NashvilleDecember 9, 2015

Nashville

Susan Roethemeyer

susansmr@juno.com

The Legend of the Magic Mirror, Part Seven

I put down the pages of the manuscript and blew out my breath.

“Lesson of the Magic Mirror” is how Constance saw it, and she was right.

The Mirror examined the motives behind Constance’s request, and because she had seemed vain, using too many references to herself, the Mirror had taught her a harsh lesson.

But it seemed to me that Constance had already been seen as beautiful by her peers, that she was unselfish and already admired by everyone.

Maybe that was the lesson – that you don’t need magic to become better. You just need to realize how you are seen by other people.

Or is the lesson just to see ourselves as others see us and act accordingly, keeping in mind that we are not perfect and could regress in an instant?

I decided to leave that question for another day.

I looked down at the book and caught my breath.

The author of the next story was Lacy James-Matthews.

Suddenly my phone rang shrill beside me.

“Hello!” It was my friend from St. Louis. “What’s up?”

“Guess what I found in the thrift store!” He hurried on, not giving me a chance to answer. “A hand mirror wrapped in paper! It was in a box, and-”

I held my breath, waiting for him to say what I already knew.

“- it has two letters engraved on it!” Let’s see- “‘W. M.’“