Identity.

I stared. 

She stared back at me, ever so blankly. Dark hair cascaded softly down her translucent skin. Her eyes, large and unblinking, were strangely captivating. A perfect picture of composure and poise... yet she was expressionless, soulless and empty. I had known her since the day i was born, but as my eyes fixated on her it seemed as if i was beholding her for the first time. There was no familiarity, only uneasiness and inquietude. She was extrinsic.

Yet there was something exotic, a pulchritude i could not quite describe, that was peculiarly fascinating. An arcane, recondite aura about her, i was helplessly but entirely drawn. I could not look away. Her eyes locked on mine, and as i peered into them i thought i saw a fleeting glimpse of... was it urgency?

She wanted to show me something. Something pressing. 

I could see the conflict in her eyes. There was something she wanted to tell me, yet for a reason unbeknownst she could not. I wanted to touch her, to assuage and mollify, to let her know that she could confide in me. I would shield her esoteric secret."It's okay," i breathed, but my voice was a whisper, barely audible. She did not appear to have heard for her gaze intensified, her frail frame shaking vehemently as she fought the impalpable battle within. 

Without warning, an excruciating scream of sheer agony filled the still, silent air. 

A moment registered before i was cognizant of its source. Her eyes were now dark, her face thoroughly contorted, stripped of its former placidity in all entirety. In her eyes i now saw animosity and irascibility, resentment and bitterness. Yet fresh, moist tears streamed down her cheeks incessantly and i saw a beauty in this vulnerability. The fragility i witnessed was beautifully raw, naked emotion presented in its truest form. 

And yet i could not comprehend. What had she wanted to show me? Almost as soon as i posed the query, understanding dawned. An elucidation of raw honesty. She had revealed to me what no other human had ever divulged...a glimpse of her naked soul, bereft of pretense.

Her lips quivered as the moan died, and she bit her lip. A single drop of crimson trickled down.

The air was silent once again. I peered into her eyes, but they were now void of emotion, staring blankly back at me. She was still, placid... a ravishing, resplendent picture, just as before. Had i imagined it all? 

Disconcerted, i took a tentative step back. I was afraid. 

Afraid of my own reflection.