The light reflecting off the long shovel glass seemed to scatter diamonds through the air, landing in a collected spot on the floor below it. And as the light illuminated this one spot in the room, it seemed to shadow the girl who knelt before the pool of light.

She was dressed in nothing more than a tattered bathrobe. It used to be soft and gorgeous, the cloth once vibrant blue, now a faded grey. Her skin was ashen, carrying a red undertone. Cheeks gaunt, making her seem more like the Grim Reaper than the model beauty she had been in the past. Long strawberry blonde hair fell around her face, framing it in oily straggly strands. And her eyes, once filled with hope and passion were now hazel gateways to a personal funeral that marched around her shattered heart.

In her long fingers, she cradled a mask. There was no decoration; it was a plain white mask. Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the mask, hearing it talk to her silently. It’s voice lilting on the wind and filling every piece of her body with its words.

“I have no past…I have no future…there is only now and then it is gone…”

It repeated over and over again in her head. The girl could not speak but only stared. Soon the masked seemed to be the master, the girl lost control of her hands. They lifted slowly to her face, shaking but rising at a slow steady pace. She wanted to say something, to shout, but her pale rose red lips were closed, no sound emitting.

Finally, the mask was turned face down and the string was placed around her now ducked head. Soft fingers touched the cheeks of the mask, no longer her own tender skin, as she raised her head gingerly, as if it or the mask might fall off.

Looking up, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Only the mask was illuminated, the rest of her body shrouded in darkness. Looking at her, the mask, a sentence that seemed to be a part of her very core, ran through her head.

“I have no past…I have no future…there is only now and then it is gone…”

A single tear fell into the pool of light.