Okay, so hello. :P I know I've been out of business for a really long time, but I'm back and stuff. :) I'm just writing this little one-shot thing to get back in the swing of things. I don't wanna start writing my next TWH chapter without first calling out the inner author in me using this little story. :P So! Just bare with me, and I'll be hoping to have my next chapter up soon. :)

This is just a random little thing that I'll be writing as I go. You know...writing what I feel...feeling what I write. That kind of thing. :)

Disclaimer: … *sigh* :'(

~L~

Natalie looked into the shattered mirror before her. She saw a million different reflections of herself, but all of them were broken, destroyed. She thought back to happier times when she let the mirror control her out of pure ignorance. She had been too caught up in self image, too enthralled in what the people around her thought of her, too ignorant to realize that all she was was a glorified stepping stone for people to trod on, including her own mother. Her own father. Her own parents who were supposed to love her.

They didn't, though. They never would. They had given her all the material possessions that anyone could ask for, but it wasn't enough.

~L~

"Natalie! Are you crying?" her mother demanded. She was standing in the threshold of her daughter's bedroom with a disgusted look on her face.

The ten-year-old looked up at Isabel with glistening eyes. "I... I'm sorry, mother. It won't happen again."

The powerful woman strode to the side of Natalie's bed and smacked her across the face. "It had better not!"

The little girl waited until her mother was out of hearing range to start crying even harder.

~L~

"Mommy, it's my birthday," little Natalie informed her mother. She had thought that for sure Isabel was only pretending to forget the day of her birth. The woman looked down distastefully at the girl.

"Is it? What makes today any more special than another day?"

The little girl visibly deflated at this comment. "But I-"

"No but's! Now go back to studying for school. I will not stand to have a deficient child!"

Natalie restrained the horrible urge to cry and did as she was told. From then on, she hated her birthdays.

~L~

Natalie scrutinized the broken mirror even further. A deep feeling of condemnation overtook her as she realized that there was nothing wrong with the mirror. It was unbroken, unshattered, and shone with cleanliness. She was the broken one. She was one who was shattered, torn up, and falling to pieces. The mirror didn't rule her anymore...but it had broken her on the way to her freedom. It had done something to her that can't ever be undone. It had left her alone, scared, and falling to pieces.

~L~

So! I hope you guys enjoyed this angst. :) I'm rather fond of the symbolism and such. Oh, and if you have any problems with it, please keep in mind that it was only created so that I can get back in touch with my writing skills and that it was written in eleven minutes. :)

Pretend that I'm a chubby, pink hippopotamus/bear thing that eats reviews to stay alive. If I don't get enough, I'll starve because I can't live off of my already-attained fat content. In other words, PLEASE review, people!

~Sugar