The Beauty We Refuse to See.

When I say my family is weird, people simply say: "Brooke, don't say that, I'm sure your family are lovely people", or something along the lines of that.

I just reply to them like: "nope, they are weird."

They are all obsessed with something.

My dad's life is all about healthy living, working out and vegetables. I was fine with it, until he started waking me up at four o clock in the morning to jog around the neighborhood!

My mom; fashion. If you think that's not so bad, think again. The word "obsession" can't be used in a good way.

My brother Brent; rocks. He and some kids down the street have a rock club. Unfortunately, they like mud too, they think it's some kind of wet pile of rock. It is terrible to think about.

My little sister, Babe is obsessed with (surprise, surprise), Justin Bieber! I won't even talk about that. For some reason she thinks she is a teddy bear like her imaginary friend.

Then we have the most interesting one of all, my grandmother. She has a very big thing for mirrors and she won't leave us out of it!

We have mirrors literally everywhere in the house. Big ones, small ones, some as big as an entire wall!

It's not a nice thing, waking up in the morning, seeing your own messed up face and screaming for help.

My grandma gets more mirrors every once in a while and I guess the rest of my family like it since no one complains.

Besides my crazy family, my life is fine. I have a best friend.

Her name is Grace and she has to be toughest girl I know, she is not afraid of anything. I think.

She pretends not to freak out when she sees spiders though but I know the truth.

Grace and I hang out at my place a lot. I like it because it makes running errands easier, more efficient and fun, definitely not fast though.

We were just going through an old year book we found lying around when my grandma walked into my room.

"I have a new mirror coming in and I need space for it." She says a bit too loudly. She is so dramatic.

I exchange a deadpan look with Grace and look around my room.

"I don't think there is any room here grandma" I say thickly.

She either doesn't hear me or refuses to do so because she gestures to my dad to place the mirror near my reading table, right in front of my wardrobe.

How was I supposed to open my wardrobe easily now?

Hmm, would it be a bad idea if the new mirror accidentally fell over and broke into pieces?

I give Grace sly look and she shakes her head, silently saying "stop thinking about it."

Mom pops her perfect blonde head into my room as well, "Grace, honey. Can you help me take Babe out? She wants to play and the neighbors kids are mean to her."

"They think Justin and Teddy are lame" my little sister pouts.

That piques Grace's interest instantly. "Mean guys?! Come on Babe, let's go see what they can do with me around. You're a bear right? Bears are fierce and they growl like this..."

They walk out of the room talking about bears and punches while I pout.

I so want to chew Grandma out but she is already gone. She didn't even wait to pull the cover off the new mirror.

I decide to do that myself.

I get up from the floor and walk over to the oval shape hidden under the dark green cover before carefully pulling it off. Of course I don't want to break the mirror, I'm not that brave.

Immediately I do, my eyes stay glued to the image before me. I am so stunned that I stay in the same position for a whole minute.

"What the ...?" I whisper and watch the girl in the mirror do the same.

She is so skinny and pale with lanky, lifeless, brown hair. Her eyes are too big for her face and she has so many pimples and blemishes on her face.

She is...ugly.

Worst of all, when I raise my right hand, she does the same and when I shake my head, she copies me.

It doesn't help that she is wearing the exact same clothes I am; an oversized shirt and a pair of old pants.

There is no way that girl could be me! That's impossible!

Grateful that there are at least twenty other places to check my reflection in my nearest vicinity, I wheel around and go to some other mirror hanging on my wall.

I sigh with relief immediately I see the same face I'm expecting to see.

Yes, my hair is unwashed and my clothes are a bit too big on me because I'm pretty slim but it's not as bad at my reflection in the other mirror.

They are completely different!

Right?

This face is the same face I see in the mornings when I'm dressed, before I sigh in disappointment, wishing I could be more like Grace who had more curves. But that one was a monster!

I turn back to the new mirror, taking slow, heavy steps to it. The girl in the new mirror looks sad and lifeless. I feel like I can relate to her!

"Mom!" I holler, "something is up with Grandma's new mirror!"

No one replies till I yell again. "Mom!!"

"My goodness, Brooke. I was applying my new lipstick and I nearly got some on my teeth," Mom says and struts into my room dressed up like she was going for a fashion show. The lipstick is still in her hand.

I start to stare once again.

"Look" I whisper and point at our reflection with my mouth agape.

Mom does what I say and the lipstick slips from her fingers and clatters to the floor.

"Oh my goodness" she gasps.

Beside the monstrous version of me is hers and it is the stark opposite of my mother.

Her hair is not blonde at all.

In fact, it is short and gray and there is nothing fancy about it. Her cheeks are sagging like almost every other part of her body. Her eyes are wrinkly and her skin has liver spots, the fancy designer she has on look baggy on her body.

I turn to look up at my real mother, the beautiful one. What the hell is happening today?

I'm even more shocked when she bursts out crying into her hands.

"Mom" I murmur, feeling awkward. I have no clue what to do.

"I had no idea that was the mirror she was bringing in today" Mom sobs.

"What do you mean?" I ask, grabbing a box of tissues.

She sniffs heavily and lifts her tear rimmed eyes which look worse in the new mirror.

"It's...it's the Mirror of Insecurities" Mom sighs and dabs prettily at her eyes with her tissue.

"A magic mirror?" I ask glancing at it for a second. "Whoa."

"It shows you how you really see yourself in here" she sighs, poking at a spot on my chest where my heart would be.

My eyes widen and I turn to stare at my mother's reflection. Mom didn't see herself like I did?

She was beautiful and perfect but she saw herself as a saggy old lady. Was that why she was so with looking good all the time? So no one else would see her that way?

"I heard crying, what's going on?" My dad's deep voice asks as he marches into my room.

Before mom and I can say anything, he is standing in front of the mirror as well.

My dad is really proud of his muscles and perfect bod, he's always hinting that he thinks he looks great, so I have no doubt that there would be no insecurity on the mirror.

But today has to be Surprise Saturday because I see a lean, sickly-looking man in the mirror. He looks so frail that he may fall over if you blow a breath at him.

"Dad?" I whisper and exchange a wide eyed look with Mom.

That's impossible. He's healthy and fit and strong. That's not him!

"Oh Mark" Mom sighs and pulls him away from the mirror, the dumbstruck expression still on his face. They sit side by side on my bed, talking in low voices.

I feel really bad all of a sudden. They are beautiful people, they aren't meant to see themselves like that.

I stare at my own reflection. What about me? I was skinny for sure, right?

"Dad! I can't reach the cookies, remember? I want cookies!" Brent whines as he walks into my room but goes quiet when he notices the heavy atmosphere.

Did my little brother have insecurities about himself?

"What are you staring at?" He asks and practically shoves me out of the way so he can stand before the mirror. Rude.

"Whoa!" He exclaims with wide eyes.

Mom, Dad and I go on to stand behind him just in case his reflection is a clump of mud.

"I'm a super hero!" Brent squeals excitedly. "Mommy look!"

I look without invitation.

He has a brown darn cape, a cream and brown spandex suit and a brown mask with a big "M" in a circle on his chest.

"I'm Mud Man!" Brent says, striking a pose that gives me second-hand embarrassment. "I have rock powers, bad guys better watch their back!"

Mom nearly bursts into fresh tears. "That's perfect, you're my super hero, Brent!"

"Can I get a costume just like this for my birthday?"

"Of course, son" Dad answers quickly and I guess I understand why they are so happy for him.

He's still kind of pure (as pure as dirt can be) and he's still seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

I nearly tear up as I wonder when I stopped seeing things that way as well. I don't even know if to be grateful for it or not.

"Babe, anyone ever told you that you play a little too much for your age?" I hear Grace wheeze as she comes down the hallway towards my room.

"Bears are strong, raawwrrr!" Babe replies with her outside voice.

I quickly wipe my eyes dry. Grace isn't a wimp and I don't want to look like one in front of her. She walks in and sets my little sister on the floor.

Brent goes up to Babe immediately and pulls her to the mirror.

"Come on, Babe let's see if you're a super hero too!"

"Of course" I say dryly "she is a teddy bear"

I'm the mirror, there is what looks like one of the characters of Care Bears dancing.

"Mom, look! Teddy!" Babe squeals and points, making the stuffed animal in the mirror do the same.

"What the hell..." Grace whispers in awe. "The new mirror is magic?"

"Uh...yeah, it shows your insecurities" I say nervously and move away so my reflection isn't there.

But on hearing my sentence, Grace pauses. "Your insecurities?"

"Do you want to try?" Brent asks. "I'm a superhero. I bet you're a villain!"

"Brent!" Mom scolds lightly.

Grace looks very reluctant to step in front of it and that is a stark contrast to the bold girl who always went for what she wanted no matter what.

She finally does and to be honest, I'm also expecting a villain or one of her favorite athletes.

Which is why I wasn't expecting to see what I saw in the mirror.

A little girl, no higher than Babe.

She had the same fiery red hair but in ponytails. She also had braces on, a nice blue dress and a doll in her hand.

Of course! Grace had told me stories of how she used to be bullied when she was younger.

I turn to look at her only to notice her tear rimmed eyes.

I guess under all the toughness and good looks, she still felt like that. Like a timid little girl.

"She's pretty!" Brent sighs and we all see him staring at Grace's insecurity with a lovestruck expression.

"Excuse me?" Grace deadpans.

"Is she you?" Brent goes on to ask and the next thing I know, he's hugging her like she's his long lost love!

"Eww, you're getting mud on my new jeans! Away from me, child!" Grace screeches making us all laugh a bit.

"Well," Dad says and steps up to the mirror where he's a frail old man. "I guess we can all agree that we hate the new mirror, would it be a bad idea if it accidentally fell over and broke into pieces?"

"Mark!" Mom says in a scolding manner even though it is obvious that she loves that idea. She giggles with embarrassment.

"Breaking magic mirrors isn't exactly a good idea..." A frail voice says and grandma walks through the doorway.

"Mom!" Dad grins, "we would never!"

Grandma isn't buying it but she doesn't say anything. "Oh, do what you're doing I'm just passing by" she hums and crosses the room to take one of the several mirrors hanging on my wall.

She had passed in front of the mirror where I caught a glimpse of a jeweled crown, a golden sceptre and violet robes in her reflection.

What the...?

"It is all in your mindset" she says, gracefully bringing down a heart shaped mirror. "The mind is powerful, but you need to control it. Perhaps then you will feel better about yourselves."

She turns to leave the room again but this time stands before the mirror for a while.

"Whoa" everyone says.

Grandma is still grandma, with the wrinkles and the liver spots, but with royal attire as well. She sees herself as a Queen!

Come to think of it, that's why she's so bossy! I love her!

"I am off to buy a cat, my royal subjects and I will name him Cerberus!" She says dramatically, gallantly walking out of the room.

"Mom, please make sure he doesn't have three heads" Dad calls after her.

"No promises" the woman replies.

"Hey," Grace says to me, nudging my shoulder with hers. "You do not look like that, Brooke. You're actually really pretty. Inside and out."

I turn to our reflection, the little red head girl and me, the sick zombie.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah, first of all your hair is always long and full, remember when I tell you about how you shed so much?" Grace says. "You're the one who set such high standards for yourself, maybe you should lower them a little."

"I think you're right" I say and smile slightly. Maybe it's a trick of the eye but my reflection suddenly looks happier than before. Her hair is also not as lifeless.

"I think..." I say again "...you're right! I know we can't get rid of our insecurities overnight but we can start to do that now."

Mom and Dad smile at each other before looking at me proudly. "We can do that."

So we get snacks and drinks, sit in a half-circle before the mirror and share about what we really like about each other. All the things that make us beautiful.

Little-by-little, our reflections change.