Mirror, Mirror (Part Three)

     'All I can see of you are your lapis eyes.'

     'Are you uncomfortable?'

     'Not at all. Your eyes are beautiful, rather like the Cheshire Cat.'

     'The Cheshire Cat's were green as I recall. Would you like me to smile so you can check my teeth?'

     'Do you make a habit of turning the slightest compliment into something rude?'

     'I don't get many visitors.'

     'I can understand that. I'm sure not many people are willing to sit with you in the shadows without being able to look at you.'

     'But you are? Willing to sit in the shadows with an old lady?

     'You voice doesn't sound old. Something metallic glints on either side of you. Are you in a wheelchair?'

     'I am. You detect more than you thought possible.'

     'The result of an accident?'

     'An accident of birth. You see, someone raped my mother.'

     'I'm sorry for your mother, but something good came as a result.'

     'Something good?'

     'Well, yes. You.'

     'My mother never missed a day to remind me I am the hideous result of a hideous crime committed by a hideous man. She delighted in using the word for me. She named me Heidi as some sort of sick joke.'

     'What a cruel way to treat an innocent child. Did she care for you otherwise?'

     'By way of a nanny, a governess followed by a ladies' maid. My mother's money allowed her to keep her distance.'

     'How do you keep yourself now? Do your friends visit and bring you groceries?

     'Friends? What sort of friends visit and allow newspapers to gather in the front yard? As for groceries, what little I need comes to me, as you did with my papers.'

     Heidi's implication she expected his service to continue caused the young man momentary discomfort. Unsure of what to sat next, he blurted out, 'Mateus.'

     'I beg your pardon?'

     'My name is Mateus Dyrbar.' 

     'Precious. Odd surname for a Swede.'

     'I suppose.' Mateus glanced around the room in an effort to discover some object to change the direction of the conversation. 'Your room is filled with a lot of things I wish I were able to view better. Why is the mirror over the fireplace mantle blacked out?'

     'Why gaze upon Hideous Heidi. Would you want to face your ugliness every day?'

     'I think I so.'

     Heidi laughed. 'You think so. You're handsome is why. I bet you stop by shop windows to check yourself out. You can't begin to comprehend the impact of deformity.'

     'Humans have feelings regardless of their appearance. I think I should leave. I've taken enough of your time.'

     'Will you come again tomorrow?'

     'You should call whoever throws your paper to ask him to make sure the paper hits the porch. He'll do that, you know.'

     'I see. Another life lesson taught me. Yes, I think you should go.'

     Mateus started to approach Heidi to take her hand, but she spun her wheelchair to face the wall, leaving him with nothing else but to let himself out. 

     He determined to take a different route to work in the future. Still, he was sad for Heidi and the life she lived. He sensed her watching him walk to the street, but he never looked back.

     Two weeks later, he walked his former route to his office without thinking and happened to pass Heidi's house. As expected the newspaper rolls tracked the days of his absence. He stopped to pick them up and chucked them like pebbles against the front door. 

     The door opened wide enough for the familiar hand to appear. This time, however, the hand wore no glove. The gnarled and twisted fingers grasped each roll like a talon with a twig and drew them inside one after the other. He shamed himself for his impatience. Perhaps tomorrow, he would deliver the paper to the door and ring the bell. The hand did not acknowledge him as usual before the door closed. 

     'Then again, the best thing may be to leave things alone.' 

     He would think about it some more.