“Ring ring rinngggg!!!”

Another day of seeing the first rays of sunrise, a beautiful sign to a gloomy
schedule for the day. Getting out of bed was a pain as my soul clung to the comforts of
the mattress. Slowly, whilst dreading every step, I did my morning routine of prepping
myself for the day. After getting dressed, I walked up to my full-sized mirror to inspect
any flaws in my overall appearance. Once the inspection was done, I headed out to my
university.

Except that last line didn’t happen today. As I looked in the mirror, I noticed
something very peculiar. The colours of my reflection began to shift into muted hues.
The surroundings in the mirror started swirling, as my mind dived into it. Suddenly, I was
in a train with its engine warming up for its trip to the next station. Looking out of the
window on my side, I saw a barren land cradling a village with children running around. A
boy came up to the window, selling water in a mud cup. I took the cup of water in
exchange for a few cents. As I drank it, my vision began to flood with memories of a
distant past. A tear from my eye fell before the world in the mirror shifted again.

The moment the teardrop touched the ground, it was followed by a stream of
raindrops, hitting the tarred ground. Bright atmosphere from before was now shadowed
by the darkness of a depressed night. I stood in an alleyway, looking at a large trash bin.
Among the trash lay a red and blue suit, which was once worn as a symbol of courage to
help all those who needed it. Turning away, the suit now served as a burden to the role
that I once believed in. With a hunched back, I walked away from the bin and into the
streets, distancing myself from a lost hope.

Suddenly, lightning struck, and a flash of light blurred the surroundings
momentarily. Once my vision cleared, I noticed my environment is now dimly lit by old
ceiling lights. In a long black robe, I stood face to face with a muscular man. Behind me,
American soldiers watched with anticipation of an imminent battle. Meanwhile, I stared
into the man’s eyes, remembering the cruel things he had committed and by defeating
him, his reign of terror will come to an end. As the man crouched to a level and began
stretching his legs, I knew winning was mandatory and could only be done at this very
moment. A responsibility that no one else could take, a fact fuelling my strength as the
man lurched with his first punch.

With a single block from my arm, the world once again shifted to one built on
lies. I was now standing on a platform above a body of water. As I turned my back, I was
inches away from the wall that surrounded the fake world that I had lived from the
moment I was born. There was also a door, which led to the real world. A booming voice
from the painted sky warned me of the uncertainties and the consequences of stepping
through that door. Defiantly, I smiled, gave my last goodbyes, and walked through the
door, finally breaking away from the fabricated world.

As I stepped through the door, a crowd grew around me. Feeling the satisfaction
of completing a mission, I looked around and noticed someone very familiar. A loved
one from the distant past was speaking to a colleague as they entered a café. Before
she closed the café’s door behind her, she noticed me, and her eyes locked with mine. A
forbidden connection was revisited in memories in both our minds whilst remembering
the harsh decision made to protect both of our livelihoods. She gave a subtle smile and
was lost from view as she quickly caught up to her colleague. With a similar emotion, I
started to walk away, following the flow of the crowd as I waited for my next mission, a
responsibility I swore to hold for the future of the world.

A fog began to build up from all corners, covering my vision. Then, in a blink of an
eye, I found myself back in my room, staring at the still mirror. Without moving a muscle,
I recalled the vivid environments I was in. Those experiences weren’t just scenes from
films that I watched before, but echoes of the most significant parts of my journey
through life. It amazed me how films can form parallels to reality in the most
unexpected times. Without this mirror, the blandness of my current routine would have
rendered me soulless. But now, I remembered the exciting flavours of life, the pieces
that shaped me and the dreams I had made and forsaken, mixed with the determination
to make a difference. Slowly, a new purpose of life began to form like picture frames
accelerating into motion.

As the gears in my brain spun to this new sense of living, I glanced at the clock on
the wall.

I was an hour late to class.

And I didn’t care at all.

---

Author’s note:

The five different scenes depicted in this fictional piece came from actual films. For those who finished reading the story, there may be some of you who aren’t sure of the references made. Therefore, this note was made to answer those curious of the references. Paragraph 2 is a scene extracted from Swades (2004) with main actor, Shah Rukh Khan. Paragraph 3 is a scene extracted from Spider-Man 2 (2004) with main actor, Tobey Maguire. Paragraph 4 is a scene extracted from Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) with main actor, Donnie Yen. Paragraph 5 is a scene extracted from Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) with main actor, Tom Cruise.

Written by Austin Loo