Reflections.(Kevin Hughes) Jason was nervous. His right eye had a tic that only showed up when he was really nervous. The last time he remembered not being able to control that tic was the night he asked Jessica to Marry him. It went away when she said: “Yes. Of course. It took you long enough to ask.” That memory was almost enough to wipe his current tic into the dust bin of forgotten fears…almost.

The Doctor came in the room smiling. She was professional, but kind. Jason figured if you ran the Mirror Clinic, you had no choice. After all, the Mirror reflected back how you really look inside your mind, heart and soul. As one of his buddies said: “Think of it as an MRI for your Emotions and Moods.” That was really both too narrow, and too broad a description. What it had in common with an MRI is that it built up layers, layers of your Life. Your experiences, your choices, the moments that shaped how you think, feel, care, and love. It exposed all the pain, showed all the joy, and stripped the onion of Life down to the core.

“Jason, I see from your chart that you were recommended for Mirror Therapy by your wife.”

“Yes. She says I am not my old self. She wants her kind gentle boring man back.”

Jason blushed - but he wanted to be honest with the Doctor. From everything he heard about the Mirror Clinic, the more honest you are - with the Staff (and yourself) - the better the results are.

The Doctor gave a knowing nod.

“I see. Soon so will you. And that isn’t a joke. We have learned over time here at the Mirror Clinic, that few of us see ourselves as others do. The fact that your wife considers you kind, gentle and boring, after thirty years…bodes well. It means your Reflection Errors will be recent. Those are relatively easy to correct. Often just being made aware of how they color your Reflection is enough to erase them. So, let’s go. Are you ready?”

Jason’s right eye tic made it look like he was trying to see under a strobe light.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

He was not.

Nobody is ready to see a reflection of who they really are. Or who they were and might be again.

Jason screamed.

The Doctor was ready. The Mirror shut down. The Anesthesia was administered. Two days later, Jason faced the Mirror again. This time, he gritted his teeth as the reflection built his Life up, layer by layer, from an innocent child that glowed like a rainbow, to the now muddy brooding brown angry murky reflection colored with mostly anger. It made Jason mad…at himself. Then embarrassed. A moment’s “Reflection” later…and the image cleared…mostly to gentle pastels of how his body looked when he was holding Jessica’s hand. Or when his daughter called to ask him for advice…and meant it.

Soon, his image looked like an ordinary man in his late fifties, in reasonable shape, with a wry smile on his face. The Reflection went off. The lights went on. The Doctor hugged him (something he returned with utmost gratefulness and humility). Jessica came in the room - and her hug would have comforted the world.

Jason laughed, pulling back just enough to look Jessica in the eyes: “Boring, eh?”

She squeezed him back, unabashedly. She liked boring gentle kind Jason. And now…he did too.

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