June woke to the sound of soft knocking.
She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She had stayed up until the first signs of dawn, watching the mirror like it might shift again. But eventually, exhaustion pulled her under.
The knock came again.
She shuffled to the door, still in her sweatshirt and socks. Opening it revealed a girl around her age, with tightly braided hair and glasses that kept slipping down her nose. She held a tray with a steaming cup of tea.
“Morning,” the girl chirped, far too cheerful for someone staying in a haunted inn. “Leena told me to check on you.”
June blinked. “Check on me?”
“Well, she said you might not come down on your own. Most people don’t—first nights here can be... unsettling.”
June raised an eyebrow. “You’re staying here too?”
“Yep. For the summer. My name’s Mira. Leena’s kind of my godmother.”
June stepped aside. “You can come in.”
Mira’s eyes wandered to the mirror instantly. “Creepy thing, huh? I covered it with a towel the first night I stayed. It felt like it was watching me.”
“It is watching,” June muttered.
Mira blinked. “Wait, what?”
June shook her head. “Nothing.”
They sat in silence for a moment while June sipped the tea. It was lavender and mint—calming, grounding.
“So, what brings you to Maple Town?” Mira asked casually. “Not many people come here unless they’re running from something... or to something.”
June hesitated, then decided the truth wouldn’t hurt. “I got a letter. No name, no sender. It told me to come.”
Mira tilted her head. “Weird.”
“That’s not even the weirdest part.”
And then, slowly, June told her everything—the birthday visions, the voice in her head, the reflection that smiled on its own, the message on the mirror.
To her surprise, Mira didn’t laugh or look doubtful. Instead, her expression grew serious.
“Leena says this town holds memories in its soil,” Mira said. “Sometimes they rise when they shouldn’t.”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
June’s skin prickled again. “And River?”
“Who?”
“The boy I met on the bus. He said his name was River. Gray eyes, older than he looks, kind of... unsettling smile.”
Mira frowned. “No one named River lives here. At least, not that I’ve ever met.”
June’s heart skipped. “He said he was coming here.”
“There are only like 800 people in this whole town. I’d know.”
A cold thought crept into her mind: Did River even exist?
Suddenly, Mira stood up. “Come with me.”
“What?”
“I want to show you something.”
June hesitated. “Where?”
“Somewhere you’ve been before—even if you don’t remember.”
---
They walked through Maple Town’s winding roads. The morning sun gave everything a golden hue, but June couldn’t shake the strange tightness in her chest. Something about these streets—this town—felt both wrong and heartbreakingly familiar.
They stopped in front of an iron gate, half-covered by vines. Beyond it stood a house—large, faded, and falling apart around the edges. Windows shuttered. Roof sagging. Forgotten.
“What is this place?” June asked.
“This,” Mira said, “was your family’s house.”
June froze. “No.”
“You lived here. Before your parents died. You were found in the woods just behind it.”
June took a step forward, as if drawn by an invisible thread. The gate creaked open under her hand.
Inside the house, the air smelled of dust and old firewood. The wallpaper peeled in places, revealing dark, cracked wood. Furniture still sat under white sheets like ghosts frozen in time.
Her feet moved on their own.
She walked down a hallway and stopped in front of a door.
It had moon stickers on it. Faded now, but still glowing faintly in the gloom.
“I know this door,” she whispered.
She opened it.
Inside was a child’s room. A bookshelf with toppled picture books. A broken rocking horse. And on the far wall, a tiny mirror—round and cracked, just above a toy chest.
She walked to it slowly. Her fingers touched its surface.
For a second, she saw it again.
The other girl.
Bleeding. Reaching out.
This time, she heard her name.
> “June…”
And then it was gone.
---
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