KEPOMPONG

THE MIRROR

She watched her own reflection closely, scrutinizing every single inch of it. A stranger was standing in front of her, an image she has known her entire life yet still a stranger. She touched the reflection with her fingers. The coldness of the glass was transmitted to her fingers and moved slowly to her heart before it was disbursed evenly. She shivered slightly.

"I don’t know this person", she said to herself. To her amazement, the reflection sneered at her. She curled up her eyebrows wanting to ascertain of what she had just witnessed. This time the reflection not only sneered at her, but she also burst out a roaring laughter that tore up the silence of the air. She jumped backward, trying to keep herself away from the mirror.
"Don’t escape from reality", the reflection said abruptly. "It's here and it's real", she added while moving herself forward as if to assure her that she's real.

"You can’t be real. There is only one of us, it's either you or me." She exclaimed in fright.
The reflection looked deep into the black centre of her eyes. "Don’t say things which you are not really sure of. I could be your reflection and it could also be the opposite. You could also be my reflection. It's just a matter of looking at it from a different perspective. In this world, you are my reflection, in your world I’m your reflection. The string of words flow out with such an assurance that made her doubts her own existence.

She stood there, one hand gripped the other, asking herself: "Am I real? Who is real?"