The Unfinished Mirror

The central character is Raghav. After a stressful day at work, he comes home late. He has rented a separate room because he works far from his native place. He had already told his mother that he would be late, and she reminded him once again about his marriage and meeting a new girl. He is already fed up with that.

He is very tired and needs to wash his face. He turns on the tap and splashes water on his face. Suddenly, he hears a voice.

"Hey, you."

He starts looking everywhere. He even looks toward the kitchen to check if there is any noise. He thinks to himself, "Maybe I imagined it."

He goes back to the washbasin and starts washing his face again.

The voice speaks again.

"Hey, you... the guy with a mask."

He asks, "Is anyone there?"

He gets tense and starts sweating.

"Who are you? Are you a ghost or something?"

There is nothing—only the sound of water.

Plak... plak...

He closes the tap and asks again, "Who are you?"

The voice says, "Don't try to fool yourself. You can act and fool other people, but you can't fool me."

Raghav asks again.

The voice says, "If you don't know me, then you don't know yourself."

Raghav says, "Wait... what? Know myself? If you're so brave, then stand in front of me. Don't act like a coward, sitting somewhere and watching me."

The voice replies, "Okay, I'll tell you who I am. You see the person in the mirror? That is me—your inner voice."

Raghav is shocked.

Raghav says, "If you are my inner voice, tell me what you want."

The inner voice says, "Okay, Raghav. You are finally trying to listen to me. You may be an active guy in your office, a great engineer, a good colleague, a great son to your parents, and a very good brother. But deep inside, you are fooling yourself."

Raghav says, "I am fooling myself? What am I fooling myself about?"

The inner voice says, "Deep inside, you know that you are not Raghav. You are Riya, and you are fooling yourself and everyone around you."

Raghav takes a deep breath.

Raghav says, "Go on."

The inner voice says, "You know you are not a man. You are a woman. You don't like the shirts you wear—they feel like a burden. You like dresses, gowns, lipstick, and eyeshadow, and you want to grow your hair. Just look into the mirror... you can see yourself."

When Raghav looks into the mirror, he sees himself as a beautiful woman.

Raghav says, "The inner voice is right. I can see myself like that. No... that's not right. This is just a hallucination."

The inner voice says, "No, Raghav. That is not a hallucination. That is the real you—the real Riya."

Raghav shouts loudly.

The inner voice says, "I know you're frustrated. You try to hide your identity and act normal, but you feel that something is wrong with you, don't you?"

Raghav still refuses to accept the truth.

"No, that's a lie."

The inner voice says, "Let me tell you a secret that no one else knows—your little secret."

Raghav says, "That's not true. I don't have any secrets."

The inner voice says, "Don't be ashamed of yourself. Sometimes you wear women's clothes and put on makeup. That is your guilty pleasure. You even buy long-haired wigs, don't you?"

Raghav says, "I won't agree with that."

The inner voice says, "If you don't agree, then remember this. One day, you went outside wearing women's clothes to throw away your trash. You thought you were wearing your normal clothes. The neighboring aunty saw you and asked who you were. Then you realized your mistake and told her that you were Raghav's cousin. Don't you remember?"

Raghav replies shyly, "That... that was a mistake."

The inner voice says, "It wasn't a mistake. It was you. It's not Raghav—it's Riya."

The inner voice continues.

"Raghav, you try to act normal in front of others. You want to be like everyone else, but you can't accept the truth. Women never felt different to you, but men always did. You feel that, don't you?"

Raghav says, "But that's different. They are friends."

The inner voice says, "Just think about your childhood. You were surrounded by girls. You never felt different from them. Even now, your best friends are girls. You have never had a male best friend. Is that correct?"

Raghav says, "Yeah, that's true."

Now Raghav becomes a little calmer and slowly starts accepting the truth.

The inner voice says, "You used to wear your mother's clothes as a child. Your father even beat you for it. Don't you remember?"

Raghav says, "Yeah... that's true."

The inner voice continues, "While your male friends looked at girls, you looked at their clothes, hair, makeup, and lipstick. Others admired their beauty, but you admired their style."

The inner voice continues, "You even told yourself, 'That lipstick shade would suit me. One day, I'll try it.' Do you remember?"

Raghav says, "Yes... that's true."

The inner voice says, "People and relatives may talk, but if you don't reveal your true self, you'll live a life you don't like. You'll suffocate."

The inner voice continues, "Screw society. You don't have to be a puppet."

It pauses before continuing.

"If you reveal your identity, it will cause chaos. But if you don't stand up for yourself, no one else will. You will live a breathless life."

Raghav says, "That's true. I need to stand up for myself. I laugh in front of others, but inside I'm crying. You are 100% right."

The inner voice says, "I think you're finally getting it."

Raghav says, "What if they say this is all in my head? That I need psychiatric help?"

The inner voice says, "That is fear. You don't have the courage to reveal yourself."

Raghav says, "Not fear... just a little hesitation."

The tone of the inner voice suddenly changes.

"That is fear," it says sharply. "Stop lying to yourself."

Raghav looks up, confused.

"I told you everything clearly," the inner voice continues, now angry. "And you're still doubting yourself?"

Raghav remains silent.

"Grow some spine, Raghav!" the voice snaps. "For once in your life, stand up for yourself. Or go back... go back to pretending, to suffocating, to living a life that is not yours."

Raghav clenches his fists.

The inner voice softens slightly.

"You already know who you are. The only question is... do you have the courage to accept it?"

Raghav says, "Okay... I understand. I need to stand up for myself. Whatever they say, this is who I am. I am not anyone else."

The inner voice says, "Now you're getting it. Now you feel like a person with a purpose."

Raghav says, "We will succeed."

The inner voice says, "We will succeed, Riya."

After hearing this, Raghav smiles shyly, looks into the mirror, and says,

"My dear, beautiful Riya... you are finally coming to life. I am going to reveal myself and my identity. Whatever happens, I will stand up for myself."