The Mirror
It was pouring outside. The sky, painted in a pitch-dark canvas streaked with jagged flashes of white lightning, cast a dramatic backdrop to the stillness that had settled inside. A woman sat quietly by her window, her face serene yet distant, eyes fixed on the storm unravelling beyond the glass. The rain cascaded heavily, its droplets blurring the view, creating a smoky, almost frosty illusion of the world outside. Yet amidst the chaos of wind and water, the sound of the rain brought an unexpected calmness, an unspoken dialogue between nature and the soul. It was as though, in that very moment, the world outside moved in frenzy while her inner world stood still, wrapped in an almost meditative peace. Her gaze shifted suddenly toward the ground below. Puddles had begun to overflow with murky water, creating swirling pools of brown. And then without warning a splash broke the quiet rhythm of the rain. Then came a sound louder and more profound than the rain: the unfiltered, joyous laugh...