A creaking sound jolted me awake. Has someone opened the door? Did I just see something move? Tried squinting to take a better look but my vision is blurred, thanks to the grime and cobwebs that have covered me over the years.
I closed my eyes. My mind raced back to a sunny morning five decades ago. I could still hear the squeal of delight as my beautiful owner unwrapped me on her birthday, even as her father stood there watching with a beaming smile. After quite a bit of discussion she decided to mount me in the centre of the wall overlooking her beautifully decorated room. I remember her feeling up my exquisite golden frame with her dainty fingers and looking into me with an intent gaze. A mesmerizing smile spread across her angelic face. She whispered,
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who’s the prettiest of them all?”
“What a little narcissist,” I chuckled to myself.
And thus began my life with the beautiful 20 year old whose smile had to make you feel all things happy. She would wake up each morning, stretch leisurely, draw the lace curtains open, soak in the first rays of the morning for a few minutes. She would then strut up to me royally, admire her reflection and purr in the huskiest voice possible,
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who’s the prettiest of them all?”
I would almost choke myself at her dramatic ways even as she would toss her mane from one side to the other and watch herself from every angle. That routine had become my favourite moment of each day. She would then get busy getting ready for the day while I had the privilege of watching every move as she turned herself into an elegant lady who one had no option but to give a second look to. She would reach the door and turn back to come to me and take one final look before leaving as if to say goodbye to me.
The room would turn to a vacuum as soon as she would be gone, such was her infectious presence. Her laughter, chatter breathed life into the otherwise perfectly done quiet room. I thus planned my siestas accordingly. I would long for her to return in my waking hours and thoroughly enjoyed her making a stop in front of me between everything she would be doing all the while that she would be in the room.
That was a thunderous afternoon. In fact my siesta was getting disrupted thanks to the noise of incessant rain. I was waking up every now and then when the door flung open. In came my beautiful owner much before her schedule and to my surprise, threw herself into the bed instead of a visit to me like she always did. Is something wrong? I couldn't quite tell except I thought I saw her body move like she was sobbing. Soon enough her father walked in. She sat up. Her father started speaking with her in raised voice while she kept crying and requesting him to find another solution. I took a few minutes to understand what’s going on and when I did, I wished I had the power to change the situation.
Her father had made a huge loss in an investment and now the debtors were chasing him down for repayment. Having sold off everything he was now left only with the house where he had brought in his bride who passed away when giving birth to my beautiful owner. He had fought tooth and nail to save the house but couldn't at the end. He had mortgaged it to the bank to clear his debts and thus had been sent a notification to leave the property overnight. The rest of the evening went through a flurry of activities as everything was being packed and the girl sat in the corner sulking. That was perhaps the one time when I wished more than ever before to be a mortal and to be able to hold her in my embrace to comfort her. But that was not to be. All I could do was witness.
Wait, my vision is becoming clearer. I can see sunlight streaming in. The room with me and few other cast away furniture had turned into a rubble alright but still the gush of wind that came in felt like there was life again. I could now see absolutely clearly as the hand that was cleaning me moved away. A frail old lady looked into me. A smile spread on her wrinkled face ever so slowly. She whispered,
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who’s the prettiest of them all?”
