At last I saw the problem very clearly,

There were a few details that only a mirror could reveal,

So I went to the lake and saw my reflection,

I didn’t like it, so I went to the mirror man,

And asked him to show me what he got.



Here, this is top quality, one hundred percent true reflections, he said,

I sell it to everyone, never got a complaint,

Women can’t stop admiring themselves in it,

Men have a conversation with it everyday,

It’ll keep you happy, sir.



That one must sell out fast, I said, but it’s not for me,

What I want is a mirror made by Nature herself,

Which like a parrot repeats to me what I say,

Which with its face and hands and legs mirrors my expressions and my gait,

But doesn’t look like me or knows what is on my mind.



Ah, he said, this is hard but not impossible, give me a moment please,

Saying so he went to a back room, it took him quite a while,

He returned with a shy young man in loinclothes,

His footsteps were soft and his hands moved slowly,

The pupils in his eyes stared into space and barely moved.



This is Amacata, one of a few orphan children I’ve raised in this very shop,

He is very bright, and very fond of people,

You must use him here in the Rare Reflections Chamber,

And not more than three hours, he gets tired,
And so I led Amacata by the hand into the Chamber and used him.



After we were done, I felt as exhausted as him,

I thanked the mirror man and went out, I was satisfied,

Then, my thoughts turned to Amacata,

A most exquisite human being raised in a mirror shop by a mirror man,

Like freshly churned butter that melts everyday and never loses its taste.