THE MAN WHO WALKED ALONE

Joan Stephens

Once again Vincent had been denied the pleasure of going on a trip Above. All the other young people were going to see the latest edition of "Cats." Father had tried to ease his heartache by suggesting that they spend the evening reading to each other. But it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. So he had decided to take one of his solitary trips to the nameless river to nurse his bitterness and sorrow.

After telling Father that he would be gone for a few days, he packed his carry-all and left. Now he was close to the river, and as he walked through a black, shiny tunnel, his lantern was reflected back at him. A thin sheet of water covered the glistening ebony surface of the curving tunnel wall creating a natural mirror. Intrigued, he stopped and gave a slight gasp as a mirror image of him gazed back at him. He shuddered. He had no mirrors in his chamber because he could not bear to look at himself. But here . . . he was mesmerized by the reflection. As he looked at himself, a thought came to him . . . from where he didn’t know, but what he saw in the black shiny mirror was a man who walked alone. He lowered his eyes unable to look anymore. All it did was remind him of how alone he was.

But the dark mirror called to him, and he reluctantly raised his eyes for a last look before he continued on his journey. He gasped anew as he saw the hazy image of a woman come up behind the man in the mirror and lovingly put her arms around his shoulders. Whoever she was, she gazed out at the unhappy youth from the mirror. How he knew this he didn’t know, but he knew in his heart that she looked at him and spoke, "Never alone, Vincent . . . never alone again."

It left him with a puzzle. A puzzle to solve that sent his bitterness and sorrow into oblivion; a puzzle that deepened on his way back to the home tunnels, for there was no watery mirror on the wall of the black tunnel. Strange things had always happened to him, and he wondered if what had happened in the ebony mirror had been a vision, a premonition, or only plain and simple wishful thinking. In future years he would recognize the voice and learn the true meaning of her words.

Fini