The girl in the mirror haunted June’s thoughts long after she and Mira left the abandoned house. That image—so brief, so broken—wasn’t a dream. It was too vivid. Too real. Her eyes had been pleading. Familiar.
June wasn’t sure who she feared more: the girl in the mirror or the version of herself she didn’t remember being.
That evening, June wandered alone to the outskirts of town, needing space. The town square buzzed softly behind her—vendors closing carts, children playing, laughter rising like mist. But here, where the pine trees thickened and the path thinned, silence returned.
Then she heard it—footsteps.
She turned, bracing herself, but it was him.
River.
Same hoodie, same unreadable eyes. He leaned against a tree like he’d been waiting all day.
“You disappeared,” she said.
He smiled faintly. “You looked like you needed to be alone.”
“You said you were staying in Maple Town.”
“I am,” he replied, standing upright. “But not everyone lives on maps.”
She blinked. “What does that even mean?”
Instead of answering, he stepped forward, studying her face.
“You found the mirror,” he said softly.
June stiffened. “How do you know about that?”
River didn’t flinch. “Because I’ve seen it too.”
Her breath hitched. “You’ve seen her?”
He nodded slowly. “She’s not just a ghost. She’s trapped. In a memory. One that doesn’t belong to her anymore.”
June’s heart pounded. “And what does that mean? Why am I seeing it? Why her face… looks like mine?”
River didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sat on a mossy rock and motioned for her to join him. She remained standing.
“Not everything is born from this world,” he said. “Some things… bleed through. Especially where the veil is thin.”
“You sound like you’ve rehearsed that.”
“I have. Many times.”
He looked up at the moon, now full and glowing like a watchful eye. June followed his gaze.
“I feel it,” she whispered. “Like it’s calling me.”
River nodded. “It’s not the moon calling you. It’s her.”
June folded her arms. “So you know who she is?”
River hesitated. “I knew her once. Before she became... what she is now.”
June’s throat tightened. “You’re not making any sense.”
River stood, suddenly serious. “What do you remember about the night your parents died?”
June looked away. “Nothing. Just flashes. Screams. Trees. Blood.”
“That’s because something took those memories from you. Locked them. Not to protect you—but to protect itself.”
She stared at him. “What are you?”
He tilted his head. “Not the right question.”
“Then what is?”
He stepped closer, so close she could see the faint shimmer of silver in his irises.
“Ask what you are.”
June backed away. “No. No, you don’t get to say things like that and walk off.”
River’s expression softened. “You’re not cursed, June. You’re chosen.”
Her knees went weak.
“Chosen for what?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“To free her.”
June shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just a girl.”
River offered a sad smile. “You were never just a girl.”
Then, without another word, he turned and walked into the trees.
She called out to him, but he didn’t turn back. Within seconds, the forest swallowed him whole.
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