Flash Fiction: What Do You See?

Written by Emma Mathes

Photo by Zach Rubin

It’s hard being a young girl in the 21st Century. She doesn’t know this yet. She thinks it’s just her. Just her that opens TikTok or Instagram and finds herself hating herself. Lips not plump enough. Eyes not catlike enough. Too much buccal fat. What did all of it mean? She wasn’t sure, but it was her reality.

When faced with a mirror on a random block, she’s startled. Without a filter or good lighting, she doesn’t like to recognize herself. Sometimes, she dreams she looks like a filter: perfect. But here, she can see her face. She looks, with eyes clouded by self-doubt, and her heart turns heavy.