You’re walking down the street, it could be any street, and the building you’re walking past has mirrored windows, or maybe they’re just blacked out on the inside. Either way, when you look to your side you see reflections, of yourself and the world around you - beside you, behind you, before you.
You watch this passing movie playing out, and you watch yourself, until suddenly, unexpectedly and abruptly, the mirroring ends and you pass an open door. The innards are revealed, a brief flash and hint of what may lie within. There may be a person at a desk, looking out, seeing you looking in, a moment’s connection as your eyes meet, a moment’s surprise as he intrudes upon your movie, as you intrude upon his.
The moment passes, the world resumes.
Now imagine those windows are your retinas; the reflections you see are the world around you absorbed into the black hole of your pupil, from which no light escapes. So what if for a brief moment the reflection is removed? And for an instant you see what you are really looking at, revealed, hidden no more. You see past the reflection that is the world, beyond reality, and you catch a glimpse of what is beside it, behind it, beneath it.
And you see someone there, looking back.
Flash fiction. Fantasy and science fiction. Magic, myth and machines.
The second person in this piece feels very natural. I like the fourth paragraph where it builds on the slight oddness to create the final twist.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if you see someone there, looking back but then in the flicker of a reflection of their eye you see an image in their retinas?
Cheers, Aidan. =)
ReplyDeleteWhat indeed? What would you look like if the illusion of human perception were stripped from you? ;)
Nice feeling or rhythm in here and I like that feeling of 'a box within a box'. Meeting the person at their desk mirrors the 'pop' in the writing. Interesting to think what might be there. St.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen, perception of the world is such an interesting thing to play with, don't you think? ;)
ReplyDeleteI once saw my reflection, my shadow, and the reflection of my shadow all at the same time. It was freaky.
ReplyDeleteWhere was your shadow looking...? ;)
ReplyDeleteQuite scary in a way John, I think I would be terrified of the person looking back at me.
ReplyDeleteI had slight echoes of "The Matrix" whilst reading this, what is truth, and what is not?
No need to be afraid... whoever it is, they've left us alone so far... right? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Descartes, the only thing you can really believe in is yourself, something must be doing this thinking... =)
John - Very nice. Even though it was short, I needed to read it a couple times. I like the thought of the watcher beyond the glass, just to the side. Is it you in a different universe? Or is it the you of decisions made differently? Or just a Watcher. Very thought provoking and vivid with an economy of words.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul, thought provoking was exactly what I was going for... And I think it's better to let everyone answer those questions for themselves... ;)
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