The Mirror of Matsuyama

 

In a town bereft of time

On the edge of the sea

There lived a happy couple

Blessed with a little child

Some said the girl's laugh was the mountain's stream

Some said it was the echo of a million chimes

Though her visage was, they said, alike the moon, reigning in the night

The girl grew in fond cradles

And sweet memories and passing whims

And day by day, she grew to be

A reflection of what her mother had been.

And all was well.

Until that good fortune of hers

Was too much for the fates to bear

And they turned the tables, and took from her

The father she had learned to care.

The child had not seen her first spring,

When her father left for distant lands

The mother passed her brooding days

Retelling the tales of mighty clans

Time seemed to have found its way

 to the little girl's haven

She grew with the passing days, 

a simulacrum of perfection.

Yet, her father took some years

To come across the path of home

And the mother-daughter pined anew

For the days of separation were few

When the father was to return

From his glorious excursion

The mother dressed in the finest silk

Of a vibrant hue of royal blue

And made ready the little girl

For the moments of separation were few

At last, the emissary returned

And all was joy in the little house

The emissary brought with him

A tiny present for his darling spouse

In awe and amazement of the piece of metal she held askew,

She screamed with delight "On this surface I see you!"

He tilted the mirror towards her face,

And asked in an attempt to mock his wife 

"And tell me, dearest, what comes before your eyes"

The wife stared in bewilderment

Why, her husband had vanished!

There was a pretty lady in the mirror,

Who wore the same dress as mine!

The husband laughed with delight

He was pleased to know more than his wife.

For, you see, the family lived in the countryside

And his poor wife had never seen a mirror in her life!

The wife treasured the mirror,

Looking at it religiously

She had not seen herself before

And was mesmerized by her own simplicity

The little child was unaware of this wonderous present

 To keep it so, the mother hid it with her accoutrements

In case the girl grew to be vain of her beauty

Years passed.

But alas, so it happened

That the mother fell to a great disease

The little child, now a young woman

Spent all her hours at her feet

She nursed and cared and fed and cleaned

But time left nothing, but to glean

That the mother would not live for long

In her dying breath, she mustered a whisper

"My dear, I am leaving this world for good..

Do not fret, for it is a way of the world

Go, find me that present your father got me years ago

When I was as young and lively as you

And when I was adorned in a silk robe of the most perfect hue"

The girl went to do as her mother said

And took out a shining slab of the most sparkling metal

The plain back of which was encrusted with storks and flowers

"Look into the mirror every sunrise and sunset

You will see me, looking upon you from heaven"

With this, the mother bid the world goodbye

And the young woman had numerous rivers to cry

The father was bereft of his solitary flame

His loss was unutterable and unframed...

When the next day, he saw his daughter

Staring into the mirror at sunrise,

He was astonished at the girl's heartlessness

"Here I am, convulsed with grief for your dear mother 

who had nurtured you with little want of repayment..

Not a day has passed since she left for the skies..

And you stand here in your silliness,

Maligning the honour of our family.."

The girl explained

"Why, dear father, I am only doing what my dear mother  would have me do"

"Look, the mirror shows me her face every day."

The emissary broke into tears at his daughter's innocence..

He did not break the truth to her..

At sunset, the young girl sat on a windy porch

Looking at the mirror, alight with moonlight..

She whispered,

"Mother, I was today what you would have me be."

⚜