The Mirror of Versailles

In 1779, deep within the glittering halls of Versailles, a mirror was said to reflect not beauty, but truth. Commissioned by a noblewoman obsessed with youth, it was crafted by a Venetian alchemist who whispered that “the glass remembers what flesh forgets.” At first, the lady admired her reflection, luminous and unaged. But each day, the image behind her grew older—wrinkled, frail, decaying—until one morning, her reflection reached out and smiled back. She was found collapsed in front of the mirror, her hair turned white overnight. The mirror vanished during the Revolution, rumored to resurface every century. Those who look too long never see themselves the same way again.