The mirrors are my reflection. My companion day and night. I pass by them repeatedly in Ali and Samira's room, the living room, and the bathroom. In the wardrobe of my bedroom, I open its doors and see myself reflected on both sides. The mirrors are me. My counterpart showing me to myself, where I hastily observe my breath. When I wash my face and gaze intently. With coffee before dawn breaks, and as I leave Yusuf's room to the living room. When I bathe and let the towel catch the water droplets from my wet body, I see myself behind the mist on the mirror, like a veil. I wipe it with a trembling hand until my face is revealed. My face appears like a balcony sealed with thick glass leading nowhere. The flowers have withered. No jasmine will grow at the edge of my eyes. Those eyes have sunken, as if drowned in a sea of years, and the lower lids are swollen, pressing on my lashes. Wrinkles meander across my face, scattered like a maze. These are the passages of age, I tell myself, swallowing the lump in my throat, feeling it choking on the tears of the world. I am a crier. My tears flow freely for myself. People mourn themselves. The moment may not warrant tears, yet I summon them. Crying alone can give meaning to the details of the moment and spread the feeling I desire among those around me. But often, my tears turn into pure grief, spreading discomfort to those in front of me. I feel their annoyance, quickly wipe my tears, yet I neither smile nor laugh. Thus, I remain with the face of a crier. The tears may stop, but the face of sorrow remains. Nazmiya tells me I cry too much. Crying, like blood, flows only from a wound. She encourages me to drip my tears. I close my lips and fall silent, looking at her with confused eyes. I do not tell her I cry from my open wounds. Ali Al-Saqqa, a Lebanese journalist born in Beirut in 1984, worked for Al-Akhbar newspaper from 2007 to 2012. He has written poems, articles, reports, and regular texts for As-Safir newspaper and its Youth supplement from 2010 to 2012. Since 2012, he has been an editor and writer for Al-Mayadeen's website. He has been writing for Al-Modon electronic newspaper since 2013. He holds a diploma in advanced studies in political sociology.

Publishing house: Dar Al-Farabi Publishing and Distribution Number of Pages: 448 Year of publication: 2016