Shatter

A man walks into his bathroom and shoots himself right between the eyes using a real gun with real bullets. He walks out alive, with no blood anywhere. How?

It has spent its entire existence watching people move through their lives, while it remains, forever unchanging. It has seen a small boy, who needed to get on his tiptoes to glimpse its face, grow into a strong man who needs to stoop to look at it, just as his father had done before him. It has seen the bright smile of his newlywed wife beaming up at it.

It was also there to see the beautiful girl slowly stroke her curls and sprinkle clumps of hair down to the floor.

He looks at it with hate and despair now, he screams and cries. But there it remains steady and constant leaving its victim defeated in despair.

The last time it saw the girl it felt real heartbreak and saw the same reflected in her eyes. The next day the young boy it had seen grow into a man came to see it. He stared it right in the eyes, and despite the salt and pepper hair and dark circles, it saw that young boy once again. It held his gaze and stood there unmoving.

It watched him turn away from it.

His arm rose.

A click.

“I'm coming, Mia.”

A bang. Silence. It stood in shock for a moment. Then it felt a part of itself shatter. It was completely covered in blood. It wept.

And then it stood still.