When In . . .

Tokyo. Istanbul. Hawaii. Hong Kong. Rio de Janeiro.

As weeks rolled by, Glint and I continued traveling from country to country, city to city. The most mountainous ranges and packed metropolises—seeing the world was cheap compared to hers which required "planes" for anything far. With mirrors, I could take us almost anywhere she wanted. Whenever we wanted. What I took for granted constituted a miracle for her.

Under the shade of a cafe's patio umbrella, she was sipping a cold drink across from me. Gloss from her lips stuck to the glass as she set the drink down then exhaled, satisfied.

"This is all perfect," Glint smiled. "You might be spoiling me, hehe."

Who wouldn't? I pulled out a napkin and reached to clean some crumbs off Glint's face. For the summer heat, she was wearing a floral dress topped with sunglasses on her head. By now she'd cycled through most clothes in my sister's closet.

"G-Geez, you don't gotta baby me," Glint said, shying away.

"You always go crazy when trying out new food."

"Only for tasty food. Like when . . ."

Me and Glint had officially gone on several dates by now. Ever since San Juan Capistrano we'd grown closer and closer. From a train trip across America to simple movie dates, we didn't limit ourselves to just mirrors. Our biggest question now was wondering how official we were.

Huh? I felt buzzing in my khaki shorts before I pulled out my phone. Today I'd worn a simple white shirt with sleeves rolled up to help combat heat. Text message? Let's see . . .

Tapping the inbox icon opened someone's advice:

'Hey, little brother. Get Glint a bra for her birthday! I can't lend her mine since she's not as stacked as me. Your poor girlfriend has been using and washing her one bra this whole time. Treat her to something besides food for once.'

Ah, just more Fate antics. But when I laid my phone down on the table, I couldn't help but glance at Glint, who was admiring distant scenery. Her face—serene as a breeze blew by—watched on while crowds rolled through the plaza.

Piazza della Rotonda. We were in Rome, sitting in a cafe on a hot summer day. Our view let us gaze towards tourists swarming the Pantheon—a towering, ancient temple lined with granite columns that'd stood the test of time.

"It was pretty crowded in there," I chuckled. "But we should come back sometime."

"Definitely," Glint said. Her eyes were still observing tourists walking by. Then I realized, it wasn't crowds, but the wild birds she was watching. Each one fluttered or hopped around from person to person, hoping for treats.

"They sure aren't afraid of anyone," I said

"Oh! Look!" Glint pointed. "That's, erm, a pigeon!"

"Which modifier though?"

"Ummm . . ."

As flocks of pigeons flew away after a kid ran through them, I gave the correct answer. "Rock pigeon."

"Darn. Guess it should've been obvious . . ."

"Nah, you'll get better with time."

Over the past few weeks, I'd lent her my field guide on identifying wild birds. She'd become interested in birding ever since learning it was my hobby, though had been struggling telling species apart.

Undeterred, she split apart a cracker and tossed it towards the ground. Pigeons swooped in to fight over crumbs, but were all chased away by a large crow. It pecked at other birds and flapped its wings around until becoming the sole bird standing.

"Well this guy is kinda rude," Glint said. "He's a crow, right?"

"Half right," I replied.

She pondered for a moment by grasping her chin, before an "aha!" moment spread. "Since his head is darker than the rest of his body, he's a Hooded crow!"

"Bingo."

"Yay!"

Her excited giggles continued while she dropped another cracker. The crow hopped closer, cautiously, before gobbling everything down.

No one noticed the nostalgia in my eyes as I looked on. All I could think about was Capone, wondering what he'd been up to since I graduated high school. Maybe he'd died long before then or escaped to greener pastures. Whatever the case, another bird now sought attention.

"Want more snacks?" Glint told the crow. It hopped closer as she hand-fed him.

"Crows are smart," I said. "If he's letting you pamper him like that, he probably knows you're a good person."

"Hehe. I've always been kinda good with animals."

Would explain Monkey. "By the way, did you bring your camera?"

"Oh! Yeah, good idea." She reached into her purse and pulled out a black digital camera. It was my old Kodak—non-DSLR—I'd lent so she could practice taking pictures.

And with each click of the shutter, she smiled from behind the camera as the gray-feathered crow kept nibbling food.

"Remember his field marks," I said. "Beak, plumage—he's a bit like a magpie if that'll help."

"Mm! Taking pictures is fun. Then I can look at them later."

"That's what I learned too late."

"Huh?" She looked back at me, confused.

I didn't want to get sentimental, but sometimes it couldn't be helped with her. Glint's presence always lowered my guard and let me spill my heart out.

I shifted in the chair before gazing out towards crowds. "When you lose parents—or someone you love—you kinda wish you had more to remember them by, right? That's why I like taking photos of birds; and pictures of people I care about. You never know when you'll regret not having something to help remember them by."

Part of me was shy to see her expression. But I waited. And waited. No reply.

The Hooded crow below the table flew away, a feather gliding down as it distracted me from Glint. Before I knew it, she'd pointed her camera at me and clicked the shutter.

"There!" she cheered. "I didn't have a pic of you before, but now I can see my boyfriend whenever I want, hehe."

Boyfriend. My heart thumped as I finally looked Glint in the eyes. She was grinning like she knew what I wanted to hear—the magical word that'd confirmed what I needed. Then we both giggled.

"Well," I said, "if you're my girlfriend, I gotta get you something nice for your birthday. Is there anything you want?"

"Hmmm . . . " She put the camera down to think. "I turn eighteen before you, so maybe a Las Vegas trip sometime? When you're eighteen too."

"Oh, yeah. Our gambling and drinking age isn't twenty-one like in your America."

"Mm! Can I ask for another thing though?"

"What?"

She leaned forward on the table. Her deep-blue, mischievous eyes hinted at what she was thinking. "I want to play a game."

Bad feelings about this . . . "S-Sure, I'm game."

Tourists and locals kept walking past us while Glint held her breath. She now appeared coy, almost hesitant about playing after all. Her cheeks flustered and her eyes couldn't look straight at me. Our previous roles had reversed.

"T-Two questions," she said. "We can ask each other one question, and we both gotta give honest answers."

"Oh?" I replied, intrigued, "Okay. Sounds like there's something on your mind already."

She nervously played with her hands, blushing. "Your ex-girlfriend—the one Chad mentioned—how far did you and her go?"

Ugggh, I still gotta kill Chad for leaking that. But I knew she'd bring up the topic eventually. Dancing around my past life would just make me look bad, though being honest . . .

I took a deep breath and talked casually. "Me and my ex met in school. We dated, held hands, and kissed once. That's it."

"Just kissed?"

"Yep."

"How did you two break up?"

"That's more than one question now."

Glint pouted. "Fine. Ask me your question now."

Hmmm. Even if this was an opportunity to learn about Glint's past life, it didn't feel right prying. Not yet. We had at least the rest of summer to get closer; why rush things? Let's just have some fun.

Glint was waiting with an annoyed face, still pouting. She crossed her arms before looking me dead in the eyes.

"M-My sister," I said, "she mentioned you've been wearing your one bra this whole time? So I was wondering if you could tell me your size so I can buy you a new bra."

This was it—where I'd dug my grave. I may be cooked, broiled, boiled alive for even asking, but I couldn't think of anything better to say. Cookie-cutter words that probably had her waiting for a punchline.

Instead, Glint just sighed like she was tired. After an eye roll, she scooted out from her chair and walked over to me. Quiet lips whispered into my ear the answer to my bra question.

"Eh?" I said. "That's bigger than I thought."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Compliment, haha."

Suspicion still lingered on her face as she sat down again. There wasn't any way to cheer her up now. Except . . .

"Alright, alright. I'll make us dinner when we get home," I said.

"Huh? Really? Yay!" she cheered. "You've been cooking less often these days."

"Traveling so much makes me just wanna sleep sometimes."

"Well no being tired yet, Mr. Sleepyhead. We still gotta stop by Barcelona later."

Two countries in one day is killer . . . Different time zones, especially in Europe and Asia, were brutal on foreigners. Mirrors let us hop through regions though didn't nullify the whiplash of traveling between countries with completely distinct time zones.

But Glint radiated energy, always fine staying up twenty-four hours or more to travel the world.

"Urrrghhh." I sank in my seat.

"Come on," she said. "Rome and Barcelona have the same time zone. That's why we picked today for our trip."

"Alright, let me just pay the bill."

I swiveled my head around for a waiter, signaling for someone serving another table. The aproned man approached.

"Il conto, per favore," I told him.

"Subito, signore." He nodded before heading into the cafe.

When the waiter was out of sight, Glint's curious eyes focused back on me. "I still like how you can speak lots of languages."

"Just the bare minimum," I said. "It's helpful asking for the bill and stuff."

The waiter returned with a slip of paper. I looked it over then went to pay at the front counter, before coming back with a receipt.

"Ready to go?" I told Glint.

"Yup!"

We left the crowded cafe and joined mobs of tourists gushing through Rome's streets. But even through cramped alleys where sun could barely shine, Glint and I had fun sightseeing.

It was a secluded area between another row of cafes. Ahead, two lovers were walking hand-in-hand towards us, chatting. Their smiles and mutual love for each other were apparent as they paced by us.

Hmmm . . . Since we were official now, I confidently wrapped my arm around Glint's shoulders and brought her close. She shuddered for a moment in surprise before snuggling into me.

"By the way," she said while we walked, "your birthday is coming up too, Chance. Is there something you want?"

"Well, Paris and London are still block dated, so we can't go there. But I was thinking about visiting someplace else."

"Where?"

Flashbacks of a castle overlooking an elegant lake zoomed by. "I've been there before, though it'd be nice heading there together."

"Let me guess: it's gonna be a surprise."

"Haha, good hunch."

We chit chatted and flirted until arriving outside a Communal Station. The office-like buildings were similar all around the world, though this one bustled with crowds due to being near tourist attractions.

"Let's go to the Colosseum first!" a passing boy with his family said.

"Questi dannati turisti sono ovunque." Some businessman nearby cursed under his breath.

Armies of mirrors stood inside as we walked through automatic doors. Glint still under my arm peered around for an empty stall.

"That one looks good." She pointed ahead. After just over a month she'd grown used to our whole culture.

Inside the stall was a tall Communal Mirror covered in fingerprints. High-traffic areas in tourist cities always left their mirrors dirtied.

Alright, I think the numbers for Barcelona were . . . But as I reached for a white dial, Glint tugged on my sleeve.

"D-Does Barcelona have good shopping malls?" she said.

"Hmm? Yeah. We were just gonna stroll through town. But we can hit up stores if you want."

She blushed a bit without looking at me. "You said you'd buy me a bra. I think it'd be nicer if we looked for one together, right?"

"I don't exactly have experience bra shopping."

"Well that's why I wanna come along, dummy!"

"Oh. Okay." Being in a relationship was still new to me, even with an ex-girlfriend before that didn't last. This time I'd make sure nothing fell apart.

As I finished spinning numbers into the dial, Glint phased her hand through the mirror and giggled.

"I'll lead the way today, hehe."