The Mask

A mask to hide a face? Or a face that needs a mask?

The world is filled with gorgeous girls. Each one has the perfect hair, perfect smile, and knows how to complete a perfect makeup look for every expensive outfit. I wish I was gorgeous enough to leave the room.The room is void of life yet something stops me from leaving. There are no mirrors here, just pictures of what I should look like. But I feel deep within me that the girls on the wall are nothing like me. They're too pretty. The last time I looked at myself I looked like a washed up goat on a good day. As I stare at the photos, one girl stands out. She is the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my life. Just her face alone makes me wish I could be her. Even just for a day. The thought of having her beauty is everything; she must have an amazing life!

The room seemed to have heard my desires; the walls shifted as the room began to quake. The photos of all the girls were gone. The only thing left in the room was a mask with a note placed on top of an encrypted message, "if you want the beauty, wear it".

Without a second thought, I placed the smooth white mask on my face. I wanted to be beautiful. Being stunning meant freedom; it would give me the perfect life I have always envisioned. Joy surged through me as the mask began to tighten.

It clamps down on my skull. Squeezing my throat as my last breath begins to leave my mouth. The sickening sound of blood squelching behind my eyes drums against my ears. I didn't think beauty was pain. I just wanted to smile without feeling ashamed of myself.

Thump.

My vision goes black and the world stops for a moment. A high-pitched ringing sound drums through my ears as I look at a mirror. I desperately wanted to live a life as someone beautiful but now I only get to watch them on the other side of the glass. I looked out the glass and saw her creating the very room I was trapped in. She was the one placing the photos. I am in the mirror, and I am her. But as she looks at her reflection she breaks it and I am shattered with it.