The Budding Metalinguist

II

Lillian racked her brain, trying to remember exactly what the professor had said. She was still partially in shock, trying to process everything she had learned the previous day. What Beanie had told her challenged so much of what she had learned that she found it difficult to believe.

He had taken her to another world.

She didn't know exactly what he'd meant by his descriptions, but she resolved to learn as much as she could from him.

Lillian began to scribble down ideas in her new notebook. Slipstone. Half-world. Alin Gap. Every unfamiliar word she wrote down felt as if it already existed in the back of her mind, as if she was staring at the titles of books she had already read. She intuitively knew how to spell the new words. Beside each she wrote everything she had learned during the brief encounter with Beanie. She was able to fill up about half the page with this information.

She drew a dotted line across the center of the page and poised her new pen at the beginning of the next line, thinking of what to write. Eventually, she simply decided to write the details of her encounter with Beanie, and some of the things she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know whether that sleek gray stone of the Alin Gap was the same stone that composed the obelisk in the park. She was wondering about his ability to do untraceable thaumaturgy, the type that Erica insisted was Fifth Wheel, the type that made her eye twitch. And she wanted to know how much she could learn from him.

As she finished the last sentence on the notebook page, she had a realization. She didn't have to wait for these questions to answer themselves. She could answer them herself, right now.

She flipped the notebook closed and tucked it into her pocket. She was going back.

☙❧

A persistent knock sounded at Dakota's door, causing him to look up from a sketch he had been working on. "Office hours are on the door!" he called in a frustrated voice. "Come back later."

Lillian opened the door and stepped into the room. She stared for a moment, apparently bemused by the idea of Dakota sitting behind a desk in an office. "It's still so strange that you're a professor," she murmured.

"Why's that?" Dakota asked, irritated. His beanie suddenly felt unusually itchy, and he once more felt an urge to take it off.

"Well... you look so young..." Lillian explained, rather bluntly.

"Sit down," Dakota evaded. He realized how uncomfortable his couch must look, and abruptly rose from his chair to clear the floor of several loose papers. He indicated the floor, then sat down himself. Lillian hesitated for a moment before following suit.

"I'm sorry," Dakota confessed. "I shouldn't have started out like that." Lillian shrugged, seemingly ambivalent, but he could tell she was thankful for his apology. "First, do you have questions?" he asked.

"I'm not as scared as I was yesterday," Lillian said slowly, "and I know you're comfortable with telling me this." Dakota gave a brief nod. "So I was thinking that we could go back." She indicated the mirror.

Dakota was impressed by her resolve and curiosity. He nodded. "I'm sorry I pushed you... I don't need to do that. If you walk into it, you'll be there. I moved it so you won't fall."

Lillian pushed herself to her feet and approached the mirror with visible caution. She extended her arm and attempted to prod its surface with her finger. As soon as her finger touched what appeared to be the mirror's surface, its tip sank through and disappeared. She withdrew her hand quickly before sliding her hand through. She gave a nervous, wobbly smile before ducking her head through and disappearing completely from sight.