The boulevard of the dead and other stories

The Nine Lifes

It is a truth universally recognized that one of the most common desires of people is to travel. Some people simply want to see the world, while others do it because they don't need to stay in one place for long. Thanks to this, the questions "Why, When, When and Where?" seem to be linked to the subject, being almost a necessity to ask them.

Additionally, it is said that some professions involve traveling and engaging in conversations, such as aviation, acting or journalism. So, when I found myself in front of a piece of paper announcing that I had to choose a role, I decided that I would be a journalist. And, that same decision led me to the fact that I was now looking at myself in a hand mirror, inside a store that seemed to be a cabinet of curiosities.

At the start of the trip, it was decided that the team would choose a place in the north, to write an article about their culture. However, once we arrived, my camera lens noticed an old woman looking at me with interest from the window of her store. At first I didn't think much of it, since it was normal for some people to be in the focus of the photographs, but, after a while I decided that I should go in, since I thought it would be a good idea to strike up a conversation with her, to learn some additional facts. But, once I crossed the threshold, I realized that not everything was as "common" as I thought: In a matter of minutes I found myself inside a store full of shelves full of objects and artifacts, while the old lady in the photograph held up a hand mirror, forcing me to look at myself in it.

"It's the mirror of the nine lives," she commented, crossing her hands over her chest as her bracelets fell down her wrists, "Look at yourself in it!"

However, hearing that I was satisfied with what I had seen in the store and was about to leave, she hastened to add that the mirror had a legend behind it.

"Several centuries ago, when this place was ruled by kings, a family of sorcerers made this mirror for the prince, by way of thanks. And, although it looked like an ordinary mirror, the prince discovered its magical powers. The mirror could show him what he would look like if he had nine lives! It couldn't give him that many lives, but, it gave him the ability to see himself with every decision he made."

"I don't think I understand very well...But, you don't have to entertain me," I said, thanking her again, as I tried to leave.

"He could see where his decision would lead him. It could show him what the consequences would be," said the old lady, smiling when she saw that I had remained standing in the same place. "But, if you are not interested, you can leave. The exit is that way."

"So, you could say that I was showing glimpses of the future, isn't it?" Resigned, I began to write everything down in my notebook.

"Not exactly. The mirror shows you what could have been and wasn't: Were there rumors that their rivals would attack? The prince simply had to see himself in the glass, and his reflection would show him a part of what could happen," the old woman replied, smiling.

"But how did the mirror get here?"

"Some pirates attacked the castle, plundering all the vaults, taking the mirror with them. However, the mirror passed from hand to hand as society progressed, from pirates to great aristocrats and children who found it lying in an alley. It never had a specific owner," she replied, motioning for me to raise it back up to my face, "but it always allowed whoever held it to see what would have happened if they had taken one action instead of another."

"I suppose it will do the same for me."

"It's just flashes, reporter, just flashes. But, if you look for too long, you may question much more than your decisions," she warned, adjusting the veil she wore over her head.