Beautiful Reflections (Reality Alteration) (Patreon)

Hey folks

Alas, Patreon did not like that last story, so I'll have to post up something else instead. Ah well, that's how the business goes. Hope you enjoy this replacement!

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“Like what you see?”

Sarah blinked, looking up. She’d been lost in her own little world for a second there, just staring blankly at the table full of knickknacks and clutter. Around her, the yard sale buzzed along, a small family studying the table to her left, and a couple browsing down the row to her right. It was a sunny afternoon, with a pleasant breeze, and most people wanted to be out in it.

“Oh, I was just looking…”

Though the brown-haired young woman wasn’t sure what she was looking for, honestly. She just… Hadn’t had much else to do today. This was as exciting as things got for her – her social life was non-existent, and it wasn’t like she had any family to visit. Her parents had been gone for nearly three years, neither had possessed any close relatives, and she’d been an only child. As far as her family went, it was just her.

And the closest thing she had to friends were people at work who smiled when she came in. She got along with people fine, but Sarah just didn’t seem to connect with anyone easily.

All in all, her situation was a little grim. Maybe that was why she’d been feeling more down than usual lately.

The woman across the stall seemed to sense her mood, smiling at her. “You look a little lost, dear.”

Sarah laughed politely. “Oh, just a bit tired from work. You know how it is.”

The woman – a blonde in a nice dress with an unmistakably sunny disposition – raised an eyebrow. “Is that so…”

It didn’t sound like she was buying it, but… Well, there wasn’t much Sarah could say to her. It was true she was feeling glum, but she couldn’t really say why that was. Sometimes you just weren’t feeling very bright, you know? Work hadn’t been going great, and it wasn’t like she had anyone to talk to…

“Tell you what.” The woman startled the brunette out of her growing malaise, reaching over the table and grabbing something that had been resting against its leg, covered by a sheet. “You seem like you need this more than me. How about a discount?”

“Oh, no, I don’t-”

The sheet fell away, and revealed a mirror with a beautiful golden frame. Sarah found herself staring into the clearest reflection she had ever seen, her own face framed against a beautiful sky. There was something about the image she found hard to look away from. The strangest feeling of warmth in her heart.

Despite her initial urge to refuse the ‘gift’, she still found herself handing over the money – five dollars, and taking the mirror into her arms. She’d expected it to be heavy, looking as valuable as it did, but instead it was incredibly light, easily carriable under one arm.

“You enjoy yourself,” the blonde said, petting her hand as she took the money. “I don’t need it anymore.”

Sarah blinked at her – but in the end, she just nodded. Who was she to argue? It was a nice mirror. It’d look pretty good on her makeup table.

-

The mirror did, indeed, look good on her makeup table. The brunette got a quick glance at it every time she entered her bedroom, and it quickly became a feature that brightened her day. There was just something beautiful about the way it reflected the light – a dazzling array of colours and shapes that just made her feel happier, no matter what kind of day she was having. It wasn’t long before she really was out of her depressed period, and honestly feeling more energetic than she had in years.

Though, she was noticing a few other changes too, strangely enough.

It started with her hair. It had always been a rather boring shade of brown, cut short to just above her neckline, a rather mousy style, all in all. It had never bothered her that it was like that, but it had also never wowed her. She’d just kind of gotten used to the idea that she was a very plain woman, and that nothing would ever change that.

So, it was kind of strange when she woke up one morning, and the first thing she saw in the mirror was a vibrant shift - her hair had gone from dull brown to a hearty and light chestnut. It was a stark change from the lifeless locks she remembered going to bed with. Not a bad change, but still a stark one.

Weirdly, though, no one else seemed to notice. No one at work made a single comment, no store clerk had any questions. Everyone acted as though her hair had always been this colour. It felt weird. Sure, it wasn’t a major shift, but it was still different enough to catch the eye, wasn’t it? Well, apparently not. She went to bed that night with no end of confused questions that she figured she’d never get any answers to.

The next day it was even lighter. And the day after that, you couldn’t even really call it brown. Her hair was so light that it looked like spun gold. Over half a week, she’d become a blonde, somehow.

It was a strange change, but one that she found that she didn’t mind as much as she had thought she would, especially as she stared at her new locks in the mirror. Especially the pink tips, which had set in just last night. Those were really cute! She… had absolutely no idea how they had gotten there, she knew she hadn’t dyed them, but they looked good enough in her dazzling reflection that she just couldn’t bring herself to care.

The next day, she found herself smiling at her blonde hair in the mirror as she sat down to do her makeup. Normally, this was just a quick chore, but today she ended up paying her looks a bit more attention, almost by accident. The light of the mirror just sparkled on her lips so invitingly, and just as she was thinking about doing something with them, a beam of light from the window hit the glass just right to shine directly on a tube of pink lipstick she’d never opened since the day she’d bought it. Sarah hesitated for a moment, but then the urge to see how it looked on her grew far too strong to deny.

And it looked good.

The day after, just as she was reapplying that lovely warm pink, her eyes alighted on the blush she’d been keeping next to it, again unused, but looking so lovely under the mirror’s glitter. She really did have to try that too.

And the day after that, well, obviously if she was going to spend this much time on her makeup, she might as well go the whole hog. Nail polish had always seemed like an annoyance to her in the past, but now she felt she could truly appreciate it. Her nails looked wonderful in the same shade as her lips, and her smile was bigger than ever as she watched them dry in the light of her mirror.

She actually didn’t notice when her eyes turned from brown to blue, figuring it to be nothing more than a trick of the dazzling shine of her reflection. The fact that her eyes changed in the picture of herself that she kept by her bed went unremarked on – she didn’t look at that picture very often anyway. It was the one she had of just herself and her parents before they passed on, and she was spending less and less time moping lately.

The, ah, growth spurt was a little harder to ignore, admittedly – especially the one in her chest, as she suddenly began outgrowing all of her bras. Her behind growing fatter was something she could understand, perhaps she hadn’t been exercising enough… but wasn’t she a little past the point where she should be getting a boost to her bust? She was solidly in her mid-twenties by this point!

No, she just had to accept that she had gained some very impressive curves, and where they were from was a mystery. But it didn’t seem like the kind of thing she should be complaining about. Having big boobs and a killer behind was a problem lots of women would like to have, right? Honestly, she’d suddenly gone from a forgettable mouse to a reserved stunner in a couple of weeks~

Yes, she was noticing a few changes. But there was something else she was noticing, too. Something less direct. It was more of a feeling, than anything. Just, every now and then, it felt like she could feel this strange presence nearby. Someone just out of sight, around the corner, in the next room, just out the door. Someone nearby.

It was a comforting feeling, one she was steadily growing used to, just like all of the other changes…

Right up to the moment when, just as she was putting on her nail polish for the day, said comforting presence draped itself over her shoulders and grinned at her in their joint reflection.

“Hey Sis! You’re getting really good with that makeup now! I oughta get you to help me do mine, too~”

Sarah stared. Looking back at her, still smiling bright, was a very familiar blonde woman – and not just familiar because she looked almost completely identical to Sarah herself. The same blonde hair, the same curvy body, the same face, even the same eye colour. She was a total doppelganger, a reflection made real.

But of course she was. What did she expect from her twin sister?

… Huh? Wait, what? Why had she just thought that? She was an only child. She’d never had a…

“Something wrong, sis?” The other blonde frowned, backing away a little at the confused expression on Sarah’s face. “You okay?”

What… Who… Who was this? Why did she feel like she knew her? Why did she seem so, so familiar? So warm? The glittering light of the mirror danced over both of them as they stared at one another…

A word popped into her head, and then shoved its way out onto her tongue. “Sophia?”

“Yeah.” The other blonde looked relieved as she was recognised, though she was obviously still concerned. “It’s me. Something wrong, Sarah?”

Of course. Sophia was her sister. Her twin sister. How could she have forgotten something like that? That was just bizarre. They’d always been together, since the day they were born… Hadn’t they?

Sarah glanced at the photo by her bedside. Yep, there they both were, one arm around each other’s shoulders, smiling at the camera, their parents behind them (Wait, since when had mom been a blonde? Hadn’t she been a brunette? N-no, maybe she was misremembering…) She remembered the day they took that picture. Their birthday, right? She remembered a lot of birthdays.

She remembered graduating, her sister at her side. She remembered their parents funeral, the two of them taking turns comforting one another through their grief. She remembered the two of them moving to this town for a fresh start, and going into business together running the local salon.

W-wait, Salon? Didn’t she work in an office…?

Oh, there was that warm feeling again, the light of the mirror dancing before her eyes…

She shook her head, trying to refocus, but whatever she’d been thinking about was gone. What had it been? Something about the beauty salon, right? Yeah, that had been an odd choice, but Sophia had been super confident, and Sarah had to admit it was a fun idea…

“Hey, are you zoning out again?” The older (by fifteen minutes, but still) twin moved in and put her palm against Sarah’s brow. “You’re not feeling feverish, right? I mean, it’s Wednesday, so if you wanted to come down sick, now would be the time, you can take the next two days to recover, but I prefer you happy and healthy, you know?”

“Um.” The younger twin (was she? This all felt so weird…) shook her head, smiling a little. “No, no, I’m fine. And, wait, we get Thursday and Friday off? That’s not right, is it…?”

“Of course it is, silly.” Sophia giggled, ruffling her sister’s hair. “Remember? We decided to move our work weekend so that we could keep the Salon open on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s when we get the most business done!”

Oh right. Duh, she remembered that.

… Didn’t she? Oh, wow, her head was starting to spin…

“Wow. Hey, careful…” Suddenly, her sister was right there, holding her up. “You really are out of it today, aren’t you?”

Sarah found herself laughing, despite the strangeness of this situation. “I guess. It’s weird, my memory’s really fuzzy for some reason…”

Well, that was one way of putting it. Her head was full of two sets of memories – one of herself, a quiet brunette, meekly making her way through life… And then another, equally valid set, where she was a lively blonde, with her sister always at her side. One of them was a much happier experience to recall, but which one was real? Everything felt so strange!

“You probably didn’t sleep right,” Sophia declared, nodding to herself. “C’mon, I know what’ll help. Let’s go visit the Salon. I know you love the place. Once you get a bit grounded, you’ll feel way better.”

… She couldn’t think of a reason to resist. The Salon was the result of both of their determinations and dreams, she really did love it…

… Didn’t she…?

-

The Simple Beauty Queens Salon. A clear glass window front, the name printed in flowing cursive over the top, white text on pink, with Sarah’s white silhouette next to it (Sophia had insisted on it being Sarah’s, though Sarah didn’t think it actually made a difference between the two of them). Within, you could clearly see a classic barber shop, a white counter stocked with makeup and beauty products, a wall-length mirror, and four chairs for customers to sit in.

It was…

It was perfect.

Sarah was almost surprised to see it. Something like this didn’t feel like it could exist in the world. It was far too perfect to be real. Wasn’t she an office worker? When would she have ever had time to… to…

… What was she thinking? When had she ever worked in an office? She was far too much of a free spirit for something like that. With a giggle, Sarah shook her head, banishing the thought, and some of the memories that contradicted this place as she followed her sister in through the front doors.

“We can skip this part,” Sophia was saying, leading her twin deeper into the store. “I mean, this is your half of the salon, so you already know it forwards and back.”

It was true. This was where Sarah handled hair, pedicures, manicures, plenty of beauty treatments. But they were heading towards the curtain at the far end of the store, the barrier into Sophia’s domain. They each handled half of the business, after all.

Stepping through took the pair from a world of counter, sinks, and comfortable seats, to a wonderland of clothing and makeup, a series of walk-in wardrobes filled to the brim with outfits of every kind. Yes, Sarah knew beauty treatments, but Sophia knew style. Fashion was practically her middle name, and she put all that knowledge to use as the second half of their business.

“I know just the thing to lift your spirits,” the older twin was saying, guiding her sister to stand in the middle of the room. “Here, put this on, then take everything else off~”

Sarah blinked, accepting what the other blonde gave her – a blindfold. She wanted her to…? Well, okay. If her sister was asking her, why not? She shrugged and pulled the black mask down over her eyes, hooking it snugly around the back of her head. Then, without even thinking to question the other half of her request, she started pulling off her shoes and undoing her pants.

“So, listen, sis, I want you to remember this.” She could hear Sophia moving around, stepping from wardrobe to wardrobe as she pulled off her leggings. In fact, she was so familiar with her twin that she didn’t even need her eyes to see what she was doing, practically dancing between the clothing racks and considering the pieces held within, occasionally reaching over to pluck some chosen garment out of the flood. “Now, I know you know this, because opening a place like this has been our dream since we were little kids…”

It was true, Sarah nodded as she pulled her shirt up over her head. It was something that she and her sister had fantasised about endlessly as they were growing up, captivated by images of beauty and style in magazines. The idea of getting to make people beautiful had always had this strange, glimmering appeal to both of them, something that the twins had happily bonded over. When times had gotten dark, when their parents had died, and all the two had left in the world was each other, it was that dream that they’d relied on to carry them through.

“We’re going to use this salon to help people,” Sophia declared, returning to Sarah’s side just as the younger sister finished stepping out of her clothes. “We’re going to let them become the beauties they are inside. Whatever they want, we’ll provide. Simple haircuts, new dyes they want to try, nail treatments, fashion advice – or hell, even full makeovers, with new clothes and makeup, the works!” She could hear the grin in her twin’s voice as she went on. “Though guys mostly just want the haircuts, or a nice outfit for a hot date, usually…”

Usually, but hey, if they ever wanted more, the Simple Beauty Queens would be there to help~!

“We’ll work together.” Sophia took Sarah’s arm and started guiding her into something she’d selected from the collection, a new item of clothing that slipped over her head easily. “You and me, just like always. You’ll be out front, handling the customers, helping them with their hair and nails, and then back here, I’ll be working on giving them a ‘Brand New You’. Ooh, here, lift your leg a moment…”

She did so, and felt herself being helped into another garment, switching legs a moment later. This one felt rather tight, especially around her generous behind, but she wasn’t about to question the style queen’s choices.

“We’re already well on our way. This salon is the talk of the town. People can’t get enough of the Simple Beauty Queen’s simple beauty~ We’re a hit with the young adult crowd, and even the older men are coming in all the time – though they’re probably just here for the view. And who could blame them?”

Suddenly, Sara found her blindfold torn away, lifted from her head without warning, letting the light back in. She was standing in front of a full-length mirror – the full-length mirror, the one she’d bought from the yard sale all that time ago. When had they brought it down here? … Didn’t matter.

Her twin was circling her arm around her shoulders, beaming with pride. And why shouldn’t she be? Sarah stared at the outfit she’d selected with a slack jaw, stunned. She’d never worn anything like this before.

The image that greeted her was of a blonde with pink highlights, wearing a pink crop top explicitly designed to show off as much of her cleavage as possible. God, it made her look even more stacked than she already was. And these shorts, they were tight enough to show off every curve of her ass. She knew she was curvy, they both were, but this made her look like something out of a magazine.

She was… She was… She was really cute! And super hot~ There was just no denying it any more.

“Well?” Sophia grinned at her side. “What do you think?”

What did she think? Ah…

Sarah felt that odd sensation in her head again, that flicker between two sets of memories, two different worlds. In one, here she stood, her beloved sister by her side, proud, confident, and happy. Sure, she looked a little easy (and maybe she was a little easy) but there was no ignoring her. She was a beacon of life and joy.

In the other, she stood alone. Gloomy. Lonely. Miserable. Just an ignorable shade of a woman, destined to fade away from everyone’s memories. The Sarah that she was supposed to be. The Sarah who would never be seen dead wearing something this revealing. She was normal, she was glum, she was… nothing.

No wonder she’d felt so unhappy.

For a moment, she could see both in the mirror, just beneath the glass. The worlds so close together, yet so far apart. Waiting in that moment for her to select what was real, and what was illusion.

It wasn’t even a choice. She knew exactly who she wanted to be.

“It’s perfect!” She cheered, leaning over to kiss her sister on the cheek. “Thanks, Sophie, this was exactly what I needed.”

“Told you so~” The elder twin hugged her back. “Trust me, I always know exactly what my little sister needs.”

“You really do.” Sarah gave her a brilliant smile, twirling and posing in front of the mirror, before blowing it a kiss. “I look amazing~”

“You always look amazing. I’m just bringing out the beauty inside, like we promised. And, oh! Idea.” Sophia snapped her fingers, and then darted away, rummaging around on one of the many tables at the side of the room. She returned a moment later with her prize. “Try these. I think they’ll bring the whole look together.”

The younger blonde looked down at her hands. There, nestled safely in her sister’s hands, was a wooden box. It was open, revealing a white peal coloured plush interior, and, resting comfortably in the middle of it, a pair of golden hoop earrings.

Just looking at them made Sarah feel funny. Another strange sensation in her head, this one a kind of bubbly, fizzy one. She could feel a part of herself fading, almost melting away, just by being close to these things.

Her eyes flicked back at the mirror, and only saw herself – her true self, blonde, perky, happy – now. The other her was a pale, faded image, barely there at all. Even her memories, the ones that had been bothering her so much, were starting to disappear – to fizz up into froth and drain out of her. The idea that she could ever have been anyone else was becoming more and more ridiculous by the second.

This was the final step, a part of her, a deep, core part of her soul, realised. If she didn’t back away now, there would be no going back. The old her would be gone forever.

So, with a smile, she took the two golden hoops, and clipped them neatly through her ears. And as she did so, she felt a gentle, pleasant pop happen between them. Suddenly, she felt completely unburdened – her insecurities, her loneliness, her fears and woes all vanishing away. A rush of relief swept through her… And then, a moment later, she couldn’t even remember why she was relieved at all. Everything was perfectly normal here, right? Just her and her best friend in the whole world, following their dreams.

She gave her sister another delighted kiss, before spinning away from her and handing over the blindfold. “Okay then, your turn! You got to do me, so I get to do you~”

Sophia giggled, sliding the mask on and getting to work pulling off her shirt. “Okay, okay – let’s see what you can do, sis!”

The younger twin grinned, already hurrying towards the wardrobes. Oh, she’d show Sophie what she could do. She’d show everyone what she could do~!

But there was one last thing to do, first.

As she passed it by, Sarah reached out and stroked her fingers along the golden edge of the mirror, giving it a grateful smile, though she wasn’t sure why. Somehow, she just knew that what she’d seen in its depths had changed her life for the better, and let her release the beauty within.

She couldn’t wait to share that beauty with the rest of the world.

Winking at her beautiful reflection, the blonde skipped away to resume her happy, perfect life – and she never looked back.