Unwritten Tomes ©04

Welcome to Unwritten Tomes – your weekly source of meaningful stories, and a short escape from the noise of today's world.

I stared into my reflection. Then it moved on its own.

I’d found the mirror outside an old apartment complex – left like the rest of the unwanted junk people abandoned in this district. Anything not bolted down vanished fast.

As I was brushing off some dust, my finger happened to touch the surface. And my reflection stopped following my movements.

I felt a ripple flow through my finger like a wave. I gasped and jumped back in fright.

But my reflection didn’t follow. It slowly turned around and started walking away as the surroundings morphed around it.

I saw a child, sitting on the porch, covering her ears with her hands.

I remember this scene. The clinging of glass and shouts came from inside the house – another pointless argument of my parents.

The younger version of me turned and looked at me, it was as if she could see through the mirror.

I opened my mouth, about to say something. Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine. Maybe some sort of advice I could offer her. My voice struggled to squeeze through my throat. Just a couple of words could change so much…

But my lips tightened before any sound left my mouth.

Then the mirror rippled and a semi-transparent figure appeared. “How interesting… No one ever made that choice.” The woman in the mirror approached me. “But I think I understand. Well, one use per person… too late to change your mind. Hope you won’t regret it.”

The mirror fogged up, and the figure disappeared, winking at me as she left.

I wiped the mirror with my sleeve to rub off the fog. But except the squeaking sound of wiping, nothing else happened – the mirror stayed silent.

But now I looked at my tiny apartment in a different light. The dirty but comfortable couch, the small plant growing in the corner. And I felt assured in my choice.

Everything turned out fine. And I would never take the risk of messing with the past – no matter how much I might regret parts of it.

Based on the idea of what would you say to your younger self?

When asked that question, I struggled to think of something. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t want to say anything. Despite any struggles, I might encounter – I would never take the risk of changing how things happened.

Sure, things could’ve been different. But would you take that risk, knowing how much small decisions influence the people you meet, the friends you make, and the person you end up becoming?

Maybe it’s a lesson on appreciating what we have, or maybe that we should focus on the future – not the past. But that’s for you to decide.

Weekly highlights of great narratives.

The struggle to fit in. Peer pressure. That’s what I noticed in this story from susitse.art – an artist I’m a big fan of.

Smooth artwork with slightly disturbing depictions – in other words eerily beautiful. In this short fragment of an upcoming graphic novel, we see a black wolf opposed to eating a sheep. The reason? The wolf used to be a sheep himself. But now, he's forced to commit acts he never thought he would – just to fit in with the pack.

Here's a link if you want to check it out!

Susitse.art on Instagram

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