Week Twenty-Three

 Once upon a time there was a girl named Vanity. She lived among people like you and me, but in her mind they were dull. 

Her favorite pass time was admiring herself in the mirror, for she was indeed a beautiful girl. She knew it, everyone around her knew it, and she knew that they knew it, but the choices she made to go about her beauty was wrong. Day by day she looked in the mirror more and more, and day by day all the people around her, even the ones that loved her dearly, slowly grew apart from her. But she didn't know it, nor did she care, at least at the moment. All she thought about was herself, and herself only. For, why would she want to think about anything else? Surely nothing was more important than herself. She was beautiful after all, wasn't she? 

Well, after time, the people in Vanity's life moved on, but she didn't see. In fact, she almost forgot about them, she was too busy looking at herself to see anyone else. And she thought that that was all that mattered in the world.

But, I'm afraid this tale won't be a 'Happily Ever After' one. You see, because even though we are free to choose, we are never free from the consequences of our choices. 

So, one day when Vanity was intently adoring her perfect face in the reflection before her, something happened. She couldn't see her reflection anymore, and it startled her, it even made her angry. Why couldn't she see her lovely face staring back at her? Vanity did not think it was a funny trick, but a mean one. All she wanted was to look at her face just a little bit more. She cried and cried for help, but nobody answered, nor ever came. Then, with a horrifying blow, she realized what had happened; she was on the other side of the mirror, inside the mirror looking out into the world. 

Poor Vanity was stuck. She was stuck in time, in an empty world, watching life go on without her. But wasn't that what she had always wanted? To be stuck in time, to never  grow old, to never develop wrinkles around her sparkling eyes, nor grey hair, or saggy skin? But how things had changed, all she wanted was her family now, and her friends. She didn't care that her face was streaked with tears, she didn't care what she looked like anymore. But it was all too late. 

She was immortal now; never fading, forever beautiful...she should be happy shouldn't she?