Once a week I’ll be posting an image and asking you to provide your own original work in the comments that follow a set of rules. This week: Challenge yourself by telling me a 100-200 word story about this photo. Any story line, any genre. Post your stories in the comment section below. I’m interested to see what you come up with!
My take:
She stood before the mirror, her demons swirling around her. She was done being weak. No longer would she let the pain, the poor choices, the bad memories be a part of her. She brought the knife to the glass, pressing until cracks appeared, listening to the sound so similar to ice cracking across the lake outside her window. This time she would be stronger. She would win. She raised the knife and slowly stabbed at the glass, watching pieces of herself and her life fall around her and shatter at her feet. The demons around her screamed, becoming more and more difficult to make out. They escaped on her breath with her screams; they fell to the floor inside her tears. “Let me go,” she sobbed. “Please just let me go.”
Scriptor Corruptus 
Tina stared into the mirror and sighed. Her bloodshot eyes stared back at her, dry and empty. Her limp smile was painted on in shades of conventional standards and feigned conformity. Oh, she could play her part and play it well, but the dull edge of time whittled away at her interest and now she only went through the motions. Like a rat in a maze, her mind drifted though the infinite gambit of her daily routine- feed her soul sucking children, endure the tortures of drop off lanes and soccer games, slave away at a simple job any trained chimp could do, cook an underappreciated meal for the husband, pretend thrilled gratification in bed- and the only cheese in sight for all her good deeds was spelled out in big block letters- BOREDOM. Her life had become as lifeless as the reflection in the mirror. Was there no escape from this mundane existence? Was every day to be a ticking of endless seconds trickling like tree sap from youth to old age? Was she to reside motionless and meaningless within the slow yawn of time? Was there nothing beyond this? The apathy in her expression seemed to answer back dully. She sighed again and slowly turned away.
“Come to us,” a chorus of voices whispered over her shoulder. Tina turned back to see faces swimming within the glass. Distorted smiles and mischievous glances enticed her forward and for the first time in a long time, Tina smiled. Not a disguise to face the bland or a trick to hide the monotony, but an honest to goodness, carefree smile. The chorus uttered approval, their voices rising in delight like carnival barkers selling their wares. “Come to the valley of vigor and be invigorated! Dance with us in the halls of hilarity and be enthralled! Join us in the Gala beyond the Glass and be galvanized!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Tina stabbed at the glass, eager to break through and live a life of joy. The mirror shattered onto the floor and the faces duplicated in its shards, calling out to her in jubilant cries. She struck again and the level of excitement exploded within her as they replicated once more. She plunged the knife repeatedly into each piece of the smiling faces and the chorus grew louder and louder until she found herself kneeling in a pile of sparkling dust. Blood oozed from her knees and ran down her forearms and she realized in complete and utter horror…
She was bored again.
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I like this! Still dark but slightly humorous. I could feel the disdain for complacency, boredom, normalcy. Well done!
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Aidia stared in confusion at the seemingly normal mirror. She saw herself, as one would expect. She saw the blade she held in hand. She saw the room behind her. All as one would expect. The odd thing was the blade of the knife had penetrated the mirror. Indeed it had even penetrated her arm. How is this possible she muttered. “Why would you do such a thing, Aidia?” A face, twisted in mockery appeared in the mirror. She hadn’t meant to. Had she? More confusion seeped in. “Aidia, why? Why would you do this?” Another face, this one contorted in grief appeared. She struggled to turn around, but was unable to avert her eyes from this strange mirror. She stabbed at the mirror again, blood began to flow down both her arms. She flung the knife and beat on the mirror to no avail. No sound came. She couldn’t even feel the mirror beneath her fists. She saw her reflection sink down to sit on the floor. In a panic, she started screaming. From nowhere, a fog clouded the mirror. A divinely beautiful face filled the surface. “Aidia, this is why you were chosen. You had no love left for yourself. This is how it could have ended. Now, you get to see your life take meaning.” Her laughter was shrill and hideous. As Aidia looked closely, she saw her reflection get up, mouth a Thank You at her and walk away leaving Aidia to stare into the darkness.
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SO proud of you!!
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