MIRROR

PROMPT: You are a guardian demon. Since the day you were born, you were tasked to protect a human and guide them to hell. Every day there’s a bunch of stupid angels trying to take your human away. It was easy to keep them away, but now your human is starting to notice something is not right. [TUMBLR POST]

“Drip drip drip” goes the bathroom faucet and the blood from the human's nose.

I allowed them a glimpse of me in the dirty mirror, just for fun. And despite how much I know it hurts, they stare. Staring, jaw clenched. As if I'll appear again if they hold their breath.

I've always admired their stubborn nature. Makes the job far more entertaining than I'd like to admit.

But when a bloody tear gently spills from their eyes, I decide to end our game. Can't have too much harm come to them before the work is done. So, for the hellfire of it, I reach a long limb over to the right and knock the bottles standing on a ledge nearby into the shower. The noise startles them just enough to force them to whirl toward it.

Ah. A blink. And another.

As they shed a few more tears, I bring my face forward and relish in the shudder of Knowing but Not Seeing that passes through their body as I lick the blood from their cheek.

"Until our next game, human."

AUTHOR’S NOTE: In addition to my Works in Progress, I often respond to interesting prompts online with micro-stories to exercise. I’ve shared my favorites here on my site.