Review: Hi-ho, Silver...Awaaaay!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 11, 2012
Mirrors are gateways to our souls. Made of nothing more than smooth glass coated with a reflective metallic backing, they allow us to observe our frailty and humanity that manifests itself in our hairstyles; the width and depth of our smiles; the droop in our eyes; the burgeoning of age spots and unsightly tufts of hair; the unibrow---our age, though defined by some as but a mere number, reminds us of one cognizant, unavoidable fact: our past, composed of life experiences, triumphs, joys, sorrows, etc. follows us everywhere we go.I can recall, many years ago, when my parents purchased an antique hall tree with a mirror that was, from my six-year-old perspective, a tall, imposing monstrosity with a small, circular, pitted mirror. For the longest time I would stretch high upon my tiptoes, trying in vain to look at my reflection, but it was always just out of reach.After a year or two, I started growing, and eventually I was able to glimpse the top of my head reflecting back to me. Before long I was able to see my eyebrows, and then my eyes, and then my entire face, as I grew taller and more dorky.Of course, that was over thirty-five years ago. Now when I look into the mirror, not only do I have to shunt aside the numerous coats and other outdoor accoutrements that have collected there over the seasons in order to see my reflection, but I must also stoop down about a foot in order to get a good, unobstructed view of how much I have aged. My midlife countenance shows numerous laugh and worry lines, crow's feet, and an accumulation of coming to terms with life and its gamut of experiences.Sandra Ross writes of mirrors and reflected pasts, too, in "The Mist of Remembering," in which her protagonist, Silver, has purchased an antique full-length mirror for her bedroom shortly before moving into an old house on the outskirts of her town. Shortly after moving in, Silver notices that her mirror seems to be projecting reflective images of her bedroom---images not of her present-day bed and furniture, but of an earlier time, many decades previous.Even more unsettling for Silver in "Remembering" is how the mirror seems to be exhorting her to investigate and confront her own past, which has manifested itself in the numerous images she sees on a near-daily basis.The day of her move-in found Silver meeting Colton, who had answered her ad for a landscaper. As with many of Ross's romantic scenarios, this one unfolds in similar style, beginning with an undeniable sexual tension that is developed through generous descriptive terms and well-written foreshadowing. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that Colton is described as having a dazzling smile and emerald-green eyes, which allows the reader to form an idealized mental image of our erstwhile landscaper.)The mirror presents both Silver and Colton a challenge that is more than either of them could ever foresee, and it is Colton who gently helps Silver come to terms with her (and his) underlying passions, fears, and desires that have seemingly followed her wherever she has gone."Mist of Remembering" presents an interesting concept: an inanimate object that influences two people to come together. Ross has taken a different tack in this particular tale; nevertheless, an underlying cliche of a "circle of life;" karma; etc. is implicit as the story unfolds and the conflicts are resolved. Still, Ross has written a highly entertaining story that allows the reader to experience the fantastic and the unusual.