Kojo stared at himself in the mirror, horrified at the image he saw. It had been a month since everything changed, and things were no longer bright and sunny. It all started when an archaeologist claimed to have found a scroll detailing the burial site of Jesus. The scroll revealed that the apostles had stolen Jesus’ body and that all of Christianity was a lie. DNA testing proved that the bones found were those of a first-century man with nail piercings, and the world went into a frenzy. Kojo had been a nurse at the hospital, a dedicated Christian who always tried to be pure. But his temptation was lust, and as the discovery was made public, more and more people turned to debauchery. Churches were burnt, crosses were destroyed, and Bibles were burned. Kojo’s friends convinced him that life was to be lived to the fullest, unconstrained by religion. “You only live once,” they said. Kojo thought that if God did not exist and everything was a lie, then he should be unconstrained from the life he had lived. He started living a lifestyle of casual sex. In a month, he had slept with 43 people, including men and women. His point was simple: if God didn’t exist, all things were permissible. His friend Johan tried to reason with him, telling him that all of this could be a test of faith, but Kojo responded with disdain, “Are you still with this faith bullcrap?” One morning, Kojo woke up feeling odd because he had had a dream. His mother gave him a beautiful mirror before her passing. She told him that, in life, a man has three mirrors: a physical mirror, the mirror of the mind, and the mirror of his character. The mirror of Character appears when a person decides to write, and it reflects the soul. The mirror of Character is also seen by the friends one pick. Kojo hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to answer Johan’s call or not. He knew that if he answered, he would have to confront the reality of his actions and the consequences that came with them. But before he could make a decision, the breaking news on the television caught his attention once again. The scroll that had caused so much chaos and turmoil had been discovered to be a forgery, and the entire story was a hoax. Kojo felt a wave of fear and horror wash over him. Could he be redeemed? He had followed a man’s story to the bone, and now his life was almost short. 43 men and women in a month. That was how deep his depravity was. That was how deep it ran. Unchained by religion, he found no reason no grounds to live consistently, and now a man raised with values had lived a month without those very values his mother instilled in him. Wild thoughts crossed his mind as he assessed his lifestyle and how much he changed. Could it be that God was the only reason he did not want to sin? But then, as he turned back to the mirror, his heart sank. The reflection staring back at him was not his own. It was the face of someone else entirely. Kojo screamed in horror, realizing too late that the mirror his mother had given him was not just a simple reflection of his physical self, but a reflection of his very soul. The screen of his phone lit up once again with Johan’s name flashing across it. But this time, Kojo knew he couldn’t answer. He had to face the consequences of his actions, no matter how terrifying they might be.
Kojo stared in the mirror, horrified, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see Johan calling. He realized then that he had been living a life he did not want, and that the mirror of his character had been tarnished by his actions.
