by S.C. Clarke
as well as any reflective surface showed her as if she was younger. Where ever she could she herself she would stop and look, smiling at what she was seeing, and as each day passed by she in her reflection was looking younger and younger.
A few weeks had passed, Jennie getting concerned that her friend was possibly going through a stage of depression stopped by. Ringing the doorbell she waited for Eleanor to answer, a couple of minutes went by and Jennie rand they bell again and also knocking this time as well. “Eleanor are you there?” Jennie called out, “Its me, Jennie.” Eleanor was in the kitchen looking at herself in her compact mirror, she heard the door but for some reason she could not put the mirror down or even move.
Jennie then fearing the worst, although not wanting to just walk into her friends house, placed her hand upon the door knob, opened the door and peeked her head inside. She could see Eleanor sitting at the kitchen table, “Eleanor.” Jennie said Eleanor snapped out of whatever the state she was in. “Oh Jennie, I didn’t hear the door, do come in.” Jennie went and joined Eleanor in the kitchen taking a seat at the table.
Jennie sat there looking at Eleanor, “Do I have something on my face?” Eleanor asked. “No, but are you alright?” Jennie asked. “I know you are upset still about Henry but I think it might do you some good to get out of the house. We can go to the park or wherever you want just let me know.” “That does sound nice.” Eleanor agreed, although she wasn’t still mourning her husbands death and she didn’t know how to, rather she didn’t know how to tell Jennie why she has been keeping to herself.
Jennie then notices Eleanor compact on the table, Henry had gotten it for her may years ago at Christmas time. Jennie picks it up, “This is beautiful.” she said as she admired the silver compact that has Eleanor initials on it as well as an inscription on the back that said you will always be beautiful to me. Okay maybe a little corny but Eleanor cherished it. “Now tomorrow we will go to the park and get you some fresh air.” Jennie said then she left to her own house across the street. Eleanor knew her friend was right, she did need to get out and away from the mirrors, but she didn’t want to.
It was the next morning, Eleanor was getting herself dressed and ready to go out to the park with Jennie, once again sitting at her vanity she looked into the mirror. Instead of letting her image scare or even consume her she decided that she would embrace it, after all for just turning eighty Eleanor did look fantastic. She went to her closet and took out a simple light blue pants suit that she hadn’t worn in some time, found a white blouse to wear with it and accessorized it with her favorite pearl earrings and a plain blue scarf. She looked in the mirror and she liked what she saw, it was as if time had been reversed.
Jennie got there about thirty minutes later, Eleanor was all ready to go and was sitting in her porch waiting. Eleanor got up grabbed her purse and went out the door, locking it behind her, and down the steps and into Jennies car. “Well look at you.” Jennie said “see I knew getting out would make you feel better.” “Yes I must say that I do.” then they drove to a small park that was a few o blocks away. Jennie parked the car and got out to help Eleanor out of the car. She then opened the back door and took out a small picnic basket she had prepared for them.
“Oh, my you didn’t have to go to all this trouble Jennie.” Eleanor said to her. “No trouble at all, just some simple sandwiches and lemonade.” Jennie answers. The two walked to a table that wasn’t too far away and sat down, Jennie took the sandwiches out of the picnic basket and poured then both a cup of lemonade. As they sat there enjoying the warm spring day, the sun shining down on them, Eleanor began to not feel well, and was barely nibbling on her ham and cheese sandwich. “Jennie, I think I would like to go home now, am starting to get a slight headache.” “In just glad you got out for a little while today, I will pack everything up and we will leave in a few minutes.” Jennie replied as she threw out any trash and put the lemonade back into the picnic basket.
They returned back at Eleanor house, Jennie pulled into the driveway and helped Eleanor into her house. “would you like me to stay?” Jennie asked. “No, I just need to lay down, I will call you later, thank you.” Eleanor answered, but she really just wanted to sit in front of her vanity and look at herself in the mirror. Jennie went home and Eleanor went upstairs to her bedroom to put on something more comfortable. She laid down on the bed and there it was the vanity, she tried to ignore it, and even got up putting a towel over the mirror.
Laying back down, still trying to resist the urge to look into the vanity, Eleanor couldn’t fight it, she got up, took the towel off the mirror and just sat there for hours looking into it. What was wrong with her? Was she really that vain that all she wants to do now is stare at herself? Was she actually looking younger in the mirror or was it her trying to recapture her youth when her sons and husband were still alive. What ever it was, it had consumed her to the point of her not wanting anything else but to look into her mirror. She couldn’t even blink as she slowly watched her face and all her features transform back to when she was younger.
That wasn’t all though it didn’t stop there weeks went by and there she sat in front of her vanity, she wasn’t eating or sleeping right and started to became frail and weak. But she didn’t notice all she could see was the youthful woman in the mirror. She began to see herself as a young bride and her and Henry raising their sons. It felt like she was actually there reliving all of this. They went through birthdays and holidays, the boys going through school and going to their proms and other activities. Even the last time Eleanor would see her sons right before they were deployed to go to war.
Eleanor no matter how much she tried she could not part herself away from the vanity, she didn’t want to leave her room so much that she had bought a small refrigerator and a microwave and had them delivered and installed upstairs. She brought up some of her food and bought another coffee pot as well. She still went downstairs to get her mail and to prepare meals, but Eleanor mostly stayed upstairs, for some reason she felt safe there. This truly was not Eleanor at all, these behaviors are something of a mad or insane person. Maybe she was losing her mind, was she going to not wake up one morning? They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you die, was this what was happening to Eleanor?
Jennie didn’t come over any more, even though she tried, Eleanor would call her once a day just to say I am fine. What happened to their friendship? What happened to anything, it bothered Eleanor but she could not allow it to take over her, she had much more important thing to do, she needed to look into the mirror on her vanity and relive her life, it was the only thing that made her happy. Even though she knew what reality was, she had no one else and it didn’t make a difference if it was all in her head or a day dream, she didn’t want to let go of the feeling looking into the mirror gave her.
It was now almost six month after Henry had passed Eleanor had barely gone outside or even to church or the store anymore. Jennie had moved away to live with her daughter and her family in Utah, she would still call Eleanor as often as she could and they would sometimes talk only for a few minutes and sometimes they both went on for hours. Then one day Jennie’s daughter Emma called to tell Eleanor that Jennie had passed quietly in her sleep. Eleanor could not say much, she offered her condolences and hung up the phone.
Going over to the vanity she stopped, no I have to resist but she could not and sat down trying her hardest not to look into the mirror. She thought of getting rid of it but could not bring herself to do so. Alright she thought one last time, one more look, and there she was on her wedding day with Henry, having her boys, going through everything she had seen before. Something was different this time, the images and her reflection usually ended after they buried their sons after the war. This time it went on, her youthfulness started to slowly age again, she was watching herself getting older now.
Now Eleanor was staring to get scared, this had never happened be
fore. But again she could not take her eyes away from the mirror, her wrinkles began to come back, her hair getting a little more grayer every time she looked away and back again. Her reflection was now as it should be, how she looks now as an eighty year old woman. It was getting late and she was starting to tire, she took a bath and went straight to bed and skipped her usual beauty routine. This has to be the first time that she just went to bed in many many years. Before getting into bed she went over to the vanity, she didn’t sit just leaned over looked at herself and smiled.
Sitting down on her bed Eleanor began to talk to her husband and her sons again, telling them how proud she was of her boys and how much she misses them. Laying down she takes the two pictures off of her bedside table and hold them tightly against her chest as if she was hugging them. She closed her eyes and started to fall asleep, she was awakened by a bright light that seemed to be directly over her bed, opening her eyes, Eleanor had no idea as to what she was looking at, she