The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate

“So this is it?” asked Joanne, a blonde and most serious computer science grad student at Stanford who took the Saturday off from studying – at her boyfriend’s request – to enjoy the carnival that was in town. Little did she know her boyfriend’s plan for after the carnival, which included making love to her one last time once they returned to her apartment, and then breaking up with her for an undergrad he’s been seeing on the side named Mary.

“Yes, ma’am!” replied the greasy-haired carny, with an even greasier smile, whose big eyes seemed to peer into people’s souls. “Step closer. Don’t be shy now.”

“What are you so worried about? It’s not supposed to work, right?” said William with an arrogant smile. The pretty boy William, with his shoulder-length dark wavey hair and a grin you’d love to smack off his satisfied face, was an art history grad student at Stanford who took the Saturday off from studying – and requested his girlfriend do the same – to enjoy the carnival that was in town, and to soften the blow when he followed through with his plan to break up with his girlfriend later that night. 

But it was not just the fun of the carnival that caught William’s interest or a day of enjoyment before he and Joanne had a parting of the ways. What most made him want to go to that carnival that day was The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate that was on display.

“She doesn’t believe in The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate?” said the carny, in utter disbelief. Tipping up his sweat-stained Stetson hat and opening his wide light blue eyes on Joanne, he continued, “Maybe you don’t want to be tempting the mirror then, my girl. You may not believe in her, but I promise… she believes in you.”

Joanne wanted to tell the carny that he was freaking her out much more than the mirror, but she was able to restrain herself. She looked over at William, hopelessly hoping he would do something, which was a practice in futility, so Joanne made herself a mental note to bring up William’s shortcoming at a later time; probably when he wanted some sex of some kind.

“I think I can handle your magical mirror of mysteries,” replied Joanne to the carny, leaning away from him. “I just need to step up to the thing and make a wish, right?”

The carny backed away from Joanne until he was close to the mirror, and he began to caress its thick oak frame that had carvings of naked people in it displaying a wide range of emotions. He said, with heavy breaths and in a way that seemed more for the mirror than for Joanne, “She is not a ‘thing.’ She is a mistress worthy of respect.” At the mirror’s side, the carny looked at Joanne and said, “You step up to her glass. As close as you can without touching. Don’t touch. Once you’re close, you whisper your request to The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate, and she’ll decide from there.”

Joanne gave William a “this is stupid” look, to which he returned to her a smug smile. Turning back to the mirror, Joanne stepped up close to face it. Staring at the reflection of her blue eyes in the mirror, she thought back to her car ride to the carnival with William in her old Toyota. During their time-killing conversation, he asked her, “So, Jojo, may I ask what you’re going to wish for?”

Throwing back at him a curious look, Joanne replied, “If I tell you, won’t that mean it won’t come true? Like birthday wishes?”

“From what I’ve read about this thing,” said William, lighting up a cigarette he pulled from his blazer. “It won’t be a problem.”

Waving away the smoke, Joanne thought about telling him to put the cigarette out, but then thought it wasn’t worth the breath if he hadn’t gotten the point by now, so instead she replied, “You don’t honestly think this thing is going to work, do you? I’m sure the Asians made up all the stories about it to keep the peasants in line.”

William glanced over at Joanne, and then shook his head, before taking a hit from his cigarette. “They’re not fucking Asians, Jo,” said William with an aggravated smile, trying to hold back frustration. “The Persians created that mirror. I mean Jesus Christ, the fucking thing was kept in Babylon – the Goddamn cradle of civilization. It’s like you don’t even give a shit.”

Putting his cigarette in his mouth, only to pull it right back out, William continued, “You’re the one always going on about how you feel left out when we’re out to dinner with friends and there’s a deep dive intellectual conversation going on. I mean, that’s why you went crazy on Mary Thursday night, right? All she was trying to do was help you to have some insightful input on the philosophy of Nietzsche vs that of Schopenhauer. Put in the effort and you’ll get more cultured, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Alright, geez,” said Joanne, rolling her eyes. “I don’t want to go over that night again. I already told your friends I was sorry.”

“I’m not saying the mirror is absolutely going to be magic,” said William, taking another hit off of his cigarette and blowing the smoke into Joanne’s face. “I’m just saying you should try and have more of an open mind, babe.”

“But it could backfire,” replied Joanne, emotionless.

‘What?”

“The mirror thing. It could backfire. You said it could grant your wish or it will do the opposite, depending on how it’s feeling or whatever. Why even take the risk?”

Shaking his head, William replied with a slight mirthless laugh, “Sometimes I really don’t get you. I really don’t.” He took another hit from his cigarette and continued, “First you don’t believe in it and now you’re too scared of it.” As William’s cigarette smoke began to dissipate, so did the memory itself, and Joanne still found herself staring into The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate, skeptic yet anxious.

“Go on, girl,” said the carny in a low voice; Joanne, without moving her head, could see the reflection of his figure as she stared into the mirror. “Make your request… She’s waiting.”

Joanne closed her eyes and whispered her wish into the mirror, causing the glass in front of her mouth to fog up with every word. After a moment, she stepped back and opened her eyes.

“Alright, who’s next? You, sir!” said the carny, enthusiastically pointing at William.

Feeling like she had just been shaken awake from a dream, Joanne looked at the carny and asked, “Is that it?”

“What more are you looking for, my girl?” replied the carny, pulling William towards the mirror.

William stood proud in front of the mirror, closed his eyes, and whispered his wish. Afterward, he joined Joanne, and putting his arm around her, he said, smugly, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Shrugging, Joanne replied, “How will we know if the wishes come true? Is there like a time limit?”

“I guess that depends on what the wish was,” said William. “Would you like to know mine?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Want to get a beer and a candy apple?”

“Yes, I would,” replied Joanne, and the two went off to get their treats. But when they were done with their candy apples, the beers kept coming, and before they knew it, night had swept away the day and it was time to leave the carnival.

“Are you sure you can drive us?” asked Joanne, as she hung on to William.

“Of course,” said William, with exaggerated hand gestures and a stumble to his step. “Trust me, babe. I’m not drunk. I’ve had more than this and driven just fine.” Despite his confidence, William did not drive just fine. While slithering his car down an empty road at an inappropriate speed, he accidentally went off and hit a tree.

Joanne was unconscious and banged up badly, while William – despite feeling pain all over his body – could still move. Working on pure instinct, he pulled his girlfriend into the driver’s seat of the car and called the police. The couple was rushed to the hospital, with William having some bruises, lacerations, and cracked ribs, and Joanne stuck in a vegetative state.

William, through pure guilt, visited Joanne’s bedside every day until he began to believe he was doing it out of pure care. The doctors kept telling him there was nothing to do but wait; words William never took well. He decided that they were all useless, and if Joanne was going to get the help she needed, he had to be the one to do it. William picked up the necessary credits at school, took the MCAT, and attended UCSF School of Medicine. Despite how busy he was, William never missed a day to visit Joanne in the hospital, and her silent bedside gave him plenty of time to study.

After many years of hard work, William became the top neurologist in the United States, though, he was never able to find a way to cure Joanne. His obsession with finding a cure for her led William to never start a family or travel, but through his work, he helped countless people with brain-related issues and won himself a Noble Prize, which he did not accept in person due to the fact that it would cause him to miss a day with Joanne. There was no doubt he would go down in history as a great man.

53 years after the night of the accident, while William was spending another evening at Joanne’s bedside, she woke up without any provocation. William was shocked and at a loss for words as tears began to roll down his wrinkled cheeks. After William gave her a sip of water, Joanne smiled up at him and said, weakly, “You never left me… All these years. You never left me. Take my hand. Please. I can’t lift it.” William gladly and gently took up Joanne’s hand and pressed it to his lips. There was no doubt she was truly cared for.

Joanne and William spent what seemed like an eternity together in that hospital room, enjoying each other’s presence and the silence, knowing that all those years ago – at The Mysterious and Most Ancient Mirror of Fate – their wishes had actually come true.