by Chris Colfer
“When was the first?” she asked.
“A long time ago, when I was cursed to look like a frog,” he explained. “I was so ashamed of how I looked, I spent years hiding from the rest of the world. I let my fear of what others might think of me dictate my whole life. Fortunately, I overcame my fears before it was too late.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I found the greatest love and friendship of my life while I felt the ugliest,” he said with a smile. “If that doesn’t prove how little appearance matters, I don’t know what else would.”
The little girl sighed and shook her head.
“That’s lucky,” she said. “It takes most people their whole lives to learn that lesson. Every day I watch more and more people stare at themselves with such deep sadness in their eyes. I try to give them compliments and tell them it’s the inside that counts, but they’re always so frightened to see a little girl appear, they don’t listen to a word I say.”
The girl was one of the most peculiar children Froggy had ever met. She spoke so elegantly and moved around the mirrors so freely, it made him question whether she was really a little girl at all.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
The girl thought about it, but nothing seemed to come to mind.
“I don’t remember,” she said. “I’m sure I had one once, I just can’t recall what it was.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Froggy said. “Memory loss is a side effect of living in this dimension. The longer we stay inside it, the more we fade into nothing but reflections. How long have you been trapped?”
The girl thought even harder but still couldn’t find the answer.
“I don’t remember that, either,” she said with a laugh.
“Doesn’t that concern you?”
“It did once, but I forgot why,” she said. “Actually, I find forgetfulness very pleasant. A memory is nice for people with good memories, but amnesia can be quite comforting to others.”
“You must have lived a rather tragic life to believe that,” Froggy said.
“I suppose I did,” she said, pondering. “I miss having dreams, but at least I don’t live with nightmares anymore. Perhaps you’ll enjoy forgetting, too.”
The little girl’s bizarre outlook made Froggy even more anxious. He didn’t know how much longer he would have his own memory, but she was proof it was only a matter of time before his mind was wiped clean.
“I wish forgetfulness were all I was concerned about,” he said. “I’m in desperate need to find someone who can give my friends a warning. Their home is about to be invaded by a terrible army, and I need to contact them before it’s too late. Have you ever communicated with someone in the palace without scaring them off?”
The little girl thought about it, and to the amazement of both of them, she had an answer.
“I’ve been able to communicate with lots of people in the past without frightening them,” she recalled. “However, I don’t believe I’ve ever talked to someone in this palace.”
“You mean, you’ve traveled to other palaces?” Froggy asked.
“Well, of course! I’ve traveled all over the kingdoms. Haven’t you?”
“No,” he said. “Besides a witch’s basement, the mirrors in the Northern Palace are all I’ve been able to find in this world.”
“You can travel to any mirror you’d like,” the little girl explained. “All you have to do is visualize where you want to go, and the mirror dimension will take you there. It’s as simple as that.”
Suddenly, all of Froggy’s time in the mirror dimension began to make sense. Had he realized what he wanted to find before he’d started searching, the Northern Palace would have appeared much sooner than it had. Knowing that all the mirrors throughout the kingdoms were available to him gave him his first rush of hope in weeks. If the Bailey twins were near a mirror, he could deliver a warning himself—he just needed to figure out where they were hiding.
Froggy closed his eyes, and the first location that came to his mind was the castle in the Center Kingdom. He visualized the castle’s hallways, the sitting rooms, the dining rooms, and the spacious library Red had built for him.
“You did it!” the little girl cheered. “Look over there! You made more mirrors appear!”
Froggy opened his eyes and looked where she was pointing. In the distance amid the darkness was a cluster of twinkling lights, as if a small patch of a starry night sky had manifested. The little girl grabbed Froggy’s hand and pulled him toward the lights.
“We’ll search these mirrors first, and if we don’t find your friends there, we’ll search every mirror in the kingdoms until we do!” she said.
“You don’t mind helping me look for them?” Froggy asked.
“Not at all,” the little girl said. “It’s been ages since I had an actual activity. By the way, I forgot to ask—what’s your name?”
Froggy opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He thought he was just experiencing a mental hiccup of sorts, but his silence continued. No matter how hard he thought about it, Froggy couldn’t recall his name.
“I… I… I can’t remember,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t matter now—all that matters is finding my friends and warning them.”
The little girl shrugged and started to skip as she pulled him toward the newly materialized mirrors. Froggy was glad she was escorting him; otherwise he would have frozen with panic after forgetting his own name. Wherever the Bailey twins were, he prayed they’d find them quickly. Froggy had to warn them about the Literary Army while he still knew there was something to warn them about.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PIZZA BAGELS AND BARRICADES
In Midtown Manhattan, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-Fourth Street, was a famous bistro called Cheesy Street. The café was a tourist hotspot and sold all the food New York City was famous for. Visitors and locals alike journeyed to Cheesy Street for their renowned pizza, bagels, cheesecake, pastrami, and clam chowder. The staff had seen their fair share of eccentric customers over the years, but nothing like the party of twelve who joined them for lunch today.
Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and Wendy (known in their community as the Book Huggers) shared a plate of Cheesy Street’s signature pizza bagels. The girls stared down at the cheesy hybrid on their plates in total silence, with blank expressions. Sitting across from them were all four pairs of the Book Huggers’ parents. They eyed their daughters with great caution and concern, as if the girls were explosives with faulty wiring.
“I’m so glad we decided to go on this trip,” Mindy’s mom said. “It was very last-minute, but sometimes a spontaneous trip is exactly what you need to clear your head. Isn’t it?”
The Book Huggers didn’t respond or look up from their plates.
“I think we picked the perfect place to visit,” Cindy’s dad said. “Isn’t New York an amazing city? There are so many things to do and see here. What’s been your favorite attraction so far?”
Once again, the Book Huggers didn’t say a word or move a muscle.
“I loved Central Park,” Lindy’s mom said. “I also liked the Empire State Building, visiting Ellis Island, our tour of the United Nations, and of course, last night’s performance of The Phantom of the Opera.”
“I imagine everyone leaves New York feeling influenced or inspired in some way,” Wendy’s dad said. “It really makes you think how many different people there are in this world. It reminds you how many different interests there are to devote your time and energy to. It sure makes Willow Crest and everyone who lives there seem rather dull. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Book Huggers nodded in perfect unison without looking up. It was rather creepy, but their parents were thankful for any response they could get.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room, and I’m not talking about Cheesy Street’s mascot,” Mindy’s other mom said. “We know the last week has been really challenging for you. Recovering from a psychotic bre
akdown requires profound strength. Hallucination and obsession are very difficult things to recognize and admit to, but we couldn’t be prouder of you girls for taking the proper steps to treat yourselves. Dr. Jackson was very confident that all you needed was a little time, a little love, and some pleasant distractions, and you’d be good as new. Hopefully this spontaneous trip will be just what the doctor ordered.”
Finally, the Book Huggers looked up from their plates and smiled at their parents. The trip itself wasn’t enough to take the Bailey twins off their minds, but the compassion coming from their parents warmed their hearts.
“Thank you,” Mindy said. “And even though we’ve been quiet all week, we really appreciate you taking us on this trip.”
“Yeah, this week has been awesome,” Cindy said. “It was really nice of you guys to all take time off from work to treat us like this.”
“Whatever we may be going through, we’re lucky to have parents like you to go through it with,” Lindy added.
Wendy pointed to her heart and then pointed to their parents—implying that their compassion was fully reciprocated. The Book Huggers’ parents were so relieved to finally hear their children speak, tears came to their eyes.
“Fantastic,” Cindy’s mom said. “I’m so glad we’re all on the same page. Now, let’s make the most of our last day in the city. I say we take a helicopter tour after lunch, but first, let’s order some dessert!”
The party of twelve happily looked over the dessert menu. Their concentration was momentarily interrupted by a procession of four police cars speeding down the street with their sirens blaring.
“Wow, whatever is happening at the library must be serious,” Lindy’s dad said. “We’ve seen dozens of police cars headed that way, and I heard they evacuated all the buildings in a two-block radius.”
“When we were shopping on Fifth Avenue earlier, we asked an officer what was going on,” Wendy’s mom said. “They told us it was a big gas leak but nothing they couldn’t handle. The evacuation is just a precaution.”
The Book Huggers looked out the window behind their parents to watch the police cars racing down Fifth Avenue, but their hearts stopped at another alarming sight on Thirty-Fourth Street. Through the front window of a taxi van waiting for the cops to pass, they saw a very familiar freckled face.
“Conner!” the Book Huggers collectively gasped.
Their parents quickly snapped their heads back toward their daughters and stared at them as if they were explosives whose fuses had now been lit.
“What did you say, girls?” Mindy’s mom asked.
“Cobbler,” Cindy’s dad suggested. “I think they said they want the cobbler. Isn’t that right?”
“No, Dad!” Cindy said. “Look behind you! It isn’t a hallucination this time! Conner Bailey is in a taxi outside Cheesy Street!”
The Book Huggers’ parents quickly turned to the window, but thanks to some unknown force in the universe that constantly made them the punch line of a big cosmic joke, Conner bent down a second before they would have seen him. The only person the Book Huggers’ parents saw inside the taxi was its Middle Eastern driver. The taxi had continued down the street before Conner resurfaced.
“NOOOO!” Mindy screamed. “He was right there—right there!”
“I saw him, too, I swear it!” Lindy protested. “Conner Bailey was just outside the window!”
“But why would he be here?” Cindy asked. “Of all the restaurants in New York City, why would he be outside ours?”
“There’s only one explanation!” Mindy announced. “We’ve been right the whole time! Something otherworldly is going on with the Bailey twins! It started in school, it spread to the hospital, and now it’s in New York City!”
Wendy made two fists and slammed them on the table, as if to say “THERE IS A VAST CONSPIRACY AGAINST US AND WE MUST GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT!”
The Book Huggers burst into tears. Their parents exchanged exasperated looks and sighed—apparently New York City wasn’t the pleasant distraction they’d hoped it would be. Even though everyone in Cheesy Street was already looking at their table, Lindy’s mom raised a hand to get the waiter’s attention.
“Check, please!” she said.
After a turbulent flight and a rough landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Conner and his friends hopped into a taxi van for another bumpy ride into Manhattan. As if the driver were being paid per pothole, the taxi rattled and shook as it traveled down the highway toward Midtown.
Goldilocks had a difficult time holding on to Hero, so she put him in the BabyBjörn Red had purchased. The newborn wasn’t bothered by the rocky ride at all. After nine months in Goldilocks’s womb, Hero was used to such commotion and found it quite comforting. The rougher things became, the easier it was for him to sleep.
Conner sat in the front passenger seat and changed the driver’s radio to the local news to hear if there had been any developments since the night before. According to the news, a massive gas leak was responsible for all the barricades and evacuations in the area surrounding the New York Public Library. However, to Conner’s surprise, nothing was mentioned about the lively lion statues they had seen on television.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “There was footage of the statues swiping at police officers! We can’t be the only ones who saw it.”
“They’re probably covering it up to prevent hysteria,” Bree said. “It’s just like the 1947 UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. Newspapers reported that wreckage of a flying saucer had been discovered, and then the following day, the army ordered the press to retract the story and say it was just a weather balloon.”
Conner gulped at the thought of Alex being turned into another weather balloon. He was so worried about his sister, he barely noticed the Queens neighborhoods zipping past his window or the Manhattan skyline in the distance ahead. The taxi entered the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which stretched underneath the East River, and reemerged in the middle of Manhattan. Conner and his friends stared at the city in awe as their taxi zigzagged between the crowded sidewalks and towering skyscrapers. The hustling metropolis was such a spectacular sight, it almost took Conner’s mind off Alex.
“The whole city feels like it’s buzzing,” Goldilocks noted. “They must sell a lot of caffeine here.”
“The buildings stand higher than beanstalks!” Jack said. “Conner, why didn’t you tell us New York City was so…tall?”
“Actually, I’m just as amazed as you are,” Conner said. “I’ve written about cities like this, but I’ve never been able to describe the feeling it gives you at first sight. Now I know it’s because it can’t be described in words.”
Red grunted—forever unimpressed with the Otherworld.
“Sure, it’s big—but why does everything need to be so boxy?” she asked. “Is it too much to ask for a tower, or a dome, or a sensible spiral? I feel like a mouse in a shoe-box closet.”
They drove through a wide intersection, and the glistening roof of the Chrysler Building came into view. Red squealed and pressed her hands and forehead against her window.
“Now that’s more like it!” she said.
The taxi paused briefly on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-Fourth Street, waiting for a procession of police vehicles to pass by. Conner could have sworn he recognized a few people in the window of a restaurant called Cheesy Street, but he figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him. As he moved to take a second look, he dropped his wallet on the floorboard. By the time he sat back up, the taxi was already moving again.
Once the police were gone, the driver turned south on Fifth Avenue and pulled over between Thirty-Third and Thirty-Fourth Street.
“I know you wanted to get as close to the library as possible, but you may want to get out here,” he suggested. “Traffic is backed up in this area because of the gas leak. It’ll be faster if you just walk the rest of the way.”
“That works,” Conner said. “How much do I owe you?”
/> “That’ll be sixty bucks total,” the driver said.
“We have to pay for this ride?” Red asked in disbelief. “For goodness’ sake, a runaway carriage would have been more comfortable. We were two bumps away from having our innards scrambled!”
“Don’t complain to me, lady,” the driver said. “I took the smooth streets.”
Conner retrieved some cash from his wallet and paid the driver. He and his friends got out of the taxi and joined the bustling pedestrians on the Fifth Avenue sidewalk. Conner looked up and down the street, but the crowds made it difficult for him to figure out where they were.
“Which way is the public library?” he asked, thinking aloud.
“I’d look it up on my phone, but I don’t want my parents to track me—it’s a long story,” Bree said. “Looks like we’ll have to resort to ancient methods and ask for directions.”
Conner and Bree tried to flag someone down, but all the tourists and locals breezed right past them. There were so many people, Red couldn’t see where she was walking and almost stepped on a homeless man sitting on the ground.
“Hey, Your Majesty!” he said. “Watch where you’re going.”
The man was scruffy and wore a janitor’s uniform under a dirty brown coat. Red smiled down at him and patted his head like he was a dog.
“Oh, bless you,” she said. “Thank you for recognizing me, but there’s no need for formal titles while I’m in this world.”
“Red, he’s being sarcastic,” Bree said. “Most people in the Otherworld don’t walk around in ball gowns and tiaras.”
Since the homeless man was the only person on the street who wasn’t in a hurry to get somewhere else, Conner figured he was their best shot at getting directions to the library.
“Excuse me, sir?” he said. “Could you tell us how to get to the New York Public Library from here?”
“Sure I could,” the homeless man said. “Got a dollar?”
Conner shrugged and gave him a dollar. The homeless man held it toward the sun to make sure it was a legitimate bill.