The Mirror

Poor little Aiden sat alone in his room, hoping his father wouldn't come home drunk again. Lately though, that was a very slim chance. When his dad would come home, he always came to Aiden's room to talk to him before he passed out. Sometimes his father would cry and say how sorry he was, how much he loved him and what a good son Aiden was. The other times though, he would talk to Aiden with this nasty voice, telling him how he would be rich and happy if he wasn't stuck with a crippled kid at home. Aiden dealt with this type of behaviour almost every night, and he was only eight years old. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid his dad; Aiden's legs had become paralysed in the same car crash that had killed his mother and reduced his father to a pathetic drunk.1

Finally, around ten o'clock at night, he heard the door open, and heavy, unsteady footsteps sound a pattern until they were outside his room. When his dad walked into the room, the smell of beer and liquor seemed to fill the room, almost making Aiden gag.2

At the sight of Aiden, his father's eyes filled with tears, and Aiden knew what kind of night it would be already. It was only slightly different this night; his father cried and said he should never have put Aiden through all of this, that Aiden didn't deserve this kind of life. Eventually, he stumbled out to go to bed, and Aiden went to sleep feeling helpless as usual.3

His dreams that night were strange. He woke up to his father opening the door, but wasn't sure if he was still asleep or not; everything had a fuzzy, dreamy quality to it. 4

His dad stood next to his bed and knelt down beside Aiden, and Aiden saw something strange in the mirror. His dad was crying next to him, but in the mirror his dad was staring at him, the way he often would before yelling at him. 5

When his father spoke, he didn't hear him at first; in the mirror, his father was saying different things, and Aiden could Hear them.6

“Aiden, I'm so sorry, it'll be better soon,” his dad said, his voice fading out as the other one sounded more clearly, saying [for me, anyways, it was the only choice left.]7

“I'll always be there to protect you, Aiden, from your enemies, and all your demons, and even from me,” his father said, choking back sobs, as his doppelganger mocked him in the mirror, smirking at Aiden.8

[I'll be the one to protect you from, a will to survive, and a voice of reason.]9

“I'll be there to protect you from, your enemies [and your choices, son].”10

The weird dialogue made Aiden more confused and upset, and he started to cry. Despite all that he put up with, Aiden wasn't the type of little boy to cry, and his father stopped crying, paying attention to him for the first time since talking. It was like his face transformed, and he smiled at Aiden, looking more like he had before the accident, like the happy, sweet man that Aiden remembered his dad being. The mean reflection still spoke, but the voice was faint now, and Aiden drowned out the voice and the fear by concentrating on his real father, the one he hadn't really seen in almost two years. His father smoothed Aiden's hair off his forehead, something Aiden couldn't remember him doing for years.11

“Just stay with me[safe and ignorant], Aiden,” he said, holding Aiden's little hand tightly to his chest. Aiden could hear his heart beating, slowly, like a drum, and he barely noticed the other voice this time.12

His daddy's heartbeat against his fist seemed to be getting slower, lulling him to sleep, and he vaguely heard his dad whispering in his ear.13

“Go back to sleep, Aiden,” he mumbled, kissing Aiden's forehead, and even the reflection didn't sound so mean anymore, as it repeated his dad's words exactly this time. It was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.14

[Go back to sleep.]15

**16

Aiden's next door neighbour, Mrs. Pratt, watched in concern as the paramedics rushed into the house. When they came out with two stretchers, one large and one small, her heart broke a little for the lonely little boy stuck with that wretch. When she finally found out what happened, the details haunted her dreams.17

Apparently, the boy's father had gone home drunk again, and left his car running in the garage. The police said it looked as though he'd planned it, and intended to kill both himself and his son. 18

When they found the bodies, it was a strange scene. The little crippled boy was curled up around his father's hand, looking like he was peacefully asleep, and the father was slumped over the small boy protectively, one hand still cupping the boy's head. It seemed he couldn't leave his son without him, even in death.