The Man in the Mirror

Prompt: write a story, using dialogue only.


Is confession really "good for the soul"?


"OK, I confess. I killed him. But can I also confess that it was his fault? Don't blame ME! He made me do it. If he had just..."

...?

"Yes, damn it, yes! I loved her. But that didn't keep him away from her, did it? He was determined to get in my way. I just couldn't help myself, I had to kill him. He brought it on himself."

...?

"No, he wasn't her fiancé, I don't care what she says! Laura is mine, she just won't face reality. I've loved her forever, and she would never cheat on me. She knows she belongs to me."

...?

"HA! You think you've got me now, don't ya? You think I don't see what you're trying to do to me? Well, it's not gonna work, I can tell ya that right now. I see through ya, you're not gonna get to me that way."

...?

"The bloody knife was found behind the stairs? All right, all right! Stop it! Stop asking questions, I can't stand it any more! I admit it!..I killed Laura, too. I just couldn't help it."

...?

He turned and walked away from his accuser, picked the gun off his bed, and placed it gently in his mouth, just as he'd seen them do on TV. He tried to think of Laura on one of their good days, but all he could see was her crying eyes as she begged him not to kill her. He tried so hard not to look at the one who made him confess, wished for anything to stop his eyes from wandering back to that mirror.

But he just couldn't help it. And he couldn't keep from watching himself--his accuser in the mirror--as he pulled the trigger.

---
about 300 words.
A feature in the Action/Adventure Newsletter, June 2008.

Man in the Mirror: killer in turmoil.