“I see colors,” she traced her fingertips along the glass. “And a lantern. It’s so bright I could walk the street at midnight. Bright, bright, midnight, bright…”
“Mum, stop.”
“The cobblestone streets, shop windows dark, dark, so dark for the night.” She swayed to the sound of her own voice. “Dark for the night, the lantern so bright, a walk at midnight…”
“Stop!”
She froze, turning to her son.
“Look,” he flung his hand. “It’s no window. It’s a mirror. Shit,” he muttered. “A mirror.”
She turned back, seeing herself clearly in the full-length mirror. “So it is…”
“Yeah. So it is.”
She stared at his reflection, tilting her head slightly. “You don’t seem particularly concerned.”
He rubbed the side of his cheek.
“Give mummy a hug now.”
He stood up, wavered, and walked to the door. Gripping his keys so they left indentations in his palm, he stared at the doorknob for a moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Here is my attempt at #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent
Lemon Shark Reef 
That is a strange one… love it Sarah 🙂 I believe my sons see me as that kind of weird 😉
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OH my gosh, I hope not! 😀 Yes, it’s a strange one for sure but I kind of like these characters… Thanks, Sue!
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Er… yes, probably that wierd 😉
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Well that was a doozy wasn’t it. Loved the twist in the normal relationship, they sense of foreboding I took from the realisation it was a mirror and the sinister ending with the keys.
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Yeah, that was a doozy. No clue where it came from. I think I need to write more with these characters. I’m dying to know what’s going on with her and why he’s angry/upset, has so little sympathy (or patience) for her. Or maybe he did but it’s been too long… Too many ideas, too little time.
Thanks, Geoff.
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Ah yes the cry of the writer!
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Outstanding! Now I took it as she was in a facility and her son was exhausted from trying to get her to see reality.
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I saw it in a similar way while writing. He seemed exhausted to me but then I thought there could be something else going on. It’s most likely that he’s just fed up/exhausted but I love how readers see different things. It’s part of the fun of flash. 🙂 Thanks!
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I see it as a lady suffering from dementia and living in a home. Sad, but intriguing as to the story behind your take on the prompt.
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That’s how I saw it, too. She’s clearly struggling with reality. It is sad but I like the option of other possibilities here…
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Dementia is hard for everyone.
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Yes, it really is.
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I think that he is a teenager and everything his mother does is wrong and irritating.
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Now that’s a take I hadn’t considered! 😀 Cool.
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Ooooh, Sarah. This just begs for so much more. Kind of creepy and magical and sad and human. Compelling characters 🙂
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Creepy and magical, sad and human. That sums it up beautifully. Thank you. 💖 I’m kind of taken with these two myself. You know when they won’t leave? That.
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