The girl and the round mirror

Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in a dark and huge wood. She lived there alone and her only company was an old round mirror. She liked to think of it as her best friend. When she looked at the mirror she couldn’t see anything but small flashes of light and it never crossed her mind it was supposed to show an image, because it was like that since forever and she didn’t know any other mirrors. The little girl never really liked that place. Everything around there used to hurt her. The trunks of the trees were too rough for her to hug them. The roses had too many thorns for her to touch. The waterfall had too strong waters for the girl’s littleness. The sand was too hot during the day and too cold at night for her to stand it, therefore she could never take off her shoes, not even once in a while. Some nights the shadows which lived behind the trees didn’t let the little girl sleep. Some days she just sat and cried all day long. In these days, the mirror that was always in her hand or inside her dress’ pocket began to shine very strongly reflecting the sunlight in the girl’s face, as if it wanted to make her smile a little bit. When this used to happen, the girl remembered of the sun and looked toward the mountains, wondering what might exist beyond the wood. One night, the little girl was so scared, so sick and tired and in such pain that she considered letting the strong waters of the waterfall take her away. She took off her clothes and shoes, following the sound of the waterfall, while the ice-cold sand burned her feet. When she was about to jump, the mirror was lit with a light that was enough to illuminate the whole forest. She jumped back in fright and then she bent down, grabbing the mirror in her hand. When she looked at it, the girl could see her own face in the old mirror, and it said: “little girl, do not worry…” At first she got scared but then she was impressed with how beautiful that image was and with the way it came to life. “Do no harm to yourself because one day you are going to find a way out of this place. You’re going to be free, and when this day comes, you’re going to need no trees, no roses, and no waterfalls to make you happy. Nothing and no one to make you happy… no one but yourself.”