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"Hey Mrs Mira, you mind telling me the story behind this antique mirror you have here?" Sam, a twenty three year old guy asked. He standing before an antique mirror covered with dust and cobwebs in Mrs Mira, his neighbour's attic. She had called him to help her clear out her attic.
"Oh, that mirror?" Mrs Mira asked as if she had forgotten about the mirror. Poking her face from the door in the next room "It's been in my family for generations now. The say when you look into it, it reveals your truth"
"Pfft? Superstition '' Sam replied, wiping the surface of the mirror with his palm. "I wonder what gives this old folk the nerves to lie a lot about mere objects"
Mrs Mira poked out her face again, this time she had no smile on her face "Are you insinuating my people are liars?"
"No not at all ma'am. I'm just saying it's all fairytales" Sam quickly cleared himself.
But Mrs Mira wasn't having it "You know they say you're the prodigal one of your family. That you're avoiding responsibilities and that you're rude too. Probably, that's why you're avoiding your family and haven't visited them in years now. I just hope it's all fairytales too" Mrs Mira said from the other room.
Sam only smiled. He felt bad for using such words on Mrs Mira.
Then Mrs Mira walked into the room, smiled playfully at him and continued. "Well, maybe you're right. But what you should know is that sometimes, fairy tales might have a way of revealing more about our lives than we realize." She picked up a piece of cloth and walked back into the other room.
"I wish" Sam replied still with his gaze on the mirror. He found a rag and wiped it clean. He was admiring himself.
All of a sudden, it felt like the attic faded and he found himself in his prime as a child playing in his home courtyard with his sister. There was joy and laughter on their faces.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, but no one except his younger self was there to give him a reply
Then the scene changed from his younger self to his teenage self arguing with his parents about his future. He can vividly remember it. The emotions he had boiled down within him and how he spoke to his parents over the path he chose.
It did not stop there, the mirror went on to reveal how he had decided to not go back home after college because his parents didn't support his lifestyle of hard drugs and waywardness. All this was a result of peer pressure from friends he met in college.
Then to the straw that broke the camel's back. The mirror showed him the present life of his now older parents without him. How their old faces are lined with worry and disappointment because of him. He also got to see his sister who was now in her young woman era and beautiful too and how she missed him.
"No, what is this? Can this be real?" he muttered, quickly stepping back from the mirror. But the reflections didn't stop. They followed him, forcing him to confront the truth he had been avoiding.
The mirror showed him more of his future, returning home to his family. He saw his little sister's eyes filled with happiness at the sight of him. He saw his parent's faces lit with joy as he stood beside them. And he saw himself, not just surviving but thriving in life from the love and support from his family. Also, he looked healthier because he avoided hard drugs in the future.
Just then Mrs Mira walked in tapped his shoulder and said "Remember son, the mirror reveals the truth."
Tears welled up in Sam's eyes. He had been scared if his people still loved him or if they'd ever accept him back. But the mirror just revealed to him that he was still missed and loved at home
At that moment he realised he needed to go home. He turned to Mrs Mira and said " I think it's time for me to go home," his voice clear and sure.
"I'm sure your family will always be waiting for you," Mrs Mira said with a warm smile on her face.
