Going Downtown

The clatter of high-heels on tiles woke me from my nap.

"Mmmrph," I mumbled, peering around. Our living room smelled like the zest of cleaning liquids I'd just finished using. The morning had been uneventful; yet another day helping my sister get ready for work.

"Drat. I'm not used to these." Fate was standing in our kitchen while she struggled slipping into black high-heels. Unlike weekends, she evolved from sloth to business woman—donned in a dark suit that accentuated her figure. She also wore a new short-hem skirt that hugged her legs tight.

"You're gonna trip at work if your high-heels keep getting taller," I said.

"S-Shut up. This is professional attire."

"Your heels get taller while your skirts get shorter."

But she shrugged off my taunts and ventured towards our Home Mirror to finish putting on makeup. Then glanced behind at me.

"Oh. Tell Glint it's fine if she wants to borrow my bike today when you guys go get groceries."

"She doesn't know how to ride bikes," I said from the couch, "so we're just gonna walk."

"Yeesh. Might be a hot date in more ways than one." After adjusting her purse, Fate started turning a dial on the mirror until the image of an office appeared. "There's condoms under my bed if you need some."

"Please stop assuming things . . ."

"Hehe." She winked at me then disappeared into the mirror.

A locking sound rang which meant our mirror had sealed once more. No other noises except the ticking of a clock on the wall echoed.

Huh, 9:50 already. Guess Glint's having trouble picking out clothes. I played games on my phone until I heard someone walking downstairs.

"Hmmm?" I said, looking behind.

Glint strolled in wearing a long, white sundress that reached her ankles. Canvas sandals and toenails painted turquoise were ready for walks on the beach. Though we weren't going anywhere so extravagant today.

"Y-Your sister lent me even more clothes." Glint blushed as she tilted her straw hat down. "Sorry I took a bit . . ."

"Don't worry, you look great," I smiled. "Guess we kinda match now?"

This morning I'd donned myself in a buttoned-up, colorful Hawaiian shirt. Sunglasses on my head aided the aesthetic, while khaki shorts helped stay cool.

"Mm." Glint nodded. "I thought since we're both going out in the sun, I might as well look the part."

"Gonna be lots of walking too. Do you mind?"

"Nope!" She paced around the couch and sat beside me. "It'd be my first time sightseeing in this world."

I sighed. "It's just a trip for groceries. We can't go anywhere exotic without passports."

"Yeah. You mentioned you knew someone who could get me a fake passport though?"

Kinda cute how she's willing to break laws. "A friend named Chad—his brother works in shady stuff."

"Do you trust him?"

"Chad is solid. I texted if he could come over tomorrow, when I'd probably explain details since phones are dangerous."

"S-Sorry you're going through all this trouble for me . . ."

It wasn't secret I'd bent over hard for Glint—giving her somewhere to stay, free food, and now an attempt at a fake passport. But they were just little things. The important part was that we were having fun; and finally having some company besides Chad felt nice.

I chuckled and crossed my arms. "Honestly, the biggest trouble is you not knowing how to ride a bike. It's pretty important for our culture."

"Just to get around?"

"Yeah." I pointed towards our tall Home Mirror on the wall. "Usually, we take bikes through to the other side for errands, since Communals could be far from where you wanna go."

"Wait, isn't there a teleport mirror inside the grocery store?"

"Wouldn't that be nice, haha."

Glint seemed confused. "I mean, having a mirror inside would be convenient for everyone, no?"

"One word." I raised a finger. "Anti-competition. Putting Communal Mirrors inside a store would be a huge advantage for big chains that can afford them. But it puts small shops at a disadvantage."

"So like it's illegal?"

"Basically."

Glint's cute, confused expression remained while I brought back some water bottles from the kitchen. She took one in her hand before taking a sip.

"Thanks," she said.

"Might get hot later. So drink up."

I started turning dials on our mirror's frame, tinkering with numbers and levers. All the while I could feel Glint's eyes peering towards me.

"Should we buy anything for Monkey Dee?" she asked.

"N-Nah, I'll handle his feed tomorrow. It's better you don't stand out too much anyway."

"Why?"

My hand finished spinning a black dial before I spoke with Glint's reflection. "Because people need passports even for trips down the street."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"Exactly. But it's just our culture. The only good thing is that people never get passported in places that aren't tourist hotspots—like grocery stores."

"So it's still okay I go?"

"Should be. Just stick by me." I continued facing the mirrored reflection, waiting for ripples to appear. "Someone is probably using the Communal Mirror we wanna walk through right now."

Another minute of waiting. I'd sat back down on the couch with Glint as we kept chatting. But she seemed particularly curious about our world's mirrors.

"There's three different kinds of them," I said. "The first is—"

Ahead of us, ripples and bubbling gave way to fog in the mirror, until an image of a station lobby appeared.

"It's ready." I stood and patted myself off. "I'll explain more later. Let's head out for now."

"Mm!"

The door-shaped mirror was waiting. I stuck one foot inside before looking behind me at a nervous Glint.

"What's wrong?" I said.

She shuddered. "Sorry. It's just the first time I've gone through a mirror since I got here."

Oh yeah huh. "It's easy. Look, just follow me."

I let myself sizzle through the glass surface. It felt like stepping through thin layers of mist—a quick chill that momentarily blinded me until I emerged on the other side to blasts of light.

Warm air swallowed me. I'd been warped inside an office-esque room within a private cubicle. Voices chattering in the background hinted I wasn't alone, but folks were just minding their business.

"Hmmm?" I looked back into the mirror. Since coordinates weren't inputted on this side, my confused reflection appeared. Glint could see me but I couldn't see her. Is she scared?

Wanting to encourage her, I stuck my arm through the mirror and waited. Five seconds. Several more. Then someone's gentle hand nestled into mine.

Softness. It was the first time I'd ever held Glint's hand. Her palm and fingers weaved themselves in as if wanting me to get a better hold. We couldn't see each other but we could feel one another.

I tenderly tugged her towards me. Slowly, a girl's hand was pulled out from the mirror, followed by the white of her dress and then the closeness of her face.

"W-Woah!" Glint said, almost tripping before I caught her shoulders. "Thank you."

"Gotta be careful," I chuckled.

"G-Geez . . ."

She took a moment to observe our new surroundings. The office-like space featured a low ceiling with rows of cameras pointing down at individual mirrors. In this particular building—a Communal Station—there were forty mirrors each inside separate cubicles. All were free to use and paid via taxes, though often required waiting in line.

Glint peeked out from our cubicle as she watched people pass along. I couldn't tell if she was nervous or curious.

"Something on your mind?" I said.

"Just sure is lots of crowds . . ."

"Yeah, it's one of Hesperia's Communal Stations. A few get installed in every town."

"Is this the same place Fate warped to?"

I shook my head. "She's a secretary at our local city hall. Government jobs get an exception: they can install Communal Mirrors straight inside their buildings for employees to warp into."

"Oh, that's pretty convenient."

"Yeah. Everyone else though . . ."

I kept explaining details as we walked out from the cubicle. Skittish Glint hovered near me while she peered around at unfamiliar sights.

A man beside us was pulling a red wagon loaded with tools. Almost everyone we saw rolled a bike or trolley along; streams of people were pacing past security desks until we all reached our building's exit.

Wide glass doors slid open. But Glint took the first steps outside, a look of wonder in her eyes as she basked in sunlight.

"Woah!" She gazed ahead. "Your streets are way different from mine!"

"Hmm?"

It was just a four-lane road, nothing extraordinary. Bicycles traversed the tarmac en masse, while in another lane automobiles chugged along to thick plumes of black smoke. The stench of exhaust lingered but no one minded. Anything was preferable over horse manure which was recently banned on streets.

Glint adjusted her straw hat before glimpsing towards me. "It's cool! Where I'm from, there's no way bikes could ever have a whole lane to themselves!"

"Shhhhh. Not so loud," I said. "How different were your roads anyway?"

"Ummm, it was all cars. There could be a bike lane but it was usually small."

Huh. Weird world. Although just a fairy tale, Glint's Earth was something I'd heard whispers and rumors about since childhood. A parallel yet completely different dimension, something happened in history that separated both halves. And contact between them became forbidden.

Glint and I began walking down our sidewalk. A hot sun overhead reminded us where we were—the middle of a huge desert. But otherwise it was just an urban shopping stroll.

Bikes, scooters, and people on roller blades kept zooming past us. Cars on the further lane were more rare but always blared loud, smoky engines. Their aesthetic looked like intestines to me—exposed exhaust pipes and winding fuel lines inspired by steampunk stories. They were incomparable to the sleek designs of our earliest automobiles gone out of favor.

"Your cars kinda look like my world's go-karts," Glint beside me chuckled.

"Go-karts?" I asked her.

"Mm. Basically like, cars that are smaller and lower to the ground. They're mostly used for racing and stuff."

"Makes sense. Most of our cars are made to either go fast or drive long-distance. No one really cares about how they look anymore . . ."

But Glint's smile hinted it didn't bother her. She just liked hearing me talk about my world, and the differences between ours. Even while we crossed an intersection she listened to every word as if I were a teacher.

She peered around again. "Wait. Where's the horses though?"

"Horses?"

"Yeah. I thought they'd be used for traveling like bikes."

I looked up towards the hot sky, imagining how I'd explain things. "Well, horses are basically going out of fashion everywhere. They just stayed ingrained in culture because of being around a long time, haha."

"So inventing mirrors changed everything?"

"Yup. We rode trains or horses until then."

She giggled. "Kinda hard believing trains were invented before mirrors."

"H-Hey, trains are cool though," I said. "We could ride one sometime if you want."

"Okay! I'd like that."

Hold on, that's basically me asking her out on a date. Lucky it feels she didn't take it that way . . . But I couldn't help but sneak another glance at her. She was pacing a little ahead of me, still smiling while watching cars and bikes pass by. There was an innocence to her—like this really could be someone who'd been starved of seeing the world.

Then a sudden gust blew her hat off. She panicked before my hand caught it and saved it from blowing towards the road.

"Thank you," she said as I handed her hat back. "You're quick, hehe."

"E-Erm, yeah—no problem!" I'd become a stuttering mess, almost entranced by this girl wearing my sister's clothes. I hadn't thought much about Glint romantically, but all I could think about as she fixed her hair were Chad's words:

'You always did like blondes.'

No one noticed me blush while we crossed an intersection and waltzed into a store's parking lot. White outlines on the ground held few cars, which made sense considering—

"So some people do drive to the store," Glint beside me said. She crouched down to inspect a car's wheels and license plate.

"If folks live closeby, yeah, sometimes automobiles are just faster than mirrors."

"Because of Communal Stations being far?"

"Exactly."

It was an eyebrow-raising moment for me seeing how fast she was learning. But that was the whole point of bringing Glint out here before anywhere exotic. She'd need to be spoon-fed this world's culture in case things came as a shock.

After pacing past more cars, we strolled through the supermarket's front entrance. A waft of air conditioning enveloped us, nullifying the desert climate outside. The refreshing scents of wet produce and freshly cleaned floors marked an oasis for shoppers. People were pushing around carts or pulling their own wagons they'd brought from home.

Ummm, I should've made a list. What do we need? But as I pondered, holding my chin, Glint next to me started doing an awkward dance.

"I-Is there a restroom somewhere?" she half-laughed.

"Oh, yeah. I'll take you there."

Rows of busy checkout stations didn't pay us mind as we walked by. We ventured through a cereal aisle until encountering a wall of humming freezers. The low-pitched rumblings drowned out some crowds until we found a restroom entrance.

"Huh?" Glint said, peering around for a sign. "Where's the girl's bathroom?"

"Girl's?" I raised an eyebrow. "Most public restrooms are gender-neutral."

"What? No way, why?"

"Dunno. It's just always been like that."

Glint was still shimmying her feet up and down, resisting urges. She seemed conflicted, maybe hinting the world she came from focused on gender-segregation. Though there's no way I could have known that.

With a sigh, she shook her head. "It's fine. I-I really just gotta go . . ."

Glint motioned to move. But I gently grabbed her shoulder before she bolted. "Wait. Do you want me to go in there with you?"

"Wh-What would I need that for?"

"Our restrooms might not be what you're used to."

"How are they different?"

"Well I don't know."

Our little debate began drawing eyes from shoppers passing by. They looked at us like we were lovers arguing, though Glint was shivering too much to notice.

"I-It's just a restroom, I'll be fine. Thanks though, Chance!" Then she darted off deep inside.

The aisle became quiet.

Really not sure how this is gonna go. I crossed my arms and started counting up. One, two, three . . .

"EEEEEEK!" Glint's sudden yelp echoed from inside the restroom.

Although expected, I rushed into the fray. Tiled flooring was slippery as I maneuvered around an old man and reached an area full of stalls. There was a stink in the air under dim lights, but nothing suspicious.

Then I spotted Glint. She was standing in front of a sink with both hands clasping her mouth, a look of shock spreading while she stared straight into something ahead.

"You alright?" I grouped beside her.

She was still too spooked to speak. But why? There wasn't anything strange or out of the ordinary here. For me at least.

"Wh-Why are there so many cameras there?" she pointed.

Above the sink, a large display monitor was hooked up to an array of cameras, all pointing at Glint and following her movements. Smaller monitors ahead offered different fish-eyed angles like the side or top of her head. But Glint's surprised face appeared on every screen.

"Don't you have cameras in your restrooms?" I said.

"No!"

Ah geez, how should I explain stuff? I itched the back of my head before starting. "Mirrors are expensive. And not everyone is comfortable with them in restrooms, since mirrors can double as doorways. So we use cameras instead."

Glint breathed to calm herself. She held her chest as if relaxing. "Sorry. I remembered there wasn't a mirror in your bathroom either. Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"It's okay. I'd be just as confused if I saw mirrors in a restroom, haha."

She took a few cautious steps forward and let herself peer into the cameras. The fish-eye lens rounded her face and highlighted even the small mole on her cheek. Long blonde hair—ruffled from wind outside—had a blade of grass stuck inside she hadn't noticed until now. Glint giggled as she plucked it out.

"Maybe these TV's in place of mirrors aren't so bad," she said.

"You'll get used to them." Without realizing it, I'd snuck into the camera shot with her, smiling. The wide lens zooming in on us almost made it look like we were in a lover's booth.

But Glint didn't mind. She actually shimmied closer to me, and made a cute peace sign as if we were taking selfies together.

"Say cheese," she said to the camera.

H-Huh? Nervous me concocted an awkward grin that at least spoke from my heart.

It'd be a long day of shopping. But maybe I'd learn more about Glint—and more of that interesting world she came from.