The Mirror

 

Assignment:

Write just one paragraph.  It is meant to be the first paragraph of a brand-new story of yours in which we are introduced to a character -- or a place -- 

Samuel Clark was invisible not in a physical sense of course or some exotic experiment with refraction or reflection, but in how he lived his life like a mouse that was not missed and easily forgotten. He existed in solitude in a sparse apartment devoid of elaborate furnishings, existing on a minimal diet of verbal interaction, barely on the fringes of civilized communication, emitting an occasional beam of illumination like a reluctant lighthouse when interaction was unavoidable. One of the few enjoyments he allowed himself was to frequent the old antique shops on lower Broadway where he never purchased anything. The antique dealers tolerated him in that at least he made their establishments look busy and he never caused any trouble grazing through drawers of knickknacks, buttons and trinkets and never stole anything.

“Good day Sir!” a new employee, unfamiliar with Samual Clark exploded in positivity, excited beyond measure at the possibility of making his first sale. An unavoidable response was required, and Mr. Clark responded predictably “Good day” forcing as much enthusiasm into his intonation as he could muster. The employee skulked away in defeat.

            One day while strolling along Broadway south of Union Square, he entered an antique dealership that had recently rearranged its inventory for greater appeal and accessibility. This rearrangement brought a full -length mirror into Samual’s view and he had to have it! The mirror sat on a wooden base with a bracket with a pivot in the middle of the frame by which the angle of the mirror could be adjusted. It was dazzling in its ordinariness but something about it made the little voice in Samual’s head say YOU MUST HAVE THIS! Samual was not known for impulsive buying and resisted the powerful desire, walking past the mirror. He coveted and craved the mirror wishing and wanting it, longing to possess the looking glass and he was drawn back to it like iron to a magnet. Like a shark picking up the scent of blood in the water the owner picked up on his interest and slowly and gingerly came in for the kill…

 

Jim