I can't watch the movie's Mirror of Erised scene without tears forming. The book affects me too, but not as severely. What it's like to have your heart's desire so close, but entirely out of your reach...

This fic has been niggling at the back of my mind for a while, but it finally came into focus after nurturing it with the "Into the Woods" soundtrack. The specific mirror in the story -- fairy tale, really -- is J.K. Rowling's, but the idea for the mirror, I think, is a common theme.

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Into the Depths of the Mirror
by Rb

Once (but not once upon a time, for this is real), there lived a boy, one of the apprentices to the local craftsman. He was a wizard (although he didn't know it, and a dreamer. And, of course, he was in love.

She was lovely, of course -- long flowing hair which shone in the starlight, sparkling eyes vivid with color, a beautiful, perfect smile. And he loved her beyond reason, desired her without limit.

He had many rivals for his love -- all of the town's men loved her, it seemed, especially because the girl herself had no inclination to pick any one of them as her beau. But this boy knew that his love for her was the purest and that he deserved her love more than any other person in the entire world. He decided that he would make her a gift, a gift of such quality and purity that she would love him and choose him.

But what to give her? He had no skill in word or song, nor was any sort of jewelry able to match her beauty. The rarest silks from India were well beyond his pocket-money. Nothing available could suit her, nothing in his grasp would show his love for her.

Unless. He hit upon the idea of carving something for her. After a few false starts, he decided to make her a mirror -- a full-length mirror, one which she could see herself in. He started right away, building the mirror in the back room of his master's store.

Except for the glass, which he couldn't make and had to buy, everything in the mirror was made by his own hand. He worked on it as if possessed -- and people started to fear he was, since he rarely left the workroom, barely ate at all, and slept only when he couldn't push his body any further.

The boy grew thin and pale, but worked on, the long weeks seeming as mere minutes because of his love for her. As with everything created with passion, part of himself became part of the mirror. He'd pushed his dreams and desires and the magic he didn't know he'd grown into the mirror. And the mirror absorbed all of this and became more.

One day, he woke up and saw an inscription on the mirror which he knew he hadn't planned, but were fitting beyond what any earthly words could be.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

When he looked into the mirror, he could see the girl with him.

He worked on.

---

The day the mirror was completed, he stared into it for a long time, captivated by what he found within. He set the mirror up carefully and then set out to find the girl.

He found her by the river as the sun was setting.

"I have something to show you," he said thickly (for he'd nearly forgotten how to speak in the time that he'd been working).

"Oh?" She laughed, and followed him.

He led her to the corner of the workroom where the mirror was set up.

"It's beautiful," she cooed. "Is it for me?"

"Look into it," he said, without expression (for he'd nearly forgotten how to smile in the time he'd been working), "and tell me what you see."

She stood in front of it. The boy watched her expression -- confused, and then ecstaic.

"It's wonderful!" she breathed. "It's simply amazing!" Her eyes glowed with happiness.

"What do you see?" he asked her.

She turned to him. "However did you make this? I see myself, but I'm in such beautiful clothing, of a quality I've never seen before! And I'm wearing beautiful jewelry -- emeralds and rubies and diamonds...oh, this is wonderful! It's just perfect! Thank you!"

For the first time, the boy looked at the object of his desires, noticing not only her beauty, but the hard set of her perfect mouth and the greedy cast to her lovely eyes.

"No."

"No?" She looked surprised.

"It's not...for you."

"But..."

"Leave."

Puzzled, hurt, and extremely upset, the girl left, silently vowing never to speak to him again.

The boy didn't hear her words. He sat down in front of the mirror and looked within.

Even though he'd seen the heart of the girl, even though he knew how foolish and petty she was, even though he knew she was undeserving -- he still saw her when he looked in the mirror.

Her image smiled at him, reached out to him, embraced him, loved him, just as he'd always desired.

---

The next morning, they found his body on the floor, one hand reaching out as if to touch what pleasures were seen within.

They called it demon possession, and mentioned how he'd been wasting away, and gave dark looks at the mirror, blaming it for their comrade's death. Strangely, none of them even attempted to harm the mirror in any way. Of course, none of them attempted to look into the mirror, either.

They found his body. But his soul -- his soul had already been absorbed into the depths of the mirror.