Severing ties

“Is it time already?” She asked.

“yeah, I think so”

She kept looking at the mirror, glancing intermittently at her watch which she was unsure if she wanted it to go ahead or did she really wish for it to stop ticking.

Strange was this day, not long ago she would a have never imagined in her wildest dreams that this would boil down to such a mess, this life which was slowly but unsteadily heading towards fulfilment had suddenly turned into an intricate system of drains that only led to a deeper labyrinth.

“He’s gonna be there you see?” Said the other girl.

“I know he will show up, he has to, but I’m not sure if I really wanna see him again” said our protagonist with stern and unyielding eyes.

“Oh, for fucks sake! Even you know you are dying to see his face” was the reply she got. “So haul ass and don’t forget to be yourself, ok?”
“yeah, yeah, I know just stop yelling you’re not my mom or anything.”

The friend made a face, she knew she was right, she knew she couldn’t avoid this.

Lazily she dragged herself out of bed, pulled the towel off the clothesline and got into the shower.

She took off her clothes. A billion thoughts passed through her as the hot water touched her supple skin. She closed her eyes and and let the drops hit her face. She ran her fingers through her hair as the water slowly washed away her makeup. She remembered how he would remind her to wash it away before she went to bed every night. “Why are these stupid things bothering me” she asked.

“Well, why do you keep asking the questions, the answers to which you already know?” Came a calm reply from near the closet outside. “oh fuck you! Leave me alone, and stop eavesdropping” said the girl in the shower. As she continued to rinse the shampoo into a rich lather.

“Was she right? Am I really running from the answers myself?” She thought to herself.

And now a new challenge stood in front of her. Staring right in her face was her open closet full of clothes. And now she had to inadvertently face her arch nemesis-“choices” “so, whatcha gunna wear huh?” Asked her friend. “ I really don’t understand, I don’t wanna Look weird, you know what forget it, I’m jus gonna wear what I wore to work the other day.”

As she turned to the dressing table she wasn’t able to take another step towards it. She knew it would not be good to show up all dolled up in a place so grotesque. “I wonder how many lives change every single day in a place like that.” She thought, “And suddenly I am one of them. Has my life changed really? If yes, has it changed for the greater good? Did I really loose him? Is there really no-one who can understand me? Am I now officially the queen of bad decisions? What the fuck is wrong with the universe” she kept asking a billion more questions in her mind as she kept staring at the mirror on the dresser.

“So many questions, You know you should start living again, how long are you gunna sulk about your past?” Asked her friend.

“its gonna take a lifetime” she replied as she swiftly turned away to grab her keys on her way out. “Hey wait!! Wont you grab something to eat before you leave?” she waited for an answer but she heard the door shut.

The friend felt so helpless, as she stood there with her hands pressed on the mirror, but then again, what could she do, she was just a girl in the mirror, a reflection. All she could do was wait for her to come back home in the evening. With no-one to reflect for the next few hours, a silent tear was shed.

The Waterman