A Reflection's Tale

4 - Truths Concealed By Paper

Lyra wasn't able to reply. The thoughts in her head raced, though she wasn't able to catch a single one.

"I know, it might be hard to believe...," the professor started, but Lyra cut her off. For a second, she thought about flipping the table in anger, but it seemed to heavy, so she just jumped up from the chair, grabbed two more brownies, screamed "No!" and ran outside.

She felt better after she had slammed the door, but just for a moment. Until she looked up, to be exact. Until she saw who stood in front of her. She didn't know them, but they seemed even stricter than the professor. It was a man with silvery hair and grey, angry eyes.

"In this university, doors aren't slammed," he said.

"Then what did I do a minute ago?" After she said it, she realized she would have better not, but she was just too angry and confused.

"Who even are you?" the man asked now.

Lyra decided it was better not to answer, and started to run, just run away. Upstairs, downstairs, through dozens of hallways.

Finally, she stopped at a door. She was alone. Yuri was still with Autumn and the professor, probably... but she would pick him up later. She needed time now, so she entered a room through the door with the letters "library".

Okay, my parents seem indeed guilty in the case. My mum can easily kill, and it is suspicious enough that she didn't try to at least heal Dexter. But if he had already been dead when she arrived, she had no chance to heal him, right?

Lyra's head ached. She didn't know whom she could trust.

So she ate the two brownies and looked around. She could now either stay here and maybe get more information on this world, or go back and get her things and then leave this place of false accusations!

"Hello, can I help you?" An old woman with white hair and huge glasses came closer. "Oh, you are from outside?"

"Outside...?" Lyra stumbled back.

"Not from this world." The woman laughed hoarsely. "Not from this world, Lyra Ava Paris!"

Not again, Lyra thought. Why does everybody here know me? I would wonder less if they knew me after I tell them my name!

"Yes," she said politely. "I need information on people from this world. And on this world in general."

The woman laughed. "Alright, sit down and listen." She dropped down on the floor, cross-legged, and Lyra was surprised how mobile this old woman was...

She copied the movement and the woman started talking.

"Hundreds of years ago, two strong magic people created this world. A vampire woman and a witcher. They made it look exactly opposite to the world they came from, and they wanted to hide there – together with all other magic beings. Witch hunt was a common hobby back then, you see?" The woman husky laughter echoed across the library and Lyra grinned insecure.

"The portal isn't even a mirror, even though it looks like one. But silver mirrors – there were no others back then – don't interact with magic."

"What else is it, then?" Lyra dared to ask.

"A portal," the woman replied. "Portals aren't connected to material things, you know? But we can change the appearance of portals, and the two magic people decided to make it look like a mirror to make it less suspicious."

"But this world isn't opposite," Lyra mumbled. "I haven't seen any big cities or something here, you know?"

The woman cackled. "It was, in the past. When there were not big cities. You know, it isn't the opposite of the current state of your world. It's the opposite of the world they lived in back then – Selma Paris and Leander Dexter."