A Curious Reflection

Sliding belly-down across the slick leaf mulch, my fringes tangled with rotting bark until I stopped. *Khhh.* Half-buried under curling ferns rested an old brass pocket watch casing, its glass long shattered. A circular pool of trapped rainwater shimmered inside its shallow brass bowl. Slowly, I reached out one clawed hand. *Click.* I dipped a single claw into the mirror-like film, sending concentric ripples outward. Through the wavering water, my own toothy visage broke into fragments and drifted back together. I remained motionless, waiting until the noon glare faded from the brass rim.