#MirrorReflections
[from the vault; 2017; repost]

I once met a little girl,
With mousy brown hair,
And large green eyes;
Who wore jeans,
And a t-shirt that reached her thighs.

This girl was young,
And reminded me of
Someone I once knew.

We met through a mirror.
Each of us had a different side,
Both of us separated by a thick sheet of glass.

At first there was shock,
And then there was disbelief.
But eventually,
We started to talk.

The little girl spoke of her aspirations
For the future,
She knew what she wanted to be,
She believed that her dreams
Would come true.

She smiled widely,
Showing her crooked teeth,
As she told me about her pets,
The old dog and cat she loved so much.

I felt a smile creep onto my face as I
Listened to this little girl.
She was so care-free,
So determined,
So full of life.

Suddenly, she stopped.
She looked at my thighs,
Covered by my jeans.

She looked back up at me.

She couldn’t see them,
But it was like she could sense them.

I sighed,
Not wanting to ruin the happy mood.
The little girl just stared at me expectantly,
Waiting for me to talk.

I sighed again and told the little girl
My story.
I told her about the voices in my head,
I told her about my scars,
I told her about my thoughts.

She winced and flinched while I spoke,
But didn’t break her neutral face.

When I’d finished explaining,
She went to wipe the tears from my eyes,
But her hand stopped at the glass
She couldn’t get through.
...