The Mirror - A second chance.

My contribution to the story that @wakeupkitty had been writing. Thank you so much for entrusting me with it, and I do hope that I was able to do justice to this story.

"I hope you're making enough for me.", said the voice.

The old man looked up, and saw his sister at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Anita! Anita, is it really you?", Jack asked as tears blurred his vision. He cried out of fright and sadness. His sister stood before him after so long! He never thought he would see her again.

"Yes Jack. It's me. I'm here to help you. To help you see the truth. Let's have tea first, then I'll take you somewhere with me."

Brother and sister had tea at the kitchen table. Jack kept staring at Anita. She looked young and beautiful. As if she hadn't aged a day.

"Anita, where have you.... what... what is going on? Am I dreaming?", he stammered.

"Brother, if this is a dream then at least in your dreams you've learned how to make good tea!", Anita laughed and continued, "no, you aren't dreaming. This is all very real."

Once they had finished their tea, Anita took her brother by the hand and led him to the mirror.

"Anita..... I don't want....", Jack protested.

"Shhh!! It's all right. Everything will make sense in a short while.", Anita replies as she took him closer to the mirror.

And closer. And closer still.

To Jack's amazement, they went right through the mirror. A bright glare blinded him momentarily, and when he opened his eyes, he was on the island!

On the beach that he had loved so much.

And that was when it all came rushing back to him. How the mirror had promised him success beyond imagination. How he had wanted to be rich and powerful at any cost. And how he had achieved all of that with the mirror's help, but had lost himself somewhere along the way.

"Do you remember, Brother?", Anita asked him.

"Yes. Yes I do!", a bewildered Jack replied.

"You chose the easy way to succeed. I told you it would lead only to misery but you didn't listen. So consumed you were by your lust for wealth and power. But I knew you would come to regret your choices. So I begged the mirror to let live outside of space and time. So that I may help my brother when he would need it the most.

"Anita! You.... you were stuck in limbo all these decades? Why? Just so you could help me? Sister, why did you sacrifice so much?"

Anita laughed and replied, "isn't it obvious, you silly boy? Because I love you. You're my best friend, Jack."

Jack was overcome with a wave of sadness, gratitude and shame.

Anita approached him and caressed his cheek lovingly.

"You have two choices, Jack", she said, "you can go back to the life you were living. The life where wealth and success were handed to you. Where you lost your soul and your loved ones. Or you and I can return to our youth together. We can build our lives from scratch. Not with the help of magic but with our wits and hard work. The choice is yours."

Jack though about this. Did he really want to give up all his wealth, his mansion, his riches? Did he really want to go back to the life of a poor, young nobody? But his youth. And the possibility of starting over. Everything, his entire life getting a do-over. A second chance.

The choice became obvious.

Jack smiled at Anita and nodded.

She smiled back, took his hand and they walked back into the mirror.

When they came out on the other end, they were back in the small apartment they had shared in their early twenties. Jack immediately felt a change take over his body. His back and joints no longer hurt. He felt strong and energetic.

He took a look at the small space, devoid of any luxury, and felt a moment of regret. But it faded away soon enough.

Even now, both he and his sister had advantages most people could only dream about.

He had the wealth of experience, of having made terrible mistake and learning from them. Anita had the treasure of wisdom accumulated over decades of observation and contemplation.

The mirror had kept it's promise after all. It gave them riches that could not be appraised. However, it did pose the threat of temptation.

Anita and Jack exchanged a look, and each knew exactly what the other was thinking. They retrieved a hammer from kitchen and smashed the mirror to bits. The pieces they took deep into the woods and after putting them in a hole in the ground, they set it ablaze.

The mirror had given them many gifts but that did not mean it was no longer dangerous. The next person to find it and make the same mistakes Jack did, may not have a guardian angel of a sister like Anita. One who would get him a second chance at life.

It was best for the mirror to never see the light of day again.

As the siblings walked back home together, they talked about all that they had to do the next day. They had classes to attend at the local college, part time jobs to do. And an entire future to build with the tools of experience that they had been gifted.