Herbert’s Enchanted Looking Glass
Once upon a time, in the quiet town of Riverdale, lived an eccentric inventor named Herbert. Herbert was a genius but his genius was misunderstood by the folks in the town, who considered him an oddball for the bizarre gadgets he would constantly create. The one thing that everyone agreed upon, though, was that Herbert was relentless in his pursuit of innovation. Among his countless creations, Herbert's favorite was a pair of beautifying spectacles that could enhance the beauty of anything one saw through them.
One day, Herbert stumbled upon a rusty old mirror, abandoned in a dusty corner of a antique store. There was something extraordinarily ordinary about it that Herbert found fascinating. He decided to take the mirror home.
Later that night, beneath the dim light of his workspace, Herbert's fascination became an obsession. He compulsively decided to enhance the mirror. His hands worked for hours on end, integrating his beautifying spectacles with the mirror. The process was tedious and arduous, but Herbert's dedication didn’t waver. Finally, by sunrise, the ordinary, boring mirror was converted into an enchanted looking glass. Herbert was ecstatic but also utterly exhausted. He took a power nap, unknown to the magic that he had just created.
When Herbert woke up, he saw his reflection in the enchanted looking glass and saw the most beautiful man ever. He was taken aback by the self-beauty he saw, which was until then unseen by his eyes. He looked around his messy workspace, junkyard-like home; through the enchanted looking glass, everything appeared beautiful. He was amazed at the transformation of the squalor into an opulent palace.
News of this magical mirror spread like wildfire in the town. Suddenly, everyone desired to look into Herbert’s mirror and see their enhanced beauty. The quiet town of Riverdale was buzzed like never before.
In the town lived Martha, a young and humble girl. Despite her ordinary looks, Martha was admired by everyone for her heart of gold. People believed that her inner beauty far outshined her apparent plainness. Given her kindheartedness, she was one of the last ones to hear about the enchanted looking glass.
When Martha stood before the looking glass, she saw not an immensely beautiful face but her usual reflection. Martha was confused. What she saw in the mirror was not what others had told her she would see. Her already low self-esteem dipped. Feeling despondent, she confronted Herbert. The inventor, equally puzzled, didn’t have any answer to Martha’s curious case.
Unable to find an explanation, Herbert stumbled upon an ancient book in his collection related to magic mirrors. According to the book, 'The only exception of the mirror's power was the pure of heart. Their inner beauty was so enchanting in its raw form that there existed no power that could further enhance it.'
Meanwhile, Martha, in her solitude, realized that beauty was ephemeral and that she wished nothing more than just being herself. The words of the ancient book opened the eyes of the townsfolk. They realized their obsession over visual enhancement had overshadowed their appreciation for real beauty and values.
Martha became a symbol of inner beauty and self-acceptance in the quiet town of Riverdale. Herbert’s magical mirror continued to amuse people but they started to admire the ordinary more. They understood that beauty is subjective and changeable, but the essence of a person, like Martha’s, was pure and timeless.
And so, the quiet town of Riverdale became a much happier place, resonating with the echoes of laughter and real happiness, where people valued the beauty of the heart over physical appearance.
Herbert, on the other hand, understood that while one can invent, discover and create, some things, like real beauty, already exist in their purest form. He ceased his frantic inventions and decided to live a peaceful life, appreciating what he had and who he was.