Eyes to the Soul

He’d fooled everyone with his angelic face and innocent expression.  Who would suspect that such a perfect child could be anything but… perfect?  In his parent’s eyes, he could do no wrong.  But theirs weren’t the only eyes watching him.

A series of unspeakable acts would define his youth.  Acts for which he received neither blame nor punishment.  Standing before the ornate mirror in his family’s hallway he would smirk, reveling in his deception.  And with each smirk, a tiny crack would form on the glass.

His father’s tragic fall from a clifftop, whilst they hiked together, had assured him a place at university.  The proceeds from an Accidental Death policy covered his fees and spared him from what he perceived to be a demeaning job within the family’s fast-food restaurant.  Meanwhile another crack would be etched.

Sarah was beautiful and utterly irresistible.  But it was the plain and dull Katherine who held the key to his aspirations and a future within her prominent and influential family.  It would be Katherine on his arm the night of the graduation ball while Sarah sat at home, anxiously awaiting his arrival, until all hope was gone and only tears remained.  And with them… another crack.

It was during his gap year that he planned his mother’s demise.  His inheritance would provide the financial security he desperately craved and secure the acceptance of Katherine’s family and circle of friends.  Admiring himself in the mirror whilst basking in his ingenuity, another ugly smirk crossed his lips.

The sound was almost indiscernible at first before reaching a crescendo as crack after crack elongated, frenziedly gouging its wrath deep into the glass.  Each crack a testimony to his every despicable act.  Defiling every inch, until the glass could withstand no more.

His distraught mother, when questioned by the police, had no explanation for how a shard of glass had punctured the jugular vein in her son’s neck.

While in the hallway, the lifeless body of a young man reflected in an ornate mirror… a mirror with eyes to the soul, unsullied and completely devoid of cracks.