"You see where your careless act has landed you?" The voice in his head spoke, making Leo's head spin.
He hurriedly went inside his room and took off his clothes. He needed to find peace by any means, even if it meant staying away from everyone.
"No. No. No. I am not careless. I am not. My mother caused this." He struggled, using his hands to cover his ears. "Leave me alone!" He held his head tightly, screaming loudly like he was beginning to lose his senses.
He struggled till he got to the mirror. His reflection was a strange person.
Leo stared into the stranger in the mirror, wondering who it was staring back at him. The reflection was a gaunt face, a sunken eyes and a hollow gaze. The man he knew before was always with a bright smile, and sparkling eyes. The one he knew before was always full of life.
It started when he lost his sister, Cassy. They were on their way home from work that evening. Usually, Cassy would wait for him at his place of work and they would go home together. People thought they were twins because of the way they behaved.
"Hey, look!" Leo shouted excitedly, just like they always do while walking home from work.
Cassy turned around and missed a step. She fell to the ground and while she was being helped by Leo to get back to her feet, a car lost its brake and drove right to where Cassy was. It hit the both of them but Leo was able escape even though he broke his right leg.
Life was never the same for him. He blamed himself for the death of his sister. "If only I didn't play that expensive joke with her..." he would always say.
He descented into drugs in a bid to forget his sorrows and kill the guilt. He attended several parties just to while away his time but nothing changed. Instead, depression ate him more.
He needed to escape from the thought of how his sister was crushed right before his eyes. He tried all he could and he resigned to fate that life wasn't fair to him and would never be.
His health was deteriorating. He needed help. As he stared into the mirror, he saw the need to accept healing. He saw the need to accept growth.
He started to attend therapy sessions and even joined a support group against drug addiction. Slowly, he started to rebuild his life.
He came back to the mirror months later and realized that the stranger in the mirror was gradually transforming to the real Leo.
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