Mirrored Read Online Free PDF Page A

bird?”
    “Or with this.” From the air, she produced a shining object, a mirror, surrounded by silver curlicues. She held it out. I cringed at my ugly face.
    But she said, “This is a magical mirror. With it, you can see anything, anyone.”
    “How?” I reached for the mirror.
    “Just ask.”
    “Ask.” I had a hard enough time talking to people. What would I say to a mirror? They’d always been my enemies.
    “Think of someone, anyone in the world you want to see, and the mirror will show you.”
    Without hesitating, I said, “Show me Greg.”
    My hideous face faded from view. The image changed to a room, a house I didn’t know. Greg sat with Jennifer, books spread out before them, studying. Or, at least, Greg was trying to study. Jennifer was babbling on. I searched Greg’s face for signs of annoyance. Greg took studying seriously, like I did. He’d once threatened not to study with me when all I’d done was ask if he wanted a glass of water!
    But now, Greg smiled, then laughed—laughed!—at something Jennifer had said. He pointed at the math book just as Jennifer was trying to turn a page. Their hands touched. Greg turned away, blushing. He always blushed. I knew why he didn’t mind Jennifer’s chatter. Jennifer was beautiful, unlike me. Jennifer was everything I wasn’t. The light gleamed off her blond, straight hair. I could feel my own frizz curling on my neck. Jennifer turned her fair, unblemished cheek toward Greg, and I could feel the hurt of the zits on my own cheek. Greg leaned toward her and then . . .
    He kissed her! Greg actually kissed Jennifer!
    The mirror fell from my hand and clattered to the ground. It shattered like ice against the black pavement. I jumped when a shard cut my ankle. “Oh!”
    I knelt down in the splintered glass, not caring if the bits and pieces embedded themselves in my hands and knees. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Oh, but I hate mirrors. I didn’t do this on purpose, though.” I picked up one of the larger fragments. It caught the waning sun, reflecting it into my eyes. I saw my own face in it, red, blotchy, a tear dripping from my too-light blue eyes.
    And then, the fragment moved. I almost dropped it a second time, but I reached over with my other hand and caught it. The moving fragment sliced my palm. I wanted to cry out, but I didn’t, couldn’t speak, for at that moment, I saw what was happening.
    The fragment, all the fragments, moved in the air like shimmering leaves, catching the light. As they fluttered together, my slice ofglass slid from my hands. It joined the others, forming a silver oval. Then it flew into Kendra’s hand.
    I felt my mouth hanging open. I closed it. “How . . . ?” My finger had a heartbeat.
    Kendra laid her hand upon mine. “Think about it. I’m sure you can work it out.”
    I flinched under her touch, but somehow, I couldn’t remove my hand. When she finally pulled hers away, the cut had disappeared.
    “What did you do?”
    “Shh. People use too many words nowadays, always talking on the phone, in person. There is a place in the world, I believe, for thought.”
    I started to say something else, but I couldn’t. It was almost as if someone was covering my mouth.
    “Silent thought. One minute. Begin now.”
    I didn’t want to think. I wanted to run. And yet, I couldn’t because, more than that, I wanted to know. The mirror. The cut. The birds. Kendra was telling the truth about being a witch. And if she was telling the truth about herself, was it true about me too?
    What did it mean?
    I stared at Kendra. Her eyes looked green again. Finally, she said, “Are you willing to speak now?”
    I tried to put it into words. “If I’m a witch, can I make things . . . ?” What was the word I wanted?
    “Better? Maybe. Different? Yes.”
    “Happen. Can I make things happen?”
    “Depends what you’re asking for. World peace? End to hunger. Because, no, you can’t do those things. No one has enough power for