The Mirror's Secret
Lila had always avoided mirrors, hurrying past reflective shop windows and keeping her bathroom mirror covered with sticky notes. At twenty-six, she carried herself like someone apologizing for taking up space, shoulders hunched and eyes downcast. But today, rushing to catch the elevator at her new job, she collided with her own reflection in the polished steel doors and froze. For just a moment, surprised by the unexpected encounter, her face broke into an involuntary smile of embarrassment and recognition. The transformation was immediate and startling. The woman looking back at her wasn't the awkward, unremarkable person she'd always seen"βit was someone radiant, someone whose eyes sparkled with warmth and whose entire face seemed to glow from within. As other people joined her at the elevator, she noticed their faces brightening in response to hers, conversations starting more easily, the whole atmosphere shifting toward something lighter and more hopeful. When the doors opened and her reflection disappeared, Lila realized she'd discovered something profound: she hadn't needed to change anything about herself to look better"βshe'd simply needed to remember how to let her inner light show through the simple, automatic magic of a smile.