the drive home seemed to take forever
the snow fell seamlessly
a white sheet that created a ghostly haze
tom grasped her hand
then turned and gave her a peck on the cheek
she thought about faking a smile, but what was the use
her attention drifted back to the snow
there were children in the distance building a snowman
his eyes were made of coal
as they past by, one of the kids made a weak attempt at hitting the car with a snowball
missing the car by a good 30 feet
tom pulled into the driveway
he got out and opened the door for her
she stepped out of the car, looked to the sky
then opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue
the snowflakes landed in morse code
a sharp pain in the abdomen broke her listlessness
she would have to break the cipher later
tom put his arm around her and walked her into the house
she climbed into bed

a flash of pain awoke her
her body tightened and she sat straight up
she looked at the clock, it was 11:25 pm
tom was awakened
“are you ok?” he asked
“yeah,” she replied “go back to sleep”
she went into the bathroom
turned on the light
and looked in the mirror
her complexion was blotchy
she rinsed her face with cold water, turned off the tap, then looked back at the mirror
instead of the water falling down into the sink below, it dripped straight into the mirror
the drops made ripples in the glass
the mirror grew murky and shapeless figures began to take form
faint screams could be heard
she squinted and looked deeper into the glass
the growths morphed into bodies, then began moving toward her
a feeling of disbelief shot through her
the bodies came into focus
and she reached into the mirror
she took hold of one and began to pull it toward her
it slipped out of her grasp
the mirror shattered
she looked back down at the sink
closed her eyes and shook her head
she looked at the mirror again
no shattered glass, no water, no creatures and no tortured screams
just her, standing in front of the bathroom mirror
in her panties and bra
she climbed back into bed
and tom pretended not to hear her sob herself back to sleep

the next morning, she got up at 7:30
tom was already gone
she went into the bathroom
and stared into the mirror as the water ran
then left her panties in the sink to soak

i love the surrealistic detour. the piece builds very well, but i need to read a few more times to process the end. nice work.

jcurley, was it you that use to have a signature that linked to your poetry journal? I read through your posts and was blown away. If it was you, can I get the link again, or can you put it back in your sig?

edit

by the Goddess, this is overwhelmingly sad. i was transported inside her flesh and felt everything. the cruel note is, apart from the snow, the whole thing was too familiar. thanks.