A BROKEN MIRROR

Sophie couldn't remember when her reflection first started to change. Was it after her mother's death or after the divorce? She couldn't quite pinpoint the moment, but she knew that it was around the time when everything else in her life seemed to be breaking apart.

One day, as she was getting ready for work, she noticed a small crack in the corner of her bathroom mirror. She shrugged it off and continued with her day, not thinking much of it. But as the days passed, the crack grew bigger and bigger until it was impossible to ignore.

Sophie started to avoid looking in the mirror altogether. She didn't want to see the distorted image staring back at her, a constant reminder of everything that had gone wrong in her life. She stopped wearing makeup and stopped caring about her appearance altogether.

It wasn't until she went to a friend's wedding that she realized just how much the broken mirror had affected her. As she looked at the other guests, she saw their flawless faces and perfect smiles, and she couldn't help but feel envious. She wondered what it would be like to see herself as beautiful, to be able to look in the mirror and not see the cracks and distortions.

After the wedding, Sophie decided to do something about the broken mirror. She knew that she couldn't keep avoiding it forever, and she didn't want to continue living her life feeling ashamed of her own reflection.

She went to a glass repair shop and explained the situation to the owner. He looked at her with a kind smile and told her that he could fix the mirror, but he couldn't fix what was inside of her. Sophie knew that he was right, but she still felt hopeful. Maybe fixing the mirror would be the first step towards healing.

A few days later, the glass repair shop called to let her know that the mirror was ready. Sophie took a deep breath and drove over to pick it up. When she saw the repaired mirror, she was surprised at how different it looked. The cracks were gone, and the surface was smooth and unblemished. It was as if the mirror had been given a second chance at life.

Sophie took the mirror home and hung it in her bathroom. She stood in front of it, staring at her reflection. But instead of feeling relieved or happy, she felt even more broken than before. She realised that fixing the mirror didn't fix anything inside of her. She was still the same person, with the same flaws and the same problems.

Sophie sat down on the floor and looked at herself in the mirror again. This time, she looked deeper. She looked past the surface, past the perfect image that she had always wanted to see. She looked at the person staring back at her and saw someone who had been through a lot, someone who had been hurt but was still standing.

Sophie realised that the mirror didn't have to be a source of shame or envy. It could be a reminder of everything that she had overcome. She could see the cracks and distortions as a symbol of her own resilience, a testament to the fact that even when things fall apart, they can still be put back together again.

Sophie stood up and looked at herself in the mirror again, this time with a newfound sense of appreciation. She saw her reflection as beautiful, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. She realized that the broken mirror had taught her an important lesson: that sometimes, it's the things that are broken that are the most beautiful of all.