He walked uo to the edge and looked down. The sight was dizzying, so he sat down and looked out. It was impossible to tell where the sky ended and where the earth began. He put his legs over and rested his feet on the surface. He looked down at his reflection, but what he saw was not himself. He had the same blond hair and rusty blue eyes, but he looked different. His eyes were sunken and engulfed in dark pools, his cheek bones protruded at sharp angles, and his once strong hands were frail and broken. He was not the boy he once was.

He stood up on the reflective surface and let out all of the pain and pent up stress in the form of a howl. Not like a wolf, but like a defeated kid with nothing left.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" a young voice came from behind him. He turned slowly to face the speaker and was met by a woman, not a girl. Her hair was silver and her face was soft leather to match her outstretched hand. Despite her age she was very beautiful and kind looking. He stared at her outstretched hand a little confused.

"My name is Mavis, who are you?" she asked.

"Kai. I go by Kai." he responded. Mavis took his hand, despite his protest, and moved closer.

"No, my boy, who are you?" she emphasized the last part to make her message clear.

"I don't know," he trailed off, thinking hard about her question. It was true, he didn't know anymore.

He spent so much of his life concerned with pleasing everyone else, and not being a failure, that he lost most of  who he was. Sure he looked mostly like him, but now he had a weathered look about him. He hardly took interest in any of his favorite things, rarely slept, and found it difficult to eat most of the time. He spent most of his time alone and hiding from his father that he forgot how to be loved.

The woman smiled and he realized he had started to cry. He hadn't cried in years, and it felt weird to now. Mavis turned him around and walked him onto the salt flat. She gestured to the ground with her free hand, and when Kai looked down he saw the same sad face, but this time he recognized it as his. He saw all of the meals he had skipped, all the late hours spent cursing the people who left him so alone, all of the things he used to love. He even thought he saw himself smile.

"Now do you see, son?" Mavis asked. Kai only nodded, he was lost in reflection. Mavis led him back to where they stood before and motioned toward the flat again.

"These flats are a beautiful place to find yourself, but you must not be afraid to look." Her serious expression softened as she finished her sentence. Kai nodded again and thanked her for her help. She squeezed his hand and smiled one last time before turning to go. Kai lingered a few moments longer before following suit. He walked up his street and noticed the lights were on in his house. He walked in and found his father sitting on the couch watching the news. Kai walked cautiously through the room without saying anything, but that was as bad as if he had said something.

"What, now you're too good to say hello? Ya good for nothing piece of s***." the words hit Kai like daggers as he ran up to his room. His father was one of the only people that scared him. He was a big man who always smelled of cheap beer and unwashed clothes. He was unemployed, living off his wife's life insurance money  that had run down quite fast over the eight years since her death. Kai wasn't sure what his father was going to do after the money ran out, but he was sure that nothing had changed since he saw himself in the salt flat. He had hoped that by finding himself he could finally find happiness. He was wrong. He was still alone and sad, but now he also felt empty. He plopped down onto his bed to review his options and found himself wondering if his day was anything more than a dream.

He got off his bed and approached his own man-made mirror and didn't like what he saw. He didn't like the shell of a kid staring back. Impulse consumed him and before he knew it his fist was through the mirror right where his heart had been reflected.

The glass rained from the frame in a cacophony of chimes, loud enough to wake the dead. He saw the blood cover his hand only seconds before he heard the thunder of bare feet on the steps. Kai panicked, he knew he was in serious trouble this time. He ran for the window but his only chance of escape was jammed. His fate was sealed. He turned just as his father barreled through the door and evaluated the broken mirror.

"Ya fuckin' think it's funny to break my property, huh boy? his father growled. "Well I'll teach ya not to break my s***. You'll be lucky to break a fuckin' twig when I'm done wit ya!" Kai was quivering, as if the words themselves were poised to strike him.

His father grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He landed among the shards from his mirror and cried out as they were drove deep into his flesh. One lodged between some ribs and punctured his lung.

"Shut up and take it like a man, ya little b****!" his father shouted, taking him by the shoulders and shaking with all of his might. Kai felt a calm wash over him and his body went completely limp. There was a sharp snap but his father kept shaking. Kai felt nothing, his neck had snapped like a twig.

No more pain.

No more abuse.

No more hiding.

He was free.

Kai opened his eyes and saw the woman from the flats. She smiled and extended her hand again. Kai took it willingly and allowed her to lead him out of the darkness and toward the light. She asked if he was afraid and there was no hesitation before he delivered his answer.

"No, I don't have anything to be afraid of now." Mavis squeezed his hand and the light got brighter. The last thought to pass through his mind before he was gone was I'm coming home, mom.