A man stands safely on one side of the mirror while his reflection drowns on the other.
Field Notes
There are parts of us that can disappear while the rest of us continues standing. We watch ourselves answer questions, cross rooms, complete ordinary tasks—and somewhere beneath the surface, another version of us is sinking.
Perhaps this is what dissociation feels like: not being unaware of your own drowning, but being close enough to witness it and still unable to intervene. You place your hand against the glass. He reaches back. For a moment, it seems that rescue should be possible. But recognition and rescue are not the same thing.
The mirror does not conceal what is happening. It makes it visible while keeping it unreachable.