Reflection

Prompt: The most beautiful  |  Genre: Drama  |  Word count: 250 words

She stood there, turning one way, then the other.

‘Just because you hold your breath, you’re not going to look any slimmer.’

She rolled her eyes but let out her breath nevertheless. Her tummy plopped back out. She made a face looking at it. And then leaned forward to look...

‘Yes, stretch marks. Don’t look so surprised. You’ve always had it.’

‘Yeah but... they seemed to have increased, no?

‘That’s what happens when you lose weight.’ When she saw her brighten up, she continued, ‘Don’t look so happy. It’s not by much.’

Her smile disappeared as fast as it came. Her eyes moved to the top and she lifted her hand to brush her hair.

‘So much white hair....’, she thought. Her eyes shifted to her face, ‘...and all these wrinkles...’. But then her eyes locked on to the scar. And immediately filled up with tears.

“You wretched ugly woman! I got all this bad luck only after you came into my life! Tonight, I will not leave you alive!!” he said, as he hurled the bottle at her.

She flinched.

‘Even after all these years...’, her reflection looked back at her. ‘Forget him. He is your past.’

She nodded even as she looked at her feet. After a while, she breathed deeply and dared to look at her reflection again. She saw her smile.

‘You may not be the world’s most beautiful woman. But you went through hell and lived to tell the tale. That, to me, is beautiful.’