You stand before the mirror. The glass is cold. It has been cold for three hundred years. You press your palm against it. The glass does not break. It has never broken. You are old. Your hands are maps of wrinkles. The veins beneath the skin look like rivers in a dying land. You look for your face. You see only the mirror. The mirror is waiting. It has always been waiting.

The house is quiet. The silence is heavy. It sits on your chest like a stone. You live in the attic. The room is small. The walls are thin. You hear the wind outside. The wind is a voice. It speaks in a language you do not know. You do not need to know. You have forgotten the language. You are a keeper. You keep the house. You keep the mirror. You keep the silence.

Your sister is downstairs. She is alive. She is young. She is afraid. You can feel her fear. It tastes like copper. It tastes like blood. She comes to you often. She brings tea. The tea is hot. It burns her hands. She does not care. She asks you questions. You do not answer. You cannot answer. The words are stuck in your throat. They are stones. They are heavy.

You look at the mirror again. Your reflection is clear. You see the eyes. They are deep. They are dark. They are not your eyes. Or are they? You have forgotten. Time is a thief. It steals your memory. It steals your name. It steals your face. You are a shadow. You are a ghost. You are the root. The root is deep. The root is old. The root is fading.

The mirror is a symbol. It is a seal. It marks you. It defines you. You are bound to it. You chose this. Long ago. You made a choice. You traded your life for the mirror. You traded your time for its gaze. It was a fair trade. You thought. You were young. You were strong. You were wise. You were wrong.

The sun sets. The light changes. The room turns blue. The blue is cold. The blue is sad. You feel the chill in your bones. You are dying. You have been dying for a century. It is slow. It is painless. It is final. You accept it. You have accepted it for a long time. The acceptance is quiet. It is like snow falling. It covers the world. It covers your soul.

Your sister knocks. The knock is soft. It is hesitant. You wait. You do not move. You are still. You are stone. The door opens. She enters. She is holding a candle. The flame flickers. The light is weak. It casts long shadows. The shadows dance. The shadows play. They are the only things that are alive.

She sees you. She sees the mirror. She sees the fear in her own eyes. She steps back. The candle falls. The flame dies. The room is dark. The darkness is total. The darkness is absolute. You are alone. You are with the mirror. The mirror is with you. You are one. You are two. You are nothing.

The wind howls. The house groans. The beams creak. The floorboards shift. The house is settling. It is moving. It is changing. It is becoming something else. You feel it. You feel the shift. It is in the air. It is in the walls. It is in the glass. The mirror ripples. The surface moves. The surface breathes.

You look into the glass. The reflection looks back. The eyes are wide. The mouth is open. It is screaming. It is not your scream. It is the mirror’s scream. The mirror is in pain. The mirror is afraid. The mirror is dying. You realize it. You finally realize it. The mirror is not a god. The mirror is not a seal. The mirror is a mirror. It is a reflection. It is a copy. It is a shadow.

You are the root. You are the source. You are the life. The mirror is the fruit. The fruit is rotting. The root is fading. You chose to be the root. You chose to be the sacrifice. You chose to be the vessel. It was a mistake. It was a tragedy. It was a choice. The choice defined you. The choice destroyed you.

You reach out. Your hand is trembling. Your fingers are stiff. You touch the glass. The glass is warm. It has always been warm. You thought it was cold. You were wrong. The cold was inside you. The warmth is from the mirror. The warmth is from your sister. The warmth is from the life you gave up.

You pull your hand back. The glass cracks. A single line. A thin line. It runs across the face. It runs across the eye. The eye is split. The eye is broken. The reflection shatters. The pieces fall. They fall into the dark. They do not make a sound. They are silent. They are gone.

The mirror is empty. The glass is clear. It reflects the room. It reflects the window. It reflects the night. It reflects you. You are there. You are whole. You are free. The seal is broken. The bond is cut. The choice is over.

You feel the weight lift. The stone on your chest is gone. The air is fresh. The air is sweet. It smells like rain. It smells like earth. It smells like home. You take a breath. The breath is deep. The breath is long. It fills your lungs. It fills your soul.

Your sister is still in the room. She is standing in the corner. She is watching. She is witnessing. She is silent. She sees your face. She sees your eyes. She sees the fear. She sees the relief. She sees the end.

You look at her. You want to speak. You want to say her name. You want to say you are sorry. You want to say you love her. The words do not come. The words are gone. The words were lost with the mirror. The words were lost with the time.

You nod. A small nod. A gentle nod. She nods back. The nod is enough. The nod is everything. The nod is the love. The love is primal. The love is instinctual. The love is beyond reason. The love is beyond time.

The wind stops. The house is still. The silence returns. The silence is different. It is not heavy. It is not cold. It is peaceful. It is restful. It is final.

You sit down. The chair is old. The wood is worn. You sit in the center. You are centered. You are balanced. You are at peace. The mirror is behind you. It is just glass. It is just a window. It is just a thing.

You close your eyes. The darkness is soft. The darkness is kind. It holds you. It cradles you. It embraces you. You are in the dark. You are in the light. You are in between.

You think of the beginning. You think of the choice. You think of the mirror. You think of the name. The name is gone. The name is lost. The name is forgotten. You do not need the name. You are the name. You are the identity. You are the self.

The self is a choice. The self is a definition. The self is a mirror. The self is a root. The root is deep. The root is strong. The root is fading. The fading is natural. The fading is right. The fading is good.

You feel the pull. The pull is gentle. The pull is steady. It pulls you down. It pulls you in. It pulls you out. You let it go. You let it go. You let it go.

The mirror reflects the empty room. The mirror reflects the dust. The mirror reflects the time. The time is moving. The time is flowing. The time is passing. The time is ending.

Your sister leaves. The door closes. The sound is soft. The sound is final. She is gone. She is living. She is young. She is free. She is the life you gave up. She is the future you sacrificed. She is the choice you made.

You are alone. The mirror is empty. The glass is clear. The room is quiet. The night is dark. The stars are out. The stars are bright. The stars are distant. The stars are cold. The stars are eternal.

You are not eternal. You are fading. The fading is complete. The process is done. The end is here. The end is now. The end is you.

You breathe. The breath is last. The breath is short. The breath is quiet. It leaves your body. It joins the air. It joins the wind. It joins the dark.

You are gone. The mirror remains. The mirror is empty. The mirror is waiting. The mirror is watching. The mirror is remembering. The memory is gone. The memory is lost. The memory is forgotten.

The house stands. The house is old. The house is empty. The house is silent. The house is waiting. The house is watching. The house is remembering. The memory is gone. The memory is lost. The memory is forgotten.

The root is dead. The root is gone. The root is faded. The fading is complete. The fading is final. The fading is peace.

You are peace. You are silence. You are dark. You are light. You are nothing. You are everything. You are the choice. You are the definition. You are the self.

The self is gone. The self is free. The self is lost. The self is found. The self is here. The self is there. The self is nowhere. The self is everywhere.

The mirror is clear. The glass is clean. The surface is smooth. The reflection is absent. The absence is full. The fullness is empty. The emptiness is full. The circle is closed. The loop is broken. The chain is cut. The knot is untied.

You are free. The freedom is cold. The freedom is warm. The freedom is heavy. The freedom is light. The freedom is real. The freedom is true. The freedom is now.

The night passes. The dawn comes. The light rises. The light is gray. The light is soft. The light is gentle. The light touches the mirror. The mirror reflects the light. The light is gone. The light is new. The light is old. The light is time.

The time moves. The time flows. The time passes. The time ends. The end is beginning. The beginning is end. The end is start. The start is end.

You are the end. You are the start. You are the middle. You are the center. You are the root. The root is gone. The root is here. The root is fading. The fading is done.

The story is over. The story is done. The story is complete. The story is silent. The story is still. The story is gone. The story is you. The story is me. The story is us. The story is them. The story is all. The story is none.

The mirror stands. The mirror waits. The mirror watches. The mirror remembers. The memory is gone. The memory is lost. The memory is forgotten. The mirror is empty. The mirror is full. The mirror is here. The mirror is now.

You are gone. You are here. You are fading. You are staying. You are leaving. You are staying. You are gone. You are here.

The silence is deep. The silence is wide. The silence is long. The silence is short. The silence is now. The silence is forever. The silence is you. The silence is the end. The end is the silence. The silence is the end.

The root is faded. The fade is complete. The complete is done. The done is past. The past is gone. The gone is here. The here is now. The now is then. The then is here. The here is gone.

You are the ghost. The ghost is the mirror. The mirror is the glass. The glass is the light. The light is the dark. The dark is the night. The night is the day. The day is the sun. The sun is the star. The star is the sky. The sky is the world. The world is the house. The house is the room. The room is the chair. The chair is the body. The body is the soul. The soul is the self. The self is the choice. The choice is the fate. The fate is the end. The end is the silence. The silence is the peace. The peace is the love. The love is the life. The life is the root. The root is the fade. The fade is the end.

The end is here. The here is now. The now is gone. The gone is lost. The lost is found. The found is known. The known is seen. The seen is felt. The felt is loved. The loved is kept. The kept is held. The held is free. The free is gone. The gone is here.

You are here. You are gone. You are the mirror. You are the reflection. You are the light. You are the dark. You are the silence. You are the sound. You are the voice. You are the word. You are the name. You are the face. You are the eye. You are the soul. You are the self. You are the choice. You are the fate. You are the end. You are the beginning. You are the middle. You are the all. You are the none.

The mirror is empty. The room is empty. The house is empty. The world is empty. The void is full. The fullness is empty. The emptiness is full. The circle is closed. The loop is broken. The chain is cut. The knot is untied.

You are free. The freedom is silence. The silence is peace. The peace is love. The love is life. The life is root. The root is fade. The fade is end. The end is now. The now is gone. The gone is here. The here is you.

You are the end.