! . .I stepped into the doorway of the room and looked at the mirror...
I was stunned, my mind going completely blank at the image I saw, trying to
Comprehend and co - ordinate the reflection into coherent sanity!!. The woman 'in there' was absolutely lovely!!!, her eyes were as wide as a young deer, her perfectly proportioned body could be easily imagined under the old jeans and white shirt she was wearing, her hair had come straight out of the hairdressers, soo perfect... her,
'OOOh', she yelped, and moved!!...
"But that's what I just said" . .I stammered out loud, taking a step backwards, and so did the image!!. I turned and ran back to the kitchen, trembling all over.. I wished for once in my life that I could light a cigarette, or something, anything, to control my nerves. I thought of phoning my friend up the road, but to say what?..that I have a mirror which . .umm . .it just doesn't happen!, but was it me? I looked at my faded jeans and grubby white shirt, the same as what the image was wearing. .the silliest thoughts entering my head but having some reasoning, 'just suppose it WAS me!, after all, it is a mirror for chrissake!, but suppose it had some, umm . .yeah . .well . ."Special" power to reflect. .what?????. My mind was a turmoil, and I was beginning to feel slightly scared. I made another cup of strong tea, wishing that there was something in the house a bit stronger!, calming myself enough to knowing that I would have to face the mirror again, after all, it was in my bedroom!
Again I peeked around the door, the image peeked back,! . .I waved . .the image waved back!! .. I stuck a leg out into the doorway. . and looked at amazement at the image!! . .
Now I haven't got a bad pair of legs, in fact, I'm quite proud of them and can, if I have to, wear a mini with the best of them and make a good showing, but the image in the mirror left us all for dead!! . The Jean clad leg was obviously very long, slender and very shapely! in fact, I was quite jealous!!, but then sanity grabbed me and I realised that I was looking at MY leg!!. I wiggled my toes, my feet being bare, cute slender toes wiggled back!! . .I giggled and did it again . .feeling braver I stood in front of the doorway and . .I fell in love!! . .with her/me!!.
The reflection/image of me, even though from a distance, was absolutely
Breathtaking!!. She/me was lovely. .ooh soo perfect . . Poised. . Serene.and, from this distance could see a slightly stupid look on her perfect face that looked out of place. I took a few faltering steps towards the mirror, stumbling a bit. The reflection did likewise, and looked utterly out of place with her sheer beauty. I blushed.
"Sorry", I said out loud. The reflection did likewise; her face even more entrancing with the rose coloured blush around her cheeks. . I laughed out loud, the sheer tension of the past few moments seeming to lift and leave me.
"You're me". . I stupidly said to the mirror, wagging my finger at 'her'! "You're my reflection. .I don't know how it's done, but I like it"!
Confidence being taken in by talking to myself was making me bolder, perhaps
Braver! I started to gabble nonsense to myself as I walked up and down in front of the mirror, admiring the smoothness of her walk and the way she held herself, her body under the jeans and shirt very obvious in its ability to strain and stress the fabrics. . A thought occurred to me. . Wonder if. . Well. . What DO I look like under the clothes?