Paranoid (Collection of Short Stories)

Within

As I gazed into the mirror, the eyes that met mine were full of life, bright green and catlike. My crimson hair trailed down my back and over my left shoulder, weaved loosely into knots and braids with various vibrantly coloured ribbons. Every pore had an aura of perfection, and it seemed I may have spent too much time with my makeup, though I had not touched it. I was beautiful in my silken robes of ivory, as they complimented my slim shape in what the Gods would have woen. Minerva smiled sadly upon me.

Beneath the flamboyancy of the robes stood Death. He was close to my heart and played havoc with my arteries like strings in a harpsichord. I may have been the beauty on the outside, but I was a raw beast within, clawing anxiously at the bars that entrapped me. As calloused as the leather on a lynx's hind, and diseased within. Cursed. I was to remain that way until I could find one to view me from a different perspective - someone who could venture further into the abyss than I.

I'll stare long and hard into that same mirror another day. I'll see a horrendous outcast glaring back and I'll wish it upon myself that I could be the living goddess I had once been. But it would not happen. Will alone would never change the twisting, writhing scars on my face, nor the cloudiness of my one good eye and the gaping absence of the other. Fate would turn my exterior into that of a monster; it would churn my features until none could be recognised, change my once elegant fingers into raging talons and my cadaver into the forsaken temple it should have been. It would melt me, even after I realised the errors and redeemed myself for my crimes,

It will not all be bad though. For sure, my heart would soften, my harsh tone would meld into a melodious repertoire and Death would relinquish his grasp. Yes, guilt would still exist within, but good deeds would overrule. And when they came, I would be ready. I would let them judge me - whether I should be condemned or exalted would be their choice. ,any a burden would be lifted, and the once innocent disaster would be free once more.