Once Upon a Time in a land not too far away, there lived a man who was 64 years old but looked 45 or 50. People were amazed how someone almost half way through their sixth decade could look so young.
In the adjoining land there lived a woman who had never seen her face so she had no idea what she looked like except for...
Except for the comments of others when she was growing up. Her family thought she was beautiful and told her so. But when she got into school other comments were made about how big her nose was and that her weight and height made her nose look even bigger. Unfortunately the story her family told her about herself was lost in the views from others. She thought she was ugly. She didn't have a good peer mirror.
The stage was set for them to meet. He went on a business trip to her hometown and stopped at the local cafe and there she was: a young adult working as a server. He noticed her looks and size and thought, "I wonder how she feels about herself based on how she looks. I bet it isn't very good." Of course he was right. She figured she must be the ugliest person alive.
She waited on him. She was a good server so he tipped well out of appreciation not out of pity. Since he had to be in town for the week he kept coming back to the same little cafe and asked for her to be his server. By the third day they were talking like old friends. She finally asked him how old he was and like most people she was surpised how young he looked for his age.
When business was slow they talked and talked. And ever so slowly, not that anyone could see, she began to change how she saw herself. In fact she got to a point of not caring about her looks. How did this happen? Simple. The man befriended her and accepted the woman who had lost her parent's mirror. She began to see herself through his eyes.
By the end of the week it was hard for both of them to say goodbye. She felt like she was losing a much older brother and he felt like she was a young adult with lots of underused potential. So they said their goodbyes.
Once upon a Time in a land not too far away there lived a woman who had never seen her face in a mirror. The only mirror she had had been her family and the man. She began to walk a little taller and straighter. She talked friendlier with customers. She even thought about going back to school for training as a nurse; something she secretly had wanted to do.
Once upon a Time in a land not too far away lived a man who looked younger than he was. After meeting the young woman he didn't age so much as look wiser to himself.
Once upon a Time in a land not too far away there were two people who looked at each other and exchanged mirrors.
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