Parallel Lives

The Mirror That Smiled First

It began like any other morning. Aris Hale brushed his teeth in front of the fogged-up bathroom mirror, half-awake, half-alive. The city outside was still asleep—gray skies, dripping gutters, and the faint echo of traffic that hadn’t yet begun. But that morning, something changed.

When he looked up, his reflection didn’t move.

For a heartbeat, he thought he’d blinked wrong. But no—the reflection stood perfectly still, toothbrush lowered, eyes locked on him. Then, with a calmness that turned his blood to ice, the reflection smiled first.

Aris stumbled back, crashing against the sink. His pulse thundered. The mirror, however, stayed perfectly still—showing him smiling back, when he wasn’t.

Another Version of Himself

Days passed, and Aris convinced himself it was exhaustion. He blamed the late nights, the endless work hours, the heavy weight of failure pressing on his chest. But as he returned to that mirror every morning, the reflection began to change.

It wasn’t him anymore—not entirely.

The man in the mirror was cleaner, sharper, more confident. His eyes glowed with energy. His hair was perfectly styled, his jaw more defined. He wore a suit that Aris had never owned, standing in a bathroom that looked far grander than his small, crumbling apartment.

Aris blinked. The reflection didn’t. Then, it reached for a gold watch, smiled again, and walked out of view.

That’s when Aris realized the impossible truth: the mirror was showing him another life—a version of himself that had made all the right choices.

The Night Everything Split

Aris could trace it back to one night.

Three years ago, he had stood at a crossroads in the rain. One phone call came from his dream employer, offering an overseas job. Another came from Leena, the woman he loved, begging him not to leave.

He had chosen her. Love over ambition.

But the job he declined changed everything—it vanished, and so did his chance at success.

Now, as he stared at the mirror, he realized that on that very night, time had split in two. Somewhere out there, another Aris had chosen differently. And that Aris was living the life he could only dream of.

A Window Into the Better World

Every day after that, Aris became obsessed. He’d wake up early, just to watch his reflection live.

In his own world, his ceiling leaked; in the other, crystal lights shimmered.

He drank stale coffee; the other raised champagne to laughing friends.

He scrolled through rejection emails; the other signed contracts on a mahogany desk.

The mirror became his window into the life he never had—a cruel, shining reminder that happiness belonged to the other version of him.

But obsession has a cost.

Sleep faded. Meals went uneaten. The more he watched, the more the world around him felt unreal, like he was fading from existence while his reflection grew stronger.

Crossing Over

One stormy night, lightning flashed outside his window. The power flickered, and for a moment, the mirror glowed faintly—like water catching light.

Aris leaned closer, whispering, “Why do you get to live that life?”

The reflection tilted its head, the same way he did when mocking himself. Then, slowly, it reached out.

The surface of the mirror rippled like a pond.

Without thinking, Aris reached back—and fell through.

When he opened his eyes, the air smelled different. Brighter. His clothes were crisp, his body rested. He looked around. The penthouse was real. His name gleamed in gold letters on the office plaque. He was the successful Aris.

He had crossed over.

The Price of Perfection

For hours, Aris explored the new world with wonder. Everything was exactly as he’d dreamed—the fame, the wealth, the recognition. Until there came a knock on the door.

Leena stood there. But not his Leena. Her smile was gone. Her voice was cold.

“So, now you remember I exist?” she said.

In this world, she wasn’t his love—she was the one he left behind. He saw the pain in her eyes, the emptiness behind her words. His success had cost him her heart.

Suddenly, the champagne tasted bitter.

Back Through the Glass

Panicking, Aris rushed to the mirror. It still stood in the luxurious bathroom, shimmering faintly. On the other side, his old self appeared—tired, lonely, but alive in ways this new Aris was not.

“I made a mistake,” Aris whispered. “I want to go back.”

The reflection nodded softly. “And I wish I’d been brave enough to leave.”

Both reached toward the surface. It rippled again, light and shadow folding like paper.

When Aris opened his eyes, he was back in his small, gray apartment.

What the Mirror Left Behind

He stood before the mirror, trembling. But this time, the glass was still. His reflection moved when he did—nothing more, nothing less.

For the first time in months, Aris smiled.

Because the mirror had stopped showing him what he could have been.

It was finally time to live the life he still could be.

Moral

Sometimes, the life we envy is just a version of ourselves that forgot what truly matters.