Reflections (Reflejos) (short story from El vigilante de la salamandra)

A man discovers that his reflection has been replaced by a mysterious woman. Caught between fascination and obsession, he becomes entangled in an impossible romance that threatens to consume him completely. A grounded fantasy story by bestselling genre author Félix J. Palma.

A man, alone in a bar, recalls with a mix of nostalgia and pain the strange events he experienced days earlier. It all began after a hangover, when, looking into a bathroom mirror, he discovered that his reflection was no longer his own, but that of an unknown young woman. At first terrified, he tried to avoid any reflective surface, but his curiosity soon overcame his fear. Before long, he found himself observing her, captivated by her beauty and the mystery of her presence.

One day, the woman in the mirror—who introduced herself as Aidil—broke the synchronization of their movements and wrote her name with lipstick. From that moment on, they began to communicate, sharing confidences, memories, and emotions, forming an intense and unusual relationship. The impossibility of touching one another filled them with melancholy, but also with desire. They even began to masturbate simultaneously, separated only by the glass.

Falling deeply in love, the narrator has his living room and bedroom covered in mirrors so that Aidil can accompany him everywhere. They live through days of apparent happiness until he suggests trying to find her in the real world. Aidil coldly refuses. Soon after, the doorbell rings: standing at the door is Aidil herself, in flesh and blood, filled with silent hatred. She steps inside, stands before the mirror, regains her own reflection, looks at him with contempt, and leaves. Devastated, the narrator shatters all the mirrors, surrounding himself with broken glass.

Now alone again, he drinks to forget. Staggering out of the bar, he passes a wall illuminated by a taxi’s headlights and notices something uncanny: his shadow takes the shape of a woman—Aidil’s curves and hair. Somewhere between disbelief and euphoria, he interprets it as a sign that she will return. Convinced that fate will bring them together again, he walks home with renewed hope.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Félix J. Palma is a Spanish writer of short stories and novels, winner of several awards including the Ignotus Award for Best Novel, the Luis Berenguer Prize, and the Ateneo de Sevilla Prize.

Reflejos is an intimate and obsessive drama built around a powerful emotional metaphor about desire, loneliness, and the impossibility of fulfillment, articulated through a fantastical element: the theft of one’s reflection. The narrative arc ensures intense dramatic development, culminating in an open ending that invites interpretation and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Movie

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish