The reflection of a desperate soul is a short story about a woman who was lost, but who found her true self. It is a story that reflects what is happening to most of the people in our society. Nowadays most people are trying to be someone else, trying to be what other people want them to be, forgetting to be themselves. People just exist but they don’t truly live, that’s why there is so much pain and sadness in people’s hearts. So here goes the story…

“The reflection of a desperate soul”

It was 5.45 pm on a Tuesday afternoon; it was another common day for a normal woman. She was counting the minutes to get out of the office, or the cell as she used to call it. Finally, she left her prison cell to get into the concrete jungle, and as it was rush hour, the madness was higher than usual. She took her bike as fast as she could and at full speed she headed home.

The concrete jungle was full of ghosts with empty souls, the view was horrific, but she knew a shortcut. She went back home through the secret paradise, which was a lake full of ducks, swans, birds, and other different species perfectly hidden in the middle of the city, or the concrete jungle as she used to call it. She usually stopped every day to admire the view for a couple of minutes before going back home, because somehow she always felt some kind of peace while doing it, as another normal day, she arrived at the lake, got off the bike, and went to admire the view, not knowing that her life was about to change forever.

She was watching the animals when suddenly she saw herself reflected in the lake – Who am I? Why am I here? She wondered – She saw her reflection, but couldn’t recognize herself anymore. She always followed the rules and always did everything she was supposed to do to please her family, friends, and the entire society. But she could see in her reflection her sad and empty eyes that seemed to scream for help, and she realized that she had never been herself, her inner emptiness reflected in her lifeless pale face and in her sad eyes confirmed it. She had forgotten what it was to be a little girl full of joy, dreams, and happiness, she had stopped playing with dolls and puppets, and what was worse, she had become one of them, and the ones who were playing were others.

It was at that moment when she realized how lost she was, she never had time to look into her eyes and reflect about her own miserable reflection. Her soul was empty and her heart seemed to have no pulse, she was a dead body, a ghost, a puppet, a programmed machine of society, she was everything, except herself. And she asked herself one more time – Who are you? Who have you become? – And then anger seized her. She was furious with herself, she was looking at her own reflection with disgust and repulsion, and in that moment of anger and confusion, while looking at her own pathetic reflection in the lake, she fell straight into the water, feelings of sadness and sorrow pierced her body. She stayed there floating on the water, feeling completely lost. She lay down on the lake watching the sky and said to herself – This is it, I’m lost, I have no way out, I’m a puppet of this society, I don’t even know who I am anymore, I’m just the broken pieces of something I used to be, I have no purpose, no life, I’m not myself, I’m nothing – And she let her body sink into the depths of the lake as she watched the sky.

Suddenly while she was drowning, she saw a beautiful bird with its open wings, flying in the blue sky, she could not help staring at it with a smile on her face, because that bird reminded her of something she had lost many years ago, and that thing was freedom, freedom to be and to do whatever she wanted, freedom to go wherever she wanted, freedom to fly, to travel, to dream. And then after a few seconds, she closed her eyes, and in the middle of that reflection and absolute relaxation, she forgot about the water going through her body, and because of this, she was about to give her last breath when she felt like someone was pushing her back to the surface when she got there, she opened her eyes, and she saw everything in a completely different way, everything had changed, or in fact, she has changed. And as fast as she could, she got out of the lake and screamed – Freedom! I am free! – She had finally broken the heavy chains that were sinking her. The contact with her own reflection and her inner strength inspired by a divine miracle had opened her eyes, and so she found freedom, she found herself. With all that happiness and joy that gave life to her soul, she ran like never before and went back to her home.

On the next day, she felt like she was born again, she realized that in order to be alive, she should be free to do the things she loves and be the person she always wanted to be. And she started living her life again, being her true self. She stopped being a puppet of society, and far from it, she began to be her true self. And now being herself, being free again, she went out to follow her dreams and lived her life with love, freedom, and passion.

Finding Yourself

I hope you liked the Reflection of a Desperate Soul, it is a story about losing and finding yourself, it’s a story about being free, free to be who you want to be and do whatever you want to do, freedom to go where we want, freedom to follow our heart and dreams. Freedom to choose our own path.

Sometimes in order to find yourself you must feel completely lost at first, because it is in those moments of absolute chaos, when you feel completely lost when you find yourself and with that you find freedom. Knowing who you are and be it, without worrying about what others may think of you means to be truly alive, because when you know who you are, you know why you are here, and discovering your life’s purpose is the key to living a happy and fulfilled life.

Let’s find ourselves, and recover our freedom!