"TALES OF GHOSTS"
about Love and Death from the Land of Mists
a collection of short stories
in the “Playing Another Reality” series
"BROKEN MIRROR"
3. A DIALOGUE
She is standing at the mirror in tears. I am sitting in an armchair smiling. I’ve always told her not to turn back, not to look into the Past, but that’s all she does!
She is Sonya, a pretty girl with blue eyes and long, almost mermaid hair. Men are crazy about her. I even get jealous sometimes.
“I’m getting married,” Sonya said, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
“I know.”
“He makes great money.”
“I know,” I repeated again. “You will never be happy with him! Only that!”
“Only that… I will never be…” she echoed me. “However, it’s not important. I can’t marry the one I loved, love and will always love!”
I know her as well as myself.
“You are a silly little girl!” I said. “Do you think that a human loves only once? If a prince doesn’t love you, will you marry someone else just for fun? What if a third person shows up?”
Sonya was silent… I have always been by her side. She grew up before my eyes, I helped her learn to walk, told bedtime stories… but Sonya doesn’t remember that.
“Everything has already been decided. I’m getting married! Yes! It’s the best way to forget my true love!”
“You will regret it,” I said sadly. “Don’t repeat other people’s mistakes. In my life, I committed follies, too. I wish your fate were happier than mine!”
I was the one with whom Sonya shared her sorrows and joys. I gave her wise advice, but Sonya never followed it and stubbornly stepped on the same rake.
“No!” Sonya suddenly said decisively. “It’s not quite settled yet! I can die! I’d rather die! What does life matter to me now? The whole world around? What is left for me? Nobody, nothing, I’m alone… And no one needs me indeed!”
“Oh, youthful maximalism and female artistry! Sonya, you forget about me, as usual!” I grumbled grudgingly. “I’m here! With you! You don’t understand what the world around means, what life means! You can look at the amazing starry sky at night, listen to the songs of enchanting birds, feel the heartbeat of tender nature and the delicious aromas of wildflowers. You can sense objects around you, after all!”
“If I have to choose, then death is better!” she exclaimed.
“Silly girl! It’s time to start transforming yourself from Sonya to Sofia! You still haven’t understood anything! You'll see, life will teach you a lesson!”
“And rather... it’s better to die right now!” Sonya turned to me.
She took a lot of different pills out of the drawer and dropped them into a glass of water. I looked at her and smiled, once I was a maximalist too!
“You will never do that while I’m around!”
“I will, and they all will regret it bitterly!” Sonya exclaimed and resolutely held out her hand to the glass, however, it slipped, fell and broke, and I laughed.
Sonya rushed to the window and tried to open it, but in vain! The lock was jammed.
“Oh no! Well, then…”
Well, what a silly! Sonya never listens to my words, and she would never do, probably, even if she could… hear…
I would show her real life and its values if I could…
I would tell her the facts and reveal the truth if…
If I were not…
…a ghost …
However, would such knowledge have made her life easier or completely aimless?
I wonder…
1997