Once a Little Mermaid

It began in high school with a brush of the shoulders, a mumbled sorry from her side and a laugh from Susan’s. Though they had kept walking in their own directions, Bernadette had glanced backward once. What she would always remember was the girls’ loose hair, not confined by a band or styled by society’s standards. No, they had been entirely themselves, and it had entranced her–still entranced her. From then, the desire to be like them took hold of her, became an obsession in itself.

Little Mirror

“You’re an ugly one, aren’t you?” her reflection mused aloud. Ari jerked back in shock and dropped the antique handheld mirror to the floor. Luckily, or perhaps, unfortunately, her floors were covered with thick plush carpets, and so the mirror did not shatter.