The door opens a crack and a young girl pokes her head in. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Archivist. But I have a message.” Her eyes flit to me, then back to him, as if to say, ‘A private message.’
Myer sighs. And again, he’s not even trying to hide his irritation. “It needs to wait.”
The girl is shaking her head, opening the door as if to say, ‘Come out here and we’ll talk about it.’
Myer reads between all the lines, gets up, and looks down at me. “Excuse me for one moment.”
“Of course,” I say. Then I watch him as he goes to the door, pushes the girl out, and blocks her from my view as they whisper back and forth.
He sighs again. Then turns to me. “I’m sorry, Syrsee. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
I’m confused at the one-eighty turn in his normally congenial personality. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” I smile at him. But he doesn’t smile back. Just leaves, closing the door behind him.
I sit back, sinking into the comfy cushions of the couch, forcing myself to reign in my imagination. “Well, that wasn’t weird.”
But it’s all fine, Syrsee.
It’s fine.
And just as I’m thinking these words, my eyes track to the book on the table in front of me and I sit up again. Paying attention to what is right in front of me instead of the foreboding feeling floating around in my head.
Should I open the book?
I mean… the correct answer here is absolutely not. While no one ever said I wasn’t allowed to read the books since I’ve gotten here, just the fact that Myer is my chaperone sends the vibe. He is my guide. There is no question about that.
But I can’t help myself. So I look over my shoulder, just to make sure the door is closed, and then I lean forward and with a single fingertip I flip open the cover.
For a moment I’m confused because I’m looking… at myself.
But then I realize that this isn’t a page in a book.
It’s amirror.
In the same moment that this word forms in my head, I fall forward. And the next thing I know, I’m falling into it.
