The scariest part was not that the mirror showed her a false version but that she believed it to be right.
“Maybe it’s a trick of the light,” Simba whispered with thin optimism stretched over miles of quiet dread as he scrubbed Reflecto’s hand where a huge mirror replaced her palm hoping to see his friend’s real reflection-a girl singing for her third-grade musical like it had for years- but it had erased her from the story of her life. Instead, there stood Mandy in her room looking back at her.
He knew that ever since Mandy abandoned singing and opted for debating because it looked better on her Harvard application, she was abandoning her true self. With fragile hope, they wanted to remind her but now her true self was…gone. All those boxes she ticked off for her Harvard application that she repeatedly called ‘progress’ were just her walking away from yourself.
“I don’t understand. This has never happened before.” Reflecto dug into the depths of possibilities for an answer. “Why can’t I show her real reflection?”
The possibility of losing a reflection-their only hope of helping those who go astray cling onto the remains of their dreams, passions, qualities and relationships. However, the peculiarity of Mandy non-chalantly sitting back at her desk and working on her Business Management degree astounded them.
“This is my true self, Reflecto. I did everything. Even Harvard was impressed with my 5.0 GPA, awards and all those unique extracurriculars. This is my success looking back at me.” Mandy commented right before there was a horrid scream.
Beneath the heap of golden fabric lied Reflecto’s collapsed body, her iridescent strands of hair reflecting light in rainbows, covering her pained expression. With a hiss, she lifted her hand to show a blackened crack covering the length of the mirror between each engraved frame. Mandy’s denial of her true self had wounded Reflecto.
“Did I do that?” Mandy sobbed. “I’m so sorry Reflecto.”
Simba helped her up with determined murmurs of needing to fix this. Someone had stolen Mandy’s identity and they needed to find out who before Reflecto’s mirror completely broke.
On their way out, they bumped into Mandy’s older sister who had just hit a milestone of 200k followers as she bragged to them every time they met. For a brief second, they saw a girl in a messy bun sitting on the couch with her high friends, laughing and watching Interstellar before it morphed back into her wearing the new trendy jeans and her phone constantly filming in her hand.
It was at that moment that horror dawned upon them. It was not just Mandy who lost her reflection but everyone who neglected their true selves had their reflections stolen.
There were tales of ‘The Collector’ who fed on abandoned identities and even though it was a bit of a stretch, it was the only possibility. Simba rushed Reflecto out before Mandy’s sister hurt Reflecto with his denial.
“It is The Collector. I’m sure of it,” Simba paced back and forth. “The only way to defeat him is to get one of the identities back. If we get one back, we can get them all back.”
“But how do we get even one back? You saw Mandy. She doesn’t even remember her dreams.”
“We can help her remember. I can- you stay out of it before your mirror breaks,” replied Simba.
Simba could always guide people towards their personalities and dreams but that was all he could do. Reflecto was the one who showed them. For years, he had tried to convince Mandy to live her story and let her dreams be her paycheck, not her fancy degree but she had always replied with having time for dreams after success. Now, her success meant nothing because she lost herself finding it. Somehow, Simba had to help her find her dreams again instead.
First, he decided to start small.
“Red or blue?”
“Red,” she replied.
He facepalmed as he realized Mandy had forgotten her favorite color. When the anchor is lost, the ship drifts aimlessly.
Suddenly, an idea hit him. He needed to anchor the ship.
Reluctantly, Mandy agreed to let Simba take her to the ‘surprise’ he had planned for her. She was overcome with emotions when she realized the surprise was at the nearby theatre but she didn’t understand why.
“This is where you had you third grade musical. Let’s re-live it,” Simba exclaimed as he started singing the theme song for Beetlejuice.
Soon, Mandy joined him until the walls echoed with the symphony of a dream. Simba was overcome with joy as he realized he had gotten through to her.
“I remember now. I remember my third-grade performance. I loved it,” Mandy laughed.
Simba froze. She ‘loved’ it. That was all he could do-show her her likes and dislikes. He didn’t show her her true self.
Before he could try again, Reflecto walked in. Every molecule of air stopped with his heart as he realized what Reflecto was going to do.
“You shouldn’t be here, Reflecto! It could kill you,” Simba panicked.
“Your plan didn’t work. It’s time for mine. She remembers now so I can show her,” Reflecto smiled.
Before he could stop her, she began to lift her hand knowing that if Mandy denied her reflection again, her mirror would break and so would she. With a glass bead clinging to her tightly shut lashes, she lifted it.
All Mandy could see was herself but something flickered. 10-year-old Mandy stretched out her hand until Mandy’s trembling hand reached out to brush her fingertips. Mandy sobbed as the audience rose to give her a standing ovation.
The mirror showed not an expectation, not a mask but it showed a person.