MIRROR! MIRROR!!

TW: child abuse

 It was a bright and sunny morning. I woke up with a knot in my chest and it was so hard for me to get out of bed but i just had to. I went to the bathroom and washed my face, lifted my head just to see my reflection in the mirror. Looked at myself with disgust and stormed out of the bathroom. The mirror had always been my worst enemy ever since i went to my singing audition, i was humiliated just because of my size and color. That day i was so nervous and finally i was called in and the agent looked at me with disgust and that made me feel anxious. He didn’t even let me perform my song before he sent me out, so i left crying. That day my heart was shattered and felt my dreams were crushed and i looked at myself in the mirror with hate and disgust.

I tried so many agents but all of them rejected me because of my looks so i gave up and tried to find a job and luckily i got a job at a coffee shop. I started working and met alot of people who shamed me because of my size. Soon i got used to it and stopped crying about it but inside of me felt great pain, i started having sleepless nights and had to start using drugs to help me sleep. I started getting addicted and it led into depression and i was scared to ask for help and started affecting me at work, i became so clumsy and when it got too much i was fired. Back to square one, i was reluctant to apply for another job then i started lagging behind on my bills and i had to look for a job fast. This time it was hard finding a job. I saw a vacancy sign outside a restaurant for the position of a waiter, i could not apply for a jobs that require me to be educate because i did not have the chance to complete my education because of my parents financial status, they tried to send me from 1st grade to 6th grade before they both died in a car accident, since that time i started taking care of myself and the only thing i had was my singing talent.

I applied for the job and got it. I started working the week after and served many types of customers the rude, polite and weird ones. But there was this one customer, she was a beautiful teenage girl probably in high school who came to the restaurant everyday, but she looked sad and in pain. One afternoon i served her the coffee she ordered for, she was always silent she never spoke to anybody so i decided to talk to her. I said hi and she didn’t reply so i tried asking for her name still no response, i saw tears dropping from her beautiful green eyes, and she spoke. Nobody has ever wanted to talk to me, i’m just a lonely girl, as she was wiping her tears i hugged her and she hugged me back i felt sad for her. I wasn’t supposed to be sitting with customers at work so i told her i was going to see her later in the evening when i was off work . The evening came and i went to sit down with her on the table

What’s your name? asked Elizabeth

I’m Mary, she said in a shaky voice

Thats a nice name i’m Elizabeth. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too,

So why do you come here everyday looking sad

She was hesitant at first but i gave her look to tell her she was safe

My life has been a complete mess since the death of my mom, she took care of me all by herself because my father did not want me, she was my bestfriend and we had the best moments together. Before she died she got married to another man which is my step-father. My mom died when i was eight and that was when ny step-father started abusing me sexually, he would touch me in my private parts and forcefully have sex with me till i was 15. The routine stopped when i started going to college, my college was far from home so i had to stay in the hostel but when i came back home he would always find his way to rape me and touch me, i hated him for what he did and it led to depression, it also affected my performance in school. He died when i was 17 but the memories of what he did to me will never be erased. Tears dropped from her eyes as i hug her, but she said she had to go and she quickly left

Three months later, we became friends and she will always come to the restaurant to see me and we’ll talk and laugh together. This day was different, she asked me to tell her my story i narrated it to her and she was touched by it. She said she could help me with my singing talent so we started making singing videos and posting it, our channel grew very fast and we became famous. This was my dream and i felt accomplished, now i could stand at the front of the mirror and look at my reflection without feeling disgusted. Our friendship became stronger and stronger everyday. I started getting invited for concerts and large occasions by millionaires and billionaires. Mary thought of us starting a orphanage and we started it then started taking care of children who lack parents, we also started a platform for people who were being raped to share their stories.

Life became so easy for us both and Mary finally finished high school. The graduation was so glamourous, we celebrated friendship and accomplishments and also realised the mirror was not so bad after all and got to know that “The way you feel about yourself is the same way you look at your reflection in the mirror”.