Recollections From a Compact Mirror

“I already know what you’re thinking. Who would want a used up, scratched compact with a miniature powdering puff so small. It would take days to apply my cover up! And what do the letters VF on the cover even mean?”

“Well my friends let me recount a little of my history to you and the secrets lying within me, then maybe you’ll come to see that I am in no way ordinary, but in fact extraordinary! That my scratches   are part of my charm, and why my cover bears the letters VF upon it.”

“I belonged to a woman named Vera Falvo, those are her initials engraved on my cover.  She wasn’t one for fancy, frivolous items which wasted money.  For some reason, she was drawn to me upon seeing me in the shop.  Back then, my paint was lustrous and the sunlight bounced off my gleaming mirror sending rainbows of color cascading off the surrounding walls.  I was quite a stunning sight to behold.  The intricate design created on my cover, coupled with the fresh miniature powder puff to apply the powder once contained within were an immediate draw.  The additional pocket found on my powder puff was designed for a finger to be slipped inside to apply powder effortlessly! I was quite revolutionary in design for that pre-Depression era.”

“Vera fell in love with me instantly, but being the type of woman who didn’t approve of spending money on herself, she left me at the store, heading home to care for her young children and husband.  Money was tight, I was a luxury she could certainly get by without.  That night as her family sat around the dinner table, she must have mentioned seeing me in the shop, and her husband must have picked up on the longing in her voice, because the next day I found myself lifted from the display case, carried to the counter by the shop owner, to be shown to a gruff sounding male with blue eyes as bright as the sky.  (I knew they matched the sky because I’d seen hints of it from my perch in the shop through the glass storefront window).  Then I heard the shopkeeper say,

“Sir if you’d like I could engrave your wife’s initials on the compact’s cover.”

“Why not, she deserves to have something pretty” the blue eyed man responded.

“The next thing I felt was something sharp tearing into my lovely painted cover, but when it stopped I caught a glimpse of myself in the store’s mirror on the countertop and saw I now had the letters VF inscribed on me in beautiful cursive script.  Then everything went dark as I was carefully wrapped and packaged.”

“Suddenly my darkness was brightened by the packaging being excitedly torn away and I was staring at the face of the woman who had lovingly held me in her hands, admiring me only a day prior.  She gasped with delight at the sight of me, running her fingertips over the newly engraved VF, her initials.  Then flung her arms happily around the blue eyed man sitting next to her, watching with pleasure as she unwrapped me.”

“Every day Vera took me out of the box I came in and after inspecting my intricacies, slowly, methodically applied her powder using the specially designed puff.  She even put her favorite pink hued lipstick in the lipstick holder that was attached to me and had also been engraved with her initials. Unfortunately, one day all my powder was used up as well as the lipstick.  Did Vera discard me like some useless object?  No, she kept me out to decorate the surface of her vanity.  One day I felt myself lifted up, and carried off to another part of the house. I thought this was it for me, she was going to shove me in a drawer somewhere since I had outlived my purpose.  Suddenly, I felt my little powder puff removed as I was laid on a table.  Then Vera placed something in the finger pocket of the powder puff, replaced the puff, closed me up, and returned me to my original place on the vanity.  What she placed in the pocket of my powder puff let me know she would always treasure me as special to her.  I breathed a sigh of relief, and set about watching the decades pass from my perch on the vanity. What was it she placed in my pocket you want to know? Look below in the final picture to see.”

A photo of herself was in the pocket!