The man in the chair didn’t answer, he just sat there, his eyes wide as they swept back and forth between the man standing in front of him and the giant screen with the picture of the full moon displayed in intricate detail.“It’s not green cheese, you know,” smiled Eric. “There are those who don’t believe that we’ve ever really landed on the moon, do you know that, Todd?” Eric smiled even wider, leaning down slightly toward the still figure. “I realize you can’t speak, or move either, but you can at least afford me the decency of acknowledging me with your eyes.” Eric moved his face closer. “So one blink for yes, and two for no, alright?”
Todd blinked once.

“Very nice.” Eric moved back to the large screen, the moon backlit as it were, by the darkness of night. “You’re not one of those silly people that don’t believe we’ve been there, Todd, are you?”

Todd blinked twice.

“I didn’t think so,” said Eric. “And because we did land on it, not once, but several times, and because the astronauts took numerous soil samples, we now do know what comprises the makeup of the moon. So I ask you again, Todd, do you know what the moon is made of?”

One blink.

“You do? Wonderful.” Eric clapped his hands together. “So many of the others didn’t. Of course a few of them thought they did, but then it turned out they didn’t really know at all.” He walked back toward the immobile man. “Is it made of green cheese?”

Two blinks.

Eric pointed a finger at him and grinned. “Right you are. But just because you know what it isn’t made of, doesn’t prove you know what it is made of.” He rubbed the fingers of one hand against his chin. “Now this does raise a slight problem, how do I get a man who cannot speak or move to tell me something as complicated as mineral compositions?” He thought for several seconds. “I know. We will reduce it to as simple a formula as we can and then I will pose the questions to you and you will just have to say yes or no to each question. Reasonable?”

Todd blinked once.

“Splendid.”

They were on a balcony that extended from a great mansion at the top of a mountain. Below, several hundred feet, was the ocean, its mighty waves breaking in thunderous rumbles that echoed up to them.

Eric walked to a cabinet with a set of drawers to the right of the big screen. Next to the cabinet was a wide, thick telescope with all sorts of machinery hooked up to it. From the drawers Eric took out several items. He held up a jar filled with a rubbery red jelly. “Is the moon made of Jell-O?”

Two blinks.

“I’m just joking,” said Eric. “Of course it’s not made of Jell-O.” He held up two other jars, one filled with water and sand, the other with dirt. “Either of these?”

One blink.

Eric closed his eyes. “Yes, very good. I’m getting excited, you know.” He held up the jar in his left hand, the one with the dirt. “Is it this one?”

There was a pause, then two blinks.

Eric pursed his lips, and pulled back the hand. He held out the jar of water and sand. “This one then?”

Two blinks.

“What?” asked Eric. “Neither? Or is it…” He held up both jars. “Both?”

Todd blinked once, hard.

Eric nodded his head, smiling. “Oh, very good boy. Very good!” He sat both jars on the cabinet.

The night breeze blew in, strong and fresh. Eric breathed in a deep lungful, his chest expanding.

“So, you do know what the moon is made of. Roughly the same materials as our mother Earth here, only lighter, much lighter. I thought the water would confuse you—and it is a bit of a trick—you know. There really isn’t any water, only ice, and precious little of that, but still, it counts.”

Eric leaned over Todd, peering into his eyes. “Why does it shine so? Can you answer me that?”

Todd blinked once, making Eric smile again.

“Really? We will see.” He went back to drawers and brought out a black ball, a gray ball and a white ball. He set several other objects on top of the cabinet.

“I’m going to show you three different balls.” He held up the white ball. “Is this closest to the color of the moon?” He then held up the black ball. “Or this?” Then the gray ball. “Or this?” He held up the white ball again.

Two blinks.

The black ball.

Two blinks.

The gray ball.

One blink.

“Excellent,” said Eric. “Astounding, really. I mean if you were a scientist or a teacher—I might expect—but you’re nothing more than a street person. Wonderful.” “If the moon were as dark as the black ball, it would hardly illuminate our night sky. And if it were white, why it would be blinding.”

He picked up a light bulb and showed it to Todd. “How about this, would you say this object represents the moon?”

Two blinks.

Eric then picked up a mirror. “What about this?”

Todd blinked once.

“My,oh my,” said Eric. “You must have really been something before what ever it was that drove you to the streets and alcohol.” He took up the light bulb again. “But you are absolutely right. The light bulb is far more like the sun and the mirror like the moon. The sun shines and the moon reflects. Without the brightness of the sun just think what dark, black, dull nights we would have.” He set the bulb down, holding out the long handled mirror.

“You see, this is really what the moon is, my friend. A mirror. Only the moon doesn’t show us what is on the outside. It reveals what is on the inside. Can you understand that?”

Todd didn’t blink.

Eric moved behind the man in the chair, standing close, his lips beside Todd’s ear.

“Look at her, so big and beautiful. The biggest mirror in all creation.” His voice was soft and low.

“Before you became a street person, Todd, did you watch much television? Or were you an avid reader?” He stretched his neck around so he could see Todd’s eyes.

One blink, the eyes filling with tears.

Eric patted his cheek. “It’s alright. Did you ever see the old movies about Werewolves and Wolf Men?”

Todd blinked once.

“Lon Cheney and Oliver Reed and that guy from the Dr. Pepper commercials—the one that played in the movie about the American Werewolf in London, and so many others—do you remember them?”

One blink, and now tears were streaming down Todd’s whiskered cheeks.

“That’s why you are here, my friend. I’ve watched you. For over a month now I have watched and waited, spying on you as you lived your wasted life on the streets out there.” Eric gently touched Todd’s ear. “It was your ears that first brought you to my attention, you know. They curve—just so—at the top. A strong sign of lycanthropy.” Eric breathed in deeply, savoring the man’s scent. “You see, the mirror showed me, so very long ago, just what I am. But the question now is—what are you?”

On the screen before them the moon rose higher in the night sky, reaching its zenith. The computers, tracking devices and video cameras locked onto its pocked surface.

There was a slight rustling sound and then Eric stretched out the long handled mirror so Todd could see behind him, his own sweating face, mouth gagged and forehead secured by a thick strap, obscuring part of the view. And what he saw made his eyes bulge hugely. Behind him was a wolf, the ears tall and straight, the eyes yellow and glaring. The fur was as dark as a moonless night and the teeth whiter than stars.

A matted paw rested on Todd’s shoulder, the nails long and hooked. But it was only a glove—a thing of rubber and nylon hair.

“You see?” said Eric. “The mirror showed me what I am. Not this mirror,” he threw the long handled mirror aside, its glass shattering against the wall, “but that mirror!” he pointed toward the quarter-sized orb beyond the field of his magnified television screens. He strutted in front of Todd, a long bladed serrated knife in one gloved paw. “In you I hoped to find a brother, one like me that isn’t afraid to rule the night.” His face began to sweat behind the mask and he had to stop to itch his nose before going on. “You were so good on the questions that I thought—I dared to think—but no—no! You are just a man. I can see that now.” He howled, long and loud, his cry bellowing out over the ocean so far below.

Walking close, Eric touched the tip of the blade to the ropes holding Todd to the chair. “You won’t be missed. Just another bum.” He brought his face close, the rubber nose almost touching Todd’s cheeks. “But you will be far more than that to me, my friend. To me you will be the sustenance I live on and for. Your sacrifice will be the proof of my existence.” The point of the knife was now against Todd’s throat, dimpling the skin. “I want you to know that you were the best so far. The closest. But the mirror of the moon doesn’t lie. You can see that I have changed, the mirror proves that. But you—you are just you. I’m sorry—and grateful.” The knife went in to the hilt, blood flowing hot and fast over Eric’s hand. He slashed to the right with all his strength and the blade jerked through Todd’s windpipe, scraped against his spine and came to rest on the other side of his neck. Eric pulled the knife free, blood pouring from the horrible, fatal wound and splashing to the wood flooring of the balcony. There were gurgles of sound, even through the thick gag, but they were over quickly enough.

Eric raised his head and howled his victory until his throat was raw. The high was incredible; the moon gave him such strength. Its silver power surged through his blood like white fire. He was the wolf, the only one of his kind, and he was above all men. The howl went on and on until he could sustain it no more and then it broke down into an animal scream of elation and then into a hoarse moan. Eric fell to his knees, the gloves falling from his limp hands. He pulled the mask from his face and was once more only a man.

He looked at the sacrifice that sat in the chair, and smiled. The moon was right, it had always been right. It had seen into his soul and shown him what he truly was.

Tomorrow he would begin looking again.

The End  (THE MIRROR first appeared in WildChild Magazine in April of 2005)