The Ebony Mirror: A Story of Time
To anyone else, it would have merely seemed an elaborately framed, dust-ridden mirror, but for Maria, it was a gateway to a world beyond imagination. The gilded leaves at the corners with intricate carvings could narrate tales of civilizations long gone. But what was most striking was its ebony base that felt inexplicably warm to touch.
Maria, an archeologist, had found the Ebony Mirror while excavating a millennia-old site in the remote hills of Transylvania. Her fascination for artefacts was insatiable, but this piece was unusual. Unlike other finds, its condition appeared untouched by time; The surface of the mirror glittered with an unworldly sheen and the ebony base hewed as if chiseled yesterday.
One particular night, Maria drowsily leaned over the mirror, ponderously brushing her fingers along the lustrous surface and was startled as her reflection started to ripple and morph, unencumbered by the laws of physics. Her scientific mind urged to retreat from this uncanny occurrence but her curiosity was irrepressible. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hand against the surface of the mirror and it passed through like water, causing the mirror to hum, vibrating with unknown energy.
Without a thought, she stepped into the mirror. A whirl of colors engulfed her, and when she regathered her senses, she found herself in the same room but everything was vastly different. The rusted lanterns were now shining brightly, illuminating lively tapestries. The crumbling walls were solid with portraits of stern-looking ancestors. Her dull attic, it seemed, had transmuted into a grand room of the past.
Outside, where her modern city with skyscrapers used to be, she viewed a quaint town bustling with horse-drawn carts and peddlers. A wave of exhilaration and trepidation washed over her as she realized the implausible truth. The Ebony Mirror was a portal through time.
Over the next few days, Maria journeyed through the mirror into different timelines. She was there in the backdrop of the Renaissance, feasting her eyes on pieces of art before they graced history. She treaded on the ancient cobblestone streets of Rome, witnessing the colossal Colosseum in all its glory. Every journey, every era she visited, she would leave a small mark, almost as if to convince herself it wasn't a dream.
However, she learned the paradoxes of time the hard way. One day, back in her attic, she noticed faint footprints on the dusty floor. Footprints she remembered leaving in Victorian-era London through the mirror. Startled by the change, she went back to the mirror only to find her reflection staring back at her. No ripple, no time travel. The mirror had lost its power.
Devastated, Maria reached out for the mirror one last time. As she touched, she felt the familiar warmth. With a gentle push, she could see it ripple and restore its charm. Suddenly, it all made sense. The mirror hadn't lost its power; instead, it had taught her the importance of her own time, her present.
While the Ebony Mirror stayed with Maria, the journeys ceased. It no longer functioned as a time portal but as a remembrance of an extraordinary adventure. It served as a reminder that while the past is a treasure to cherish and the future an enigma to ponder, it is the present where life truly transpires. Maria treasured the Ebony Mirror not for its mystical qualities anymore, but for its lessons of time, which unravelled the beauty of the present moment to her.
Human life, Maria realized, was not about going back and trying to fix the past or trying to foresee the future. It was about embracing the present and living it to the fullest, just like how the Ebony Mirror, once a time portal, was now just a mirror that reflected the wonderful reality of existence.