Stepping through the mirror was the easy bit. Adjusting his mind to the reverse of what he had previously experienced was where the hard part began.

What challenged him most was his mind was pretty organized, it knew what it liked, and this was something which didn’t sit well with him.

The week before he had had his palms read and now when he looked at his palms everything was wrong. His mind was curious about the predictions from a week ago, would they be now reversed?

The reader had told him love was long gone, he would be alone and he’d travel, and illness could possibly befall him so he’d best stay clear of tropical locals as he had a susceptibility to tropical illnesses.

He looked around at the desolate landscape and wondered if the fork in the road ahead was a sign he should take the road less travelled as he’d tried the well-travelled one and look where that had led him.

The less travelled one was overgrown; the track slowly being eaten up by the spreading vegetation and appeared to be leading over the hill. Apt he thought as he was by now in life, “Over the hill” as they say.

Around him, as he trudged along the vegetation took on a sorry sight. The trees were read, their bare branches reaching out as if seeking anything that might sustain them. He came to a stream, interesting in that it appeared to be flowing upstream, but upstream to what he wondered.

Was that a sign, a clue he asked himself as he took the hint from the stream and headed off up the rise.

Over the rise there was a huge valley, it looked healthy, colours were vibrant, he could make out farming taking place in ordered paddocks, cattle grazed on a near field, and a man could be made out herding a small flock of sheep.

It looked all so normal.

As he drew closer it was anything but normal, in fact, it was nightmarish.

The sheep growled at him, the shepherd, chased him with his crook which appeared to have a sharp blade where the crook should have been and the road he found himself on grew harder to navigate.

Exhausted he sat down under a tree he didn’t recognize and was immediately flooded with the burning rays of the sun as the tree parted its canopy and allowed the sun to shine onto him.

Away to his left he saw the mirror, he knew he had to get there, the mirror was his salvation, he stumbled forward, his mind focused on one thing. Each step he thought drew him closer….or was it?

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/sunday-writing-prompt-harlequins-mirror/