text: Once there was a little girl. She was neither tall nor short, thin nor fat. She had long, beautiful, light brown hair, a beautiful face, and a sunny disposition. Her milk teeth had come out and very large ones had replaced them. She was teased by other children, but it never stopped her from smiling. Home life was happy enough, at that time. Sure, her mother would lash out and beat and her father would get into the ale too much, but the little girl had her brothers, and her very best friend. Her reflection. The little girl was fortunate enough to have a room separate from the rest of the family. She would go there when noise got to be too much for her. She would dream and act, cry and read, and think about what it would be like to have her own cottage with her own little girl. Ah, but the mirror. That was where her best friend lived. You see, other than her teeth, no one had ever made comments about her appearance before, other than to comment on her complexion or eyes. She loved looking at herself, but not in a vain way. The way that birds like to look at themselves. She would watch her mouth form words, learned to wiggle her eyebrows and wink with both eyes, and would use funny voices with different expressions. When the girl would cry, she knew that if she went to her room and shut the door, her best friend would cry with her. They could tell each other that they weren’t at fault and things weren’t always going to be this way. The girl would sniffle and kiss her reflection, and feel better. This went on for a long time. And then, one day, the winds shifted. This man that called himself her “REAL Grandpapa” was coming for a visit, and the girl’s mother started acting strangely. The cottage was scrubbed, top to bottom, the beatings came more often and more harsh, and the girl started to go quiet. Not too much at first. Just a little less laughing and smiling. More hair being pushed behind her ears in a soothing gesture. The day for “Grandpapa” to arrive drew closer and closer. When he arrived, the girl was shy. Who was this man that resembled her mother so? Why did his young daughter look like a reflection of her mother? The girl was uneasy, as Grandpapa paid more and more attention to her, giving her a nickname for her smile, and ignoring her mother. Her Auntie was only five years older than her, how strange. She was mischievous and manipulative, but the girl kept quiet and hoped they’d leave soon. The Auntie was causing trouble with Mother and Grandpapa, acting like a child having a fit whenever he would engage with Mother. At long last, Grandpapa and Auntie took their photographs and bid their goodbyes. Auntie promised to write the girl and the girl promised back. As soon as their caravan was out of sight, Mother had tears in her eyes and trembling hands. She went to her bedroom and shut the door. After that, things around the house changed. Bad magic had been stirred up. Mother and Father fought and argued more, each battle worse than the one before. The girl was informed that she was getting fat, had a unibrow, huge crooked teeth, and was too...her. This crushed the girl, and at first, she tried comforting herself the same way she always had. Her best friend was still there, with her sad smile and tearful eyes. But then the girl REALLY looked at her friend. Mother was right. Her teeth were too big, her eyebrows too bushy and met in the middle, and she did seem a little chubbier than the day before. The girl turned away from her friend and whispered, “You’re hideous. I HATE you.” After that, whenever the girl was reprimanded, picked on, or told she was starting to get “heavy,” she’d sneak up to her room, look at her reflection and give HER the riot act. “Why can’t you be beautiful? Why are you unable to keep from knocking milk over? Why are you so LOUD? Can’t you keep quiet? Can’t you get better grades?” The girl would cry, engulfed in emotion, and turn away from her reflection. The years went by, and the girl stopped visiting her friend. She would look into the mirror, only see flaws, and run. She couldn’t stand her reflection, yet looked into a mirror every chance she got. Maybe in a way, she was trying to check in on her old friend, but only sad eyes and a harsh tongue met her. When the girl became a mother, she was so sad and angry all of the time, she lost herself. And one day, when the pain and crying were too much, she started feeling desperate. She needed to do something! Hurt herself, end it all, or make it all better! Her heart pounded hard, she couldn’t hear, breathe or see. She stumbled in front of the mirror and saw her friend. Her friend she had known forever. Her beautiful friend, looking so bereft and terrified. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. I love you, it’s okay.” The girl started muttering and then it got louder. “I’m so sorry. It’s okay, we’re OKAY. We’ll be okay. We just need to get through this. I love you. Don’t leave me. I’m sorry.” The girl watched her friend slowly calm. They looked at each other in quiet admiration. They had weathered the storm together, just like so many years ago. Things were going to get better, they knew it. The girl doesn’t talk to her friend much anymore. Her friend understands, it’s how things have to be. But every once in a while, while the girl is picking at her reflection’s face, tearing her down with sad and angry words, they lock eyes and know that they love each other. The End.