Reflections
By: Jeshanth K S
Tags: Short Story, Fiction, Short Fiction, Storytelling

“I hope you’re having a good time here, Richard”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you so much for having me”, said Richard trying to make his unruly hair behave against the strong wind. “But, please call me Richie”

Fiona smiled gently, the wrinkles around her eyes assuring genuineness. Her graying hair was tied in a bun so she didn’t have to keep holding them down. Her hands were instead around herself clutching her shawl.

The walk around the hill was terrifying as it was beautiful. It was a never ending struggle for anyone wanting to describe this hill. The breathtaking scenery of the ocean with dangerous jagged rocks at the bottom kissing the high tides while the clouds disappeared into the horizon. The hill itself was covered with lush green grass.

Fiona had grown up here and knew her way around with her eyes closed. She remembered the time when she walked with her granddaughter across the same path. Now, she walked with the boy her granddaughter had lost her heart to.

“Do you remember the large mirror in our living room?” Fiona asked looking at her feet and then up at Richie.

“Oh yes, It must be very expensive. It looked a hundred years old but I must say, I have never seen a more beautiful mirror”

Richie wasn’t exaggerating. It was indeed a beautiful mirror with a brass frame that had intricate carvings which was definitely a craftsman’s masterpiece. It was undeniably worth a fortune now.

“A hundred and twelve now; and yes, it’s priceless. It’s been in the family for generations. My grand mother was only a teenager when she came into possession of that wonderful object.” She hugged herself tighter and continued walking.

“There was a time when Lisa admired herself everyday in front of it when she used to visit here” She chuckled “She loved it and asked me all sorts of stories and made some of her own with her vivid imagination”

Richie was quiet and smiling, listening to the old woman reminisce her past.

“She had all these wonderful questions and theories. She was fascinated about it all. Reflections mainly. She once asked me: ‘Grandma, If mirrors show our image reversed and if they always told the truth; then, aren’t we all liars?’ ” She chuckled again waving her hand like how little Lisa did.

They walked closer to the end of the cliff and turned a bit away and continued. “She was such a brilliant girl, thinking things through. Looking at things the way others couldn’t. That question had me thinking so much. Wouldn’t you agree ?”

“Of course, It’s definitely something to think about” A slightly cold Richie said.

“Everyone is a liar at some point in their life, if not all. Some lie to get out of trouble. Some for the fun of it. And others just to wreak havoc.” She looked at him and asked “Why else do you think man lies?”

“Er… So he could have it all?”

She turned to look at the ocean “Man is such a strange creature, he will lose it all in his pursuit of insatiable happiness”

Richie was getting a little lost now, he had no idea the old woman would get philosophical on him. He looked and found himself slightly closer to the edge of the hill. He shuffled slightly away and hoped Fiona didn’t see him stumble.

“Is it true that you love Lisa?”

“Oh yes! She is such an amazing woman”

She sighed and turned to look at him with stern grey eyes “She was such a brilliant girl and yet as always love blinded the truth. If only she remembered the mirror, she could have seen where your lips had been on your lonely nights”

A gentle push was all it was. It was all it was but sufficient. He was too stunned to scream though his eyes reacted better, widening proportionally to the inches he kept losing.

She walked back ever so slowly. Not turning to look nor to see where she headed. She didn’t need to. Water threatened to flow from her eyes but she knew it wouldn’t.