Since I write so much fiction, I figured I'd try out a new piece on all you Steemers out there. It's dark (like nearly all of my stuff) and long (like a great deal of my stuff). It's one of six stories that will be included in my third collection coming out late next year. You can find my other (fully) posted non-fiction story "Colfax Place" on Steemit here:

https://steemit.com/nonfiction/@bucho/colfax-place-a-piece-of-non-fiction-about-the-midwest

I figure if the first couple of installments of this one pique some interest, I'll keep posting up new sections daily. Per usual, all critiques welcome as long as they're constructive. I'll also keep a running list of links at the bottom of each entry so you can play catch up a little easier.

---

“Father Brenmawr Pays a Dowry”

Created 1896
Found in 1992

Materials Used:
Wood Frame, Plain, Rough (Unsmooth Edges as Well)

Type of Reflection:
Memory
Normal Planar Reflective Surface

What You See:

The mirror’s frame is rough, unsanded, with an army of tiny splinters jutting up and out from the edges. The mirror’s surface is cloudy, but only from streaking left from its last clumsy cleaning.

Another placard appears below the main one:

“This mirror (what call affectionately ‘The Dowry’) can be traced back through a highly religious family on the eastern coast of America, many of whom made their living building furniture. As the family grew in size, their offspring moved in more southern directions, all the while creating a family business that began in Boston and spread down into the deep Carolinas.

Inscribed on the back of the frame is the phrase ‘Fr. Brenmawr, Dowry,” the abbreviation most likely meaning ‘Father’ as shorthand for a member of the clergy.

What few notes Alain Silvanestri left behind are mostly ruined with mold, the pages having been tainted by moisture and time. There is a brief mention of this mirror in particular, but only in so much as Silvanestri and the mirror were both born in the same year. Beyond that, not much special relevance is placed upon this particular piece other than what Silvanestri would call its ‘affect,’ the word being intentionally misused, though perfectly understood in its gently mangled context.

After lengthy examination and numerous tests, we curators were able to discern Alain Silvanestri’s journal entries on the mirror later. Unlike the other mirrors in the collection, this one requires the viewer to spend significantly more time with their reflection before the mirror would offer up its affects, many of which were often unobservable until much later.

In some way, the mirror acts as a vast cache for the viewer’s memories, specifically those forgotten. The mirror will play these forgotten memories for the viewer and, once the memories are re-cemented within the viewer’s brain, they are never played through the mirror again. While each experience is obviously distinctly unique for each viewer, the lasting effects seemed to give a fullness to the lives of those who kept journals of their experience on our behalf.

Since following the history back directly to Father Brenmawr has been complicated and woefully incomplete, we assume that the mirror was a gift for a more forgetful member of his family or a member of his religious faithful. Though it is strange that a man of God would put any measure of faith into an artifact such as this.”

As you read the final word on the placard, the light above dimmed slowly, the dark of the room seeming to drink it all up greedily. To your right, on the wall leading to the hallway, the next mirror was revealed in soft glow, ready to be examined by your curious mind.

---

Next time in part 10: https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-10-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

---

Previous Sections:
Part 1 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-1-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 2 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-2-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 3 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-3-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 4 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-4-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 5 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-5-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 6 - https://steemit.com/writing/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-6-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 7 - https://steemit.com/writing/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-7-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form

Part 8 - https://steemit.com/writing/@bucho/the-museum-of-mirrors-and-the-mostly-dead-pt-8-a-surrealist-story-in-serialized-form