Reflection

by Tim Cheng

Reflection

In the early morning, David is standing in front of the mirror. The image reflected is a tall and slim guy with short and dark brown hair. David is extraordinarily handsome. Looking at the mirror, David focuses on his face. He wishes that it was his imagination, because the mirror reflects an ugly and shriveled face. It reflects his feeling, which is exhausted and tired.

A woman emerges next to David. She is David's wife, Sara. "David?" Sara asks and puts a hand on David's shoulder. At first David does not notice that Sara is next to him. Then Sara speaks louder.

"David? Are you ok?" David nods, pretending that he is okay. No, David believes that he is not okay, because something is bothering him, and he does not want to tell Sara.

David will be out of town for a meeting, and he tells Sara that he will not stay there overnight. "I will be home at midnight," David tells Sara. David does not want Sara to worry and suspect him of having an affair. Sara is always nervous and sensitive. David dislikes it when people worry about him.

Later that morning when David is driving, he calls Sara. "David!" Sara is glad that David calls him.

"Hey! How are you?" David asks, and he tries to sound happy.

"What happened this morning? You looked upset." Sara is concerned.

"Nothing, it was just a nightmare I had last night."

"Tell me, I want to hear it," Sara says.

"Not now. I am driving. I will call you back." He hangs up.

David is now thinking about the dream that he cares so much about. David feels weird. The dream was so realistic, and it is telling him something. David remembers all the details in the dream, and he does not want to think about it again. David feels morbid. As he looks up at the sky, the sky seems permeated with ominous clouds, as if something bad is going to happen.

Later, David cannot concentrate on the meeting, and he feels tired. David has never felt like this. He is a lively and active person. Now he feels that he has no energy. "Is it because of that dream?" David asks himself, and starts to think about that dream.

In the dream, David was doing something, but he cannot remember. Then David heard a prodigious crashing sound, and he felt intense shaking. David was screaming, because he was scared. Then he saw fire, and the fire was ubiquitous. David wanted to run, but he could not, because of something was pulling him hard. The fire radiated painful heat. The last thing David remembers from his dream was the smell of death.

The sky is somber, and David has to drive home. He feels so sleepy, and exhausted. David calls Sara. He thinks that it might cheer him up, and perhaps he will feel better. But David is wrong.

"David! You didn't call me. Do you know that I am worried about you?" Sara is angry, because David did not call her after the first call in the morning.

"I was at the meeting" David says.

"Well, that is all you're gonna say?" Sara asks

"I called you once remember?" David pretends that everything is okay.

"Only once, and that's it?" Sara is shouting at David.

"I told you I was at the meeting" David is impatient.

"I don't care. I want you to apologize."

"What? Are you crazy?" David is angry, and he almost forgets that he is driving.

Suddenly, Sara hears prodigious crashing sound. The phone goes dead. Sara is standing in front of the same mirror that David was looking at in the morning. Sara is still waiting for David to apologize. "David?" Sara asks, as if the image reflected from the mirror is not Sara, but a blurred reflection of David's face. He says, "I am sorry."


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