REALITY IS A GOOD START

I heard someone shout my name so I turned around quickly. There was nobody there. I caught my reflection in a window. My eyes narrowed. Who was that? Who was that looking back? It looked like me but it couldn’t be. I didn’t see a face. I only saw a body. I had to turn away. I heard a bird, looked up and saw a pigeon shit on a man walking past me. It landed on his head. The man reached up and touched the shit. He looked at it, rubbed it between his fingers then shook his fist at the sky. I turned back and looked at the reflection. I saw the eyes. Both of the iris were blue but the pupils were empty. I had to turn back around. I couldn’t look at it. I looked down and saw the bottom of the ocean. I didn’t like seeing that either so I looked up at the reflection again. The eyes pierced into me like rays. I asked it who it was? The reflection answered, you know who it is. I know who I am but didn’t know the reflection. I had to turn away

I undid the top and took the water bottle to my mouth. I drink out of litre and a half bottles. The water went with four long gulps. I gasped then burped and farted at the same time. I apologised to thin air out of habit. I turned my head back slowly and stared at the reflection. I saw all the scars of life and remembered who it was. I smiled at it. The reflection didn’t smile back so I stopped smiling. My mouth dropped. I started thinking. I wondered what I was smiling about. I started thinking about my smile. If only they could see behind it. A smile is the sweetest lie. Loves lost stifled a tear and I sniffed. The reflection started to smile. I stared at it. The smile looked like an act of life. Oh, I thought to myself, the reflection mirrors the mirror. The reflection just stared at me. I silently mouthed the words UP YOURS and waited for a response. The reflection’s mouth did not move. Nothing, I thought to myself as I waited for a reaction. Nothing happened. I raised the bottle for the last drop. As my opened lips wrapped around the neck I saw the reflection mouth, UP YOURS TOO

I heard a horn honk. I turned and saw a beautiful woman walking towards me. She wore next to nothing. I looked up and down her body and was pleased. She looked like she was stuffed with watermelons. I smiled at her. She only looked at me out the corner of her eye as she was about to pass. I said my-my loud enough for her to hear. She sniffed, tossed her head like a movie and I saw a small smile. I half-turned to see my reflection smiling and salivating. I turned back and watched her arse walking away from me. I saw her little toy dog bouncing along barking on a pink lead behind her. The dog had seen me looking at her and was barking and charging at me. It was trying to protect her. I saw her yank on the lead. The dog tried to show its ferociousness. The dog’s bark sounded like a bird. I could tell she loved that dog more than she loved herself. I shouted at her. I asked her why she’d given all her love to a dog? She was facing her reflection as she walked past me. She was too busy looking at her reflection to hear me. I turned back and looked at my reflection. I saw the marks of life but didn’t see a face

Andrew Stuart Buchanan