What I saw.
When i looked into the mirror today, here is what I saw:
A young man, in his twenties stared back at me. A lose white shirt ringed his neck, and some black stubble creeped up onto his chin. His face was marked with red spots and moles, a nose marred with a few clogged pores. His brown hair was unwashed and unruly. Tendrils splayed haphazardly.Overall, he seemed a little disheveled if handsome. One thing however was unmarred. His eyes glittered, as they usually do. With intelligence and life. In spite of his appearance, his eyes still spoke of power, intensity, observation. The brown iris' circled with gold seemed to twist in the poor lighting of the bathroom. There was a tightness to his eyes though, in sadness, or maybe in frustration. His expression was undreadable. A man accustomed to hiding his feelings.
When I looked into the mirror today, here is what I did not see:
The man in the mirror glared back at me. His glowing eyes peirced into me, showing me the inner thoughts. I was in a space. A single stream of light focused on the center of the place, everything else was darkness. Darkness forever and ever. An image came to me of a ram in an iron cage. The light surrounded him. His hooves stamped hard, clanging on the iron floor. His horns, too large to be real, fought against the iron bars surrounding him. His horns cracked and splintered against his prison, but he did not seem to mind. Fearlessly, ferociously, he ripped and tore and shredded himself until the poor animal had nothing but bleeding stumps where his once magestic horns were. The iron bars glistened with his blood. Slowly the ram relented his attack, his large head swiveled to face me. His eyes burned! Flames danced inside his skull. Unquenchable embers, flying sparks. I gasped inspite of myself. That firey gaze was scorching. I felt my skin ablaze by that look. My skin blistered, the smell of burning meat filled my nostrils. My hair singed. Inside me I felt the scream come forth from the depths. A scream that reverberated into the depths of heaven and hell. I screamed and the world broke in half, the world torn asunder. I heaved and spasmed. I clutched my throat. THe agony of pain stabbed into me. I was obliterated! NOO! And as quickly as it came, it stopped. I was intact. And the ram simply gazed at me with complacent eyes, glassy black. Blood dripped onto its white furred face. It pooled on the iron floor beneath its feet. Together we joined eyes for what seemed a very long time. Without opening its mouth, it spoke to me. A powerful booming voice peirced my mind, until all other thoughts were violently shoved aside, only the Voice. "You are like me, Young One". I nodded. "How long will you remain in your cage?" I shook my head. The ram stomped its front hoof, the sound of bone on metal echoed through the darkness. It splashed into his puddle of blood. The warm liquid splattered on my face. It tasted like blood. "How long until you die?" It snorted. A mist of mucous sprayed from its nose. I said nothing back. I had no answer to give the ram. "You are a coward". And it turned its head from me, the glassy blackness of his eyes leaving, making way for more flames. The ram seemed to shimmy back in his prison, reared back slightly and darted into the iron bars. With no horns to protect him, the sickening sound of bone crunching rang in my ears. Dazed, he shook his head, and repeated his endeavor. The skin on his head parted, exposing bone and masticated tissue. Over and over, he slammed his head into the bars. Each time a little less powerful than the time before. I watched in horror, a sob found its way out of my belly. It was a sorry sound, a gasping, gagging sound. The ram repeated his fruitless endeavor. Its face a wild mess of bone and blood. I began crying, hot salty tears. The ram looked at me again, I could almost make out its eyes beaneath that charnel of flesh. I only sobbed harder. I made myself watch the final blow. I could feel it approaching. The cold specter of death always seems to arrive a moment early to guide his charge into the abyss. The ram charged, a final explosion of power. His skull hit the iron rods, a final splitting. The iron remained unbent, but the rams eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed into a heap. Brains leaked onto his face. I vomited. I could not believe what had just transpired infront of me. I convulsed with tears and with regurgitating bile. The dead ram mocked me with open eyes. "You are a coward" Blood flowed toward me.
I blinked and found myself staring into my reflection. Brown eyes, circled with gold glared angrily back.
A young man, in his twenties stared back at me. A lose white shirt ringed his neck, and some black stubble creeped up onto his chin. His face was marked with red spots and moles, a nose marred with a few clogged pores. His brown hair was unwashed and unruly. Tendrils splayed haphazardly.Overall, he seemed a little disheveled if handsome. One thing however was unmarred. His eyes glittered, as they usually do. With intelligence and life. In spite of his appearance, his eyes still spoke of power, intensity, observation. The brown iris' circled with gold seemed to twist in the poor lighting of the bathroom. There was a tightness to his eyes though, in sadness, or maybe in frustration. His expression was undreadable. A man accustomed to hiding his feelings.
When I looked into the mirror today, here is what I did not see:
The man in the mirror glared back at me. His glowing eyes peirced into me, showing me the inner thoughts. I was in a space. A single stream of light focused on the center of the place, everything else was darkness. Darkness forever and ever. An image came to me of a ram in an iron cage. The light surrounded him. His hooves stamped hard, clanging on the iron floor. His horns, too large to be real, fought against the iron bars surrounding him. His horns cracked and splintered against his prison, but he did not seem to mind. Fearlessly, ferociously, he ripped and tore and shredded himself until the poor animal had nothing but bleeding stumps where his once magestic horns were. The iron bars glistened with his blood. Slowly the ram relented his attack, his large head swiveled to face me. His eyes burned! Flames danced inside his skull. Unquenchable embers, flying sparks. I gasped inspite of myself. That firey gaze was scorching. I felt my skin ablaze by that look. My skin blistered, the smell of burning meat filled my nostrils. My hair singed. Inside me I felt the scream come forth from the depths. A scream that reverberated into the depths of heaven and hell. I screamed and the world broke in half, the world torn asunder. I heaved and spasmed. I clutched my throat. THe agony of pain stabbed into me. I was obliterated! NOO! And as quickly as it came, it stopped. I was intact. And the ram simply gazed at me with complacent eyes, glassy black. Blood dripped onto its white furred face. It pooled on the iron floor beneath its feet. Together we joined eyes for what seemed a very long time. Without opening its mouth, it spoke to me. A powerful booming voice peirced my mind, until all other thoughts were violently shoved aside, only the Voice. "You are like me, Young One". I nodded. "How long will you remain in your cage?" I shook my head. The ram stomped its front hoof, the sound of bone on metal echoed through the darkness. It splashed into his puddle of blood. The warm liquid splattered on my face. It tasted like blood. "How long until you die?" It snorted. A mist of mucous sprayed from its nose. I said nothing back. I had no answer to give the ram. "You are a coward". And it turned its head from me, the glassy blackness of his eyes leaving, making way for more flames. The ram seemed to shimmy back in his prison, reared back slightly and darted into the iron bars. With no horns to protect him, the sickening sound of bone crunching rang in my ears. Dazed, he shook his head, and repeated his endeavor. The skin on his head parted, exposing bone and masticated tissue. Over and over, he slammed his head into the bars. Each time a little less powerful than the time before. I watched in horror, a sob found its way out of my belly. It was a sorry sound, a gasping, gagging sound. The ram repeated his fruitless endeavor. Its face a wild mess of bone and blood. I began crying, hot salty tears. The ram looked at me again, I could almost make out its eyes beaneath that charnel of flesh. I only sobbed harder. I made myself watch the final blow. I could feel it approaching. The cold specter of death always seems to arrive a moment early to guide his charge into the abyss. The ram charged, a final explosion of power. His skull hit the iron rods, a final splitting. The iron remained unbent, but the rams eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed into a heap. Brains leaked onto his face. I vomited. I could not believe what had just transpired infront of me. I convulsed with tears and with regurgitating bile. The dead ram mocked me with open eyes. "You are a coward" Blood flowed toward me.
I blinked and found myself staring into my reflection. Brown eyes, circled with gold glared angrily back.