Reflection
Some things hold on to you longer than you hold on to them.
Anander had found the little mirror in the woods. It was right there, on his usual path. Odd, how it was there, in the middle of his trail—almost as if it wanted him to find it.
But Anander didn’t think about that.
He only thought about how the mirror was meant for him—just as she was.
“She” had a name, but not one that Anander knew. He only knew what she looked like, and that she was his. He had no doubt.
He never left the mirror. He even slept with it. The first thing Anander did each morning was check the mirror to see if she was still there. She always was. Her plaintive face, hypnotic and beautiful, stared back at him. Her eyes, locked on him. They communicated with him. They begged him. They urged him on. She loved him—he could see that in her eyes, too. He could feel it.
And, oh, how Anander loved her.
He had spent the last three years, eight months, three weeks, and four days looking for her.
That’s a long time, but Anander didn’t think about that, either.
It was hard for him to think about most things, ever since he found the mirror in the woods.
….
Pettir set down his book and looked out the window. It was a beautiful, birdsong morning, and he thought he might like to go for a long walk. But he wouldn’t go into the woods. He didn’t go there anymore. He hadn’t been there since the day he’d lost the mirror, almost four years ago.
He’d almost gone back to look for it, but he decided to leave it there. In fact, Pettir decided it was better not to go back into the woods ever again.
He used to care very much about that mirror—more than he cared about anything else. But now he had trouble remembering it. As time went on, Pettir thought about it less and less.
He had so many other things to think about.