Fragments of a Crooked Mirror

by Vince Tamas Pongor

A man rose to power by planting blind hatred in the heart of mankind, toward a minority that never caused them harm.  Using fear, anger and hatred through the use of the pulpit a bill was created to make them illegal.  It didn’t matter to him or his associates who was insulted, hurt or murdered.  He was focused on one thing and one thing only, his own greed and corruption.

This story of fiction is based on reality.  This story began in 2008 and it is not over yet!

Fragments of a Crooked Mirror promo vidoe:

 

Readers Reviews:

This is the 21st century. Full of change, the age of technology, possible life on Mars. We can get used to many new things, we cannot live without our phones, cannot imagine life without TV sets and laptops…but we cannot accept homosexuality. The love of the same sex. Why is this so strange to us? Why people think this is something that should be punished…even with a death penalty!!!

This book is a fantastic thriller. I liked the title itself. The Crooked Mirror depicts something that can be seen differently, it can give us a different picture of us, or even about our thoughts.  While reading it I had the feeling that the whole book takes me into a deeper and sometimes untouchable level.

I liked the frame where the fragments are poured. Everything is so inconceivable but it is so direct. I liked the religious side of this book. It rags serious subjects. The relationship between religion and homosexuality can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality.

 "Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." -Romans 1:27  After reading this quote it was strange to me that in the name of Christianity people did what they did in that fictitious world.

-        G Tarcali

Sample Chapter:

PART I

 

THE CONCERT. The tuning of instruments emerged from somewhere beneath the stage while the sound of chattering and laughter filled the golden hall. The Baroque chandelier lighted the room making the finely decorated reliefs running across the balcony sparkle. The red carpet muffled the steps of the last guests hurrying to take their seats.

The concert was about to begin any minute now. The renowned conductor and composer had finally returned with his brand new masterpiece, and everyone felt a curiosity specked with anxiousness. The chamber was filled with spectators dressed in white, all beautiful, all unearthly, and only a few seats were left empty.

An opening door disrupted all conversation, and silence fell upon everyone. The conductor stepped out from the darkness onto the stage as the crowd unanimously applauded. He walked to the podium, and the crowd stood up and began to cheer. The master faced the audience and bowed. Flowers flew high into the air and fell to his feet.

He turned toward the orchestra, and the cheering stopped. The conductor examined the sheet lying on the stand and grinned. The notes on the paper faintly sparkled like distant stars in hidden galaxies. They say if you look close enough, you can discover life on the planets that circulate these celestial bodies. At least this is what they say.

The lights dimmed, the conductor raised his baton, just like a wand, and the concert, just like magic, rose towards infinity.

 

THE ACTIVIST. I shook as I was accompanied to the center of the courtyard covered with sand so red. I looked at my friends who were ready to take the final step. We have suffered enough and decided not to put up with it any longer. Was it the right choice? I cannot tell.

We have been harassed, humiliated, and treated as second-class citizens. We had to put an end to it, so we decided to fight it. Not only for our own good, but also for the benefit of all future generations who, just like us, were created this way.

I was led to my friends already standing in place. The hundreds of reporters and cameras pointed at us like guns. As the cameras were switched on, their ruby-red lights began to shine. I faced the ground and took a deep breath.

The memory of the day when it all began remains so vivid in my mind. I could hear myself as that crucial sentence left my mouth and hung in the air in front of all the incredulous eyes.

“Please, stop persecuting us and let us live in peace. God created us this way. We are His children too, just like anybody else.”

This was the first domino that fell, and the rest followed. After that, there was no turning back, and to tell the truth, not once had I wanted to, not even now.

I returned to the present and gazed at the guns not really realizing that they were pointing at us. Everything seemed so afar, like a dream or a tale told in the darkest nights. The men standing on the balcony looked down on us as if we were scum. I wanted them to see my eyes when I die, I wanted them to remember the look on my face when they go to sleep and close their eyes. I wanted my face to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

BANG. Weightlessly, I rose into the sky.

 

THE LOST PARCHMENT. The first woman was standing at the window letting time pass. The second woman was sitting in front of the fire and waiting for the soup to boil. It was the middle of summer and both of them were soaking in sweat. The dirt stuck thickly to their skin and made them look like sand golems rather than humans. The sun was setting, and the last rays lit the face of the first woman staring out the window as the flames illuminated the face of the second woman glaring into the burning fire. Two faces kindling in perfect silence.

They lived in a shack in the middle of the desert, surrounded by the perpetually fluent sand. Their home was empty apart from the fire burning in the center of the room and a bed in the corner. A thin layer of sand covered the ground creating a carpet that grated their soles as they walked upon it. There was not a single neighbor, but they were not scared because the palm trees growing outside proved that life persistently triumphs over the sea of death.

In the distance, the first woman noticed a cloud of sand approaching. It flew towards the home faster and faster, and it was too late to close the windows. The whirling specks of sand blew right through the house and all matter.

The first woman was scared that the particles of sand would cut her into millions of tiny pieces and grabbed the windowsill firmly. The second woman placed the lid onto the pot and jumped to the bed, grabbing its legs ever so tightly.

Their sight was blurry, and only contours could be distinguished. In the distance, a blinding light growing brighter and brighter appeared as if their planet were being sucked toward the sun. The door burst open, and the silhouette of a figure appeared.

The roaring stopped, and everything slowed down. The couple was able to distinguish the particles of sand flying by. The silence was greater than any human silence, and the tranquility around them was the same tranquility of death. Piercing through the muted world the figure spoke with the voice of the angels that could only be compared to a full-blown orchestra.

“♫ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♫,” said the angel.

The music stopped, and the figure disinte­grated into sand in an  instant and left with the wind. The storm ceased, and everything went back to normal again. They both rubbed their eyes in disbelief. The first woman stepped to the window while the second woman took the lid off the pot and waited for the soup to boil.

The first bubbles emerged from the bottom of the pot indicating that the soup was ready. She put the pot on the floor, gave a spoon to the first woman, and took one for herself. They sat in front of each other and ate without a word.

After dinner, they stood up. The second woman left the house and went to the well to fill the bucket with water to wash the dishes while the first woman followed her every step from the window. They hummed the melody they heard from the angel. The notes left their mouths, emerged to the sky, and reached the clouds that blocked the moon causing them to part.

The second woman turned her head toward the sky and continued to hum. The moon radiantly shone down on her, shooting its fertile rays through her abdomen, straight into her womb. She stood up, left the dishes lying in the sand, and returned to the house.

When their eyes met, they smiled at each other for they both knew what had happened. The first woman drew closer to her and hugged her stronger than ever. They kissed each other and made love for the first time in weeks because they both knew she was pregnant.

 

THE COUNCILMAN. I reached for the remote control to switch the television off. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I felt myself being sucked into my own thoughts.

What has become of this planet? Who allowed this man to stand up and speak in front of the cameras as if he were innocent and completely normal? It must be the liberal media.

God has not created them this way, this is a choice, and many have changed. What will come next? Will thieves say that they cannot be punished because they were created this way? Every person right from infancy has committed petty thieving of candies, food, pencils, or money. If it is not for tough laws to punish thieves, virtually all of us could continue stealing, saying that we were born this way therefore it is not punishable. Surprisingly not a single human right movement fights for the right to steal freely.

These sinners must be stopped before it is too late. I won’t let them achieve equal rights. Not on my planet. I took a paper and a pen in my hands and jotted down the rudimentary ideas to a bill that would defend my planet from these maggots infecting its surface. My heart was restless, so I decided to continue my work in the office.

 

THE STUDENT. I watched my father switch the holographic television off and take a pen and paper in his hands. He didn’t notice me standing behind him, and I didn’t want him to, so I hurried up the stairs back to my room, locking the door without making the faintest sound. I jumped onto the bed and sighed.

I thought of the activist who was brave enough to tell the world who he is, even if many consider it a mortal sin. What a burden must have fallen off his shoulders. I envied him, but I didn’t dare to follow him, being terrified by the reaction of my father. What would I do if he kicked me out? What then?

I chased these troubling thoughts away. They are my parents, they will understand, and when I do come out, they’ll realize that their views were wrong. We are not sick, and we are no different than the majority.

That day will come eventually, but not now, not today, I can’t take the risk.

I stepped to the window and saw the many trees lining the road. The sprinklers were squirting water high into the sky, watering the yard. A rainbow appeared over the green lawn and warmed my heart.

 

THE MAN. The sun was shining high in the sky when I switched the radio off and looked at my girlfriend. I was standing by the  window and looked at the crowded room that was our home.

She was sitting by the side of our bed. I stepped to the bucket in the kitchen and immersed my cup into the translucent water. As I drank the soothing, cool liquid, I noticed the grease stains on the battered floorboards. I leaned against the table standing in the middle of the room.

I looked at her not really knowing what to do or say. Her long black hair rose into the sky and made her look like a microphone. The rays of light shone through it, creating a halo around her head. I pushed the chairs in so that I could pass and sat by her to caress her coal-black skin. Her eyes that always radiated with doubt and uncertainty were drenched in tears now. A drop rolled down her right cheek and disappeared in the corner of her frowning lips.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Just lay low and avoid stirring up any attention,” she said.

“I feel as if we are deserting them, we can’t do this,” I said walking back to the window. I pulled the curtains away and peered outside.

“Is living a life in fear worth living?” she asked from behind.

“Well, maybe not,” I said turning towards her. She looked away, so I stepped back to her and hugged her as hard as possible.

 

THE WOMAN. I felt his strong arms hugging me, waking a strong sensation of safety in me. I looked into his hazel eyes so much lighter than his ebony skin tone. His shaved head reflected the rays of light. His full lips smiled, and I could see his glowing white teeth. I still couldn’t believe that I found a man so handsome and perfect in every way with eyes that could calm me no matter how upset I am.

“We must do something, we have to be brave.”

I heard his docile voice, but I shook my head and answered, “I cannot, simply cannot. I’m scared.”

“I’m not saying that we should tell everyone. Let’s start with one person and see how it goes.”

I stood up and hurried to the kitchen in the other side of the room in fear.

“I won’t. We cannot risk losing our jobs. What would we do then?”

“We can’t always be so selfish,” I heard his voice from behind as I drank some water from the bucket.

“No, I won’t, I’m sorry,” I said.

“Well, I’m going over to my boss this instant.”

“But, tomorrow will be your first day…”

“You know what they say; a new start brings new opportunities. I put my fate in God’s hand.”

I couldn’t listen to him any longer, so I stepped outside closing the door behind me. How can he speak of God when He is the one who created us this way?

Soon he appeared behind me. He patted my back and left. I  watched him turn onto the main road. The cracks in the asphalt  concrete only emphasized the battered surrounding of the slums.

I won’t tell anyone, but what if someone finds out we are living together? Neither choice is better because both ways I would live in fear.

 

THE BOSS. I watched my employee leave across the empty yard. Nothing survived in these arid grounds, and everything was covered by sand. I stepped back into my cramped home. The people living in the periphery of the city all lived in hovels with a single room like mine. The table stood in the middle, the kitchen in one corner, the bed in the other, and the toilette around the back.

“What did he want?” asked my wife sitting by the table and  watching me over the newspaper in her hand.

“Nothing, nothing, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, it’s nothing.”

I stopped by the stove and felt her eyes upon me.

I can’t tell her because she won’t understand. She is too religious and not open-minded enough. In my opinion, it is no one’s business what the other does behind the closed doors of their bedroom, and the fact that my employee is not like me doesn’t affect his work in any way. Everybody should be allowed to live freely as long as they don’t mean harm to anyone. Until then, no one should be condemned, but I cannot tell her this.

I lay down onto the bed standing by the table and closed my eyes. She bent over and kissed me passionately.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said a few days before,” she said.

“So?”

“I say….”

I kept my breath as I waited for her words.

“…we should have a baby.”

Catharsis.

I kissed her the same way we kissed by the pond many eons ago, and we made love as the sun sank beneath the horizon.

 

THE PRIEST. The burning sun hung low in the sky as the creaks of the rocking chair periodically disrupted the monotone and immobile afternoon. Life had no meaning to me, and this constant creaking made everything worse. What should I do now? This cannot be called living. I merely exist like a fish in a tank.

The missing floorboards of the porch and the broken windows made me realize that I couldn’t be more miserable. I live in a shack with a single room lacking all luxury, with a bed in the corner, the kitchen in the other, and my toilette around the back.

I looked at my tiny church on the other side of the yard. Its dilapidated walls and shattered windows made it seem abandoned. The dark iron bell hung unused in the tower. The church was completely empty most of the times. The only audience I had was on Sundays, and it consisted of three old women waiting for the end.

 The words of the activist echoing in my brain brought back bitter memories of a seminar I attended many years ago. My heart was hurting as I relived every second of it. That day I lost my way definitively, but the teachings came back to me nonetheless, along with a caress of silver inspiration.

I quickly jotted down the speech for tomorrow’s mass and placed the paper and pen down. I rocked my chair back and forth waiting for time to pass by and the sun to set, allowing the darkness to reign unopposed.

 

THE COUNCILMAN. The police station disappeared as the car turned left. Before me, the parliament appeared at the end of the road. The vehicle floated across the grey marble square and landed before the steps leading to the parliament itself. I stepped out into the   scorching afternoon and stretched my limbs. Surrounding the square were the many four-story office buildings with their Neo-Classicist facades looking down at me.

A door opened, and a bureaucrat appeared. He adjusted his glasses and hurried by with overrated self-importance.

The parliament stood at the top of the many stairs and ruled over the city. Built in Neo-Gothic style, it was not only unique on the planet, but unpaired in the galaxy as well, looking like a huge palace composed of intricate systems of stalactites and stalagmites. The blood-red roof met at the center forming a huge dome. The afternoon sun was reflected by the tall and narrow windows that looked like loopholes offering shelter to invisible snipers.

As I reached the top of the stairs, the door opened automatically, and I stepped into the main hall with the dome towering above me. The fountain in the middle of the hall spat water high into the sky. As the water reunited with the pool, the splash echoed in this enormous cave. I walked past the fountain and up the marble stairs as the red carpet muffled my every step. At the top of the stairs light escaped from beneath the door leading to the president’s office.

I stood before his room and knew that his place lawfully belonged to me. He was a soft-handed coward not suited to lead a planet. The world is for the courageous and the strong.

I sighed and walked down the narrow corridor toward my office hidden somewhere in the back of the building.

I entered my office and sat down behind my desk. My office was small and was more like a crowded prison cell even though the only pieces of furniture were my desk, my black leather seat, and a wooden chair in the corner. Without the window facing the city and the empty white walls, the claustrophobia would be unbearable.

I poured myself a glass of whiskey and walked to the window   sipping the ardent fluid. The courtyard, surrounded on three sides by the walls of the U-shaped parliament, stood completely empty apart from the carpet of sand so red.

Those men in the parliament will never allow this radical bill to be passed. The developed countries can have our leaders in their pockets, but not the common people, they are untouched and sober. I must find a way to reach out to them. Only with their support do I stand a chance.

The sun disappeared over the horizon. The city lights weren’t switched on right away, probably because of another temporary malfunction in the power plant. Everything was dark except for the parliament because it was on a different circuit, so the light in my office automatically switched on causing my shadow to extend  menacingly over the mildly lit courtyard and over the city.

When the streetlights began to glow, I walked back to my desk, praying to God to help me in my cause and open the eyes of my people.

THE BULLY. It was completely dark outside, but the anger kept me awake. I will change no matter what that man said. The moon was partially covered by the tree standing before my window causing macabre shadows to distend across the faces of my idols hanging on the wall. I could only make out their bodies contorting in agony.

That activist is weak and does not see that he lives in sin. I want to change, and I am determined to succeed.

Gradually dream defeated reality, and soon I was in a world with rules I didn’t understand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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