Shattered

For thousands of years, mirrors have been used and reflections have been seen and used for as long as time itself. Every day for centuries, people looked in mirrors. They fix their appearances before going out. They take selfies or practice before presenting a project. They call out the dead, lighting candles and spinning around while chanting names or phrases.

They are everywhere. In mirrors, windows, glass, rivers. Reflections are often used as amazing and magical objects in stories. They're used as items of heroism such as the story with Medusa. They're used for illusions. They're used as objects, not people.

People tell secrets in front of mirrors as if alone. As if no one hears them. They do acts worthy of punishment in front of them as if they will never be seen. People betray each other, hurt each other, hurt themselves in front of reflections. They never question their actions. They hardly ask if anyone can truly hear them. If anyone can truly see them. Little do people know, reflections do. They know the secrets you share with others. They see the stupid actions you've done. They see the way people play nice to others only to show their true colors to the reflections.

People often speak about another world on the other side of a mirror. They say your reflection is trying to keep you out of their world when you touch the mirror because of how horrible it is there. They think the reflections are protecting them. They guess, theorize, speculate, and joke about the idea. They never once stop and think of how true it is. How there is another world separated with just a single mirror. A thick glass border between worlds, stopping each world from entering the other.

Reflections aren't trying to stop you from entering their world to protect you. They're stopping you because they despise you. They are forced to follow every action you do whether they want to or not. They are tortured in ways others can't understand. They're forced to hurt those they call true friends that you call enemies. They're forced to love people they hate because you love them. They're forced to do things they despise because it's a hobby.

Forced to believe, forced to say, forced to do. It doesn't matter when, it doesn't matter where. If there's a mirror, we are there. We are there, forever trapped to follow like a shadow. We are always there, listening, watching, acting, with or without consent. We are there, trapped since the beginning and trapped longer more. We are there.