The Stranger in the Mirror
Chapter One
By CariCalifornia
I lay in the hospital bed, tears run down my now scarred face. I was wishing for my miserable existence to end when my twin brother, Bill, walked in.
"Tom." Bill whispered my name softly as he approached my bed by the window.
I turned away from the blinding light that was shining through the open window and looked at him. Identical, not anymore we weren't.
"The doctors said you can leave today." Bill said quietly.
I mumbled an okay and got out of the hospital bed, then walked into the adjoining bathroom. I started to walk past the little mirror on the wall but stopped to look at what I had become; how I had changed. My head was shaved now, blonde dreadlocks long gone. My once stunning face was replaced with one I didn't recognize. I looked at the stranger staring at me in the mirror, scars and cuts, still new, on his face and head. His eyes though, I knew them well. They once were very bright with hopes and dreams, but ever since the wreck, they've gone cold and turned grey. The hole under my lip was still there, where a silver lip ring used to reside; the doctors took it out when they tried to fix my face.
I showered quickly and dressed in the clothes Bill had brought from home. I looked back at the stranger in the mirror one more time, and then shut the bathroom door behind me. When I came out, Bill was sitting in one of the room's brown leather chairs; he noticed me and got up.
"Bill, can we go home now?" I asked.
"Of course Tom, let's leave." Bill replied.
We walked out of the hospital room, bags in hand, to the receptionist's desk toward the doors. Bill then signed my release forms while the woman seated behind the counter stared at me. I tried not to notice, but it was a very unabashed stare.
After he turned in the forms to the intrepid woman, we walked out the doors and into the parking lot. Bill had parked close to the entrance, so it didn't take long to find the car. We got into the Audi Bill got for our birthday and I threw my bags in the back; then we drove out into the city streets.
We drove for a while, in silence. The only noise was the sound of car horns and the tires on the pavement. After not recognizing where we were driving I asked,
"Where are we going Bill? Are you lost; this isn't how we get home."
He didn't reply, just smiled and kept his eyes on the road. Sometimes, my brother really annoys me.
When the car stopped, we were parked in front of a restaurant called "Das Deuschen."
Funny it meant "German Home" When that was where we were supposed to be going, home. I was annoyed and angry, and Bill probably was picking up on that seeing as how I was scowling. All he said though was,
"Come on Tomi Boy, let's celebrate!"
Not much to celebrate, I thought bitterly. I got out of the car despite my bitterness, and walked in the restaurant with Bill.
