Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Squeezed out of everything he had, will a monkey's anger drive him to hell or salvation?
He was not going back.
How many nights had he stayed working late, how many weekends had he lost to this project, how many friends had he left after ignoring them for so long, and all for what? Nothing. Fuck that guy. Fuck that company. Fuck them all. And especially, above all, fuck--
His thoughts were interrupted by a soccer ball that flew straight to his face. Cesar looked at its owner, a nearby kid that had picked the wrong day to mess with him. Had it been any other day, he would have returned it to the boy, but not today. The monkey took the ball, aimed, and kicked; but, instead of teaching the brat a lesson he wouldn't forget, the ball went through the window of a nearby store.
At the sound of the shattering glass, all the kids ran away. Cesar tried to do the same, only to be stopped by a wall of black fur. He looked up to see the stranger, a bull, who didn't seem to be pleased at what he had the done, before he felt the bull's hands on his neck as he shoved him towards the store.
-"Come."
The monkey tried to struggle and escape his grasp, to no effort, until the bull decided to let him go. They were at the back of the store, mirror pieces littering the floor while the remaining ones stared at the pair. The monkey wanted to leave, but, at the angle he was in, he could see all the mirrors reflecting him under their silent gaze.
-"Look man, sorry about your store but--"
-"Don't. In fact, why don't you take a look at this?" The bull removed a cloth that was covering a full length mirror, or something like one.
The fake smile. The designer clothes. Cesar turned back, but the only thing he could see were his reflections looking back at him, so he inspected the thing again. He got closer and touched it. It was glass; it had to be a mirror, yet why was it showing that man?
-"What is this?"
-"It is whatever you want it to be." The bull walked behind the counter, the sound of his boots cracking the pieces following him, and grabbed a sledgehammer. He then went back to the monkey and put it next to him.
-"Just do what you have to do."
Cesar got closer to the thing. He didn't really believe much in anything, or anyone by that matter, but the feeling in his hand told him that it had to be a mirror, and thus it'd be one for him even if it didn't bother to look at him. But why his boss? Why the bastard that took all the credit?
Cesar wasn't that bothered about all the sacrifices he had to make for his job. He liked it, and he knew the project would be big; yet, at the end, he wasn't even recognized by a piece of furniture. Much less by the people at his workplace, his boss made sure of that. If only he...
At that moment, Cesar knew what is it that he had to do. He grabbed the hammer and hit at the reflection, almost as if its owner had been there, and it cracked. The monkey was numb in his hand and his shoulder hurt, but he brushed it aside as the pieces fell. He could feel the anger leaving his body, the memories of the bastard fading one after another, and relief soon came over him.
-"Well done." At least someone noticed him.
The bull motioned to the monkey and he followed him to the backroom of the store. Even in complete darkness, the monkey knew its contents once he stumbled upon something and felt that peculiar coldness in his hand. The bull turned on the lights and the monkey was blinded by all the reflections, but he could still see what mattered to him.
There, in front of him, was his former high school crush. Well, calling it a crush might be wrong since they had kind of dated. He had done everything that she had asked him, and she had won a bet. Fortunately for her, ridiculing him in front of everyone in prom had made it all worth it in the end. Fortunately for him, she was here and he could finally say good bye. A swing later, the pain from having known her was gone. His eyes no longer tearing from all the light, he went for the next one.
The mother that abandoned him, the friend that lied to him, the man that got in his way while driving, the cop that took his bribe, and even a man he didn't know but that must have done something to him before. After some time, it didn't matter to him any longer who was in each mirror as the load in his heart got lighter and the light grew dimmer, even if his arms hurt more and more with every hit he made. Soon, the room was filled with broken glass. He walked back and forth to find another mirror. He still felt bad, so there must be at least one more. Only one more.
The bull smiled and called the monkey. Cesar looked at him and saw the reason why he was being called, in the middle of the room was that what he was looking for. That smile. Those clothes. The root of all his past and present problems, and the reason he had been unhappy all along. The one that had started all of this in the first place.
Himself.
He could blame other people as much as he wanted, but it was his own fault for having trusted any of them to begin with. He knew he was being used, he knew that sooner or later he would be let down, yet he still went on as if he didn't. With this, all his remaining pain would be gone. He went closer to the mirror and hit it, but it didn't crumble. In spite of the crack he had made, it continued to stand up. Mocking him.
Cesar hit it another time. It still resisted.
He hit again. How long could it last?
Then, a fourth time. What did it try to protect?
A fifth one. Why didn't it want to give up?
The longer he took to crack it, the more he remembered the pain in his arms. He had lost count of how many times he had swung the hammer, but it was taking its toll on them. A string of blood was running for his shoulder. This couldn't continue for much longer, but no piece of furniture, and not even himself, would get in the way of his happiness. He would break it even if it killed him. This was the only thing standing between him and a new life: a life with no regrets, a new beginning, a second chance at the life he never had but that he deserved.
With a last hit, the mirror finally went down in a million pieces; the hammer flying away from the impact. The monkey was overjoyed, but his shoulder still hurt and he didn't feel lighter as with the other ones. He didn't know what could be wrong. It should have freed him from this world, and it did, but not in the way he thought.
He tried to hold his arm in response to the pain, but something was amiss. He looked at where the hammer landed to find that, indeed, his arm had also crumbled and was sent flying with it. With that, his wish finally became true. His mind only focused on the situation, he no longer thought about anything else and his heart was set free of all the worries of his previous life.
The monkey, as if by instinct, tried to walk towards the remains of his arm. However, one of his legs followed suit and he was sent towards the ground, shattering as soon as he hit it. Glass pieces being the only thing left of Cesar, along with the destruction he had made. The bull walked over where most of the pieces rested, cracking several of them under his boots. He crouched and looked at the remains of his former customer. Another happy customer.
-"Thank you for coming to D'Angelo's mirror shop. I hope you found what you were looking for."