Dance of the White Crane

  Marcel and Jin had been swallowed by the snow. Inês and Lu, having regained the spirit of the march, had realized too late that they had lost sight of the boys, and the storm was much too loud for their voices to abide the distance. Blessedly, in a sea of frosted tones, they could discern the red torii gate, sharp and high, like a bright lighthouse in a dead black sea.

  “Let's get to the shrine!” Inês yelled. “They might be waiting for us up there.”

  Lu nodded and, with every precaution, the pair went up the carved steps methodically. It took much longer than usual, partly because of the wind, and how they had to advance arm in arm and hunched over, almost perpendicular to the ground, but also because they could hardly tell where they were setting their feet and were in fear of plummeting back where they had just come from. The further up they climbed, the more mauling the blow was; its algid blast burning like a vicious geyser.

  In the fullness of time, though, they did manage to make it to the gate, with Lu falling face first into the thick blanket of snow. Inês helped her back up with difficulty, leaving behind a grotesque, geometric engrave. Together, the girls scurried to the shrine in a muted thrum. The edifice stood tall and still in the elements, its deck obstinately empty. Inês let her shoulders fall. She turned, looking around, her eyes scanning the silvery distance for hints. She was feeling lost when Lu tugged at her arm.

  “What is it?” she asked, dismayed.

  Lu pointed to the shrine, speechless. The rice paper door was gliding open on its own; a sullen sight.

  “Could it be?” said Lu. Slowly, she went up the stairs and on to the deck. She looked back at Inês. “I... I think it's calling.”

  Inês followed Lu. When she got to the doorway and stepped out of Lu's track, she saw it too: the mirror she had dreamed about, the mirror which had passed her over, the mirror she had seen on her first day in this foreign world; it was calling to her now, gleaming with the same tragic beauty and alluring light from before. The girls took their sandals off and entered the room. Lu sat down anxiously, while Inês stood standing. The mirror came to greet her, unfolding its rippling magnitude as it did. Inês looked back at Lu, and they gave each other a nod; nothing more was needed. Inês took her kasa off and placed it at her feet; she stepped forward. As she traversed it, she thought the surface of the looking glass felt like lukewarm water.

  When she opened her eyes on the other side, Inês was in a dreadfully familiar place. It was a faded white corridor, almost rosy in hue, and she was sitting in a chair, in a row of similar, empty chairs. Out of date magazines sat on a low table nearby, and a screen, screwed high to the ceiling, babbled unintelligibly in the background. Colorful posters, like so many fearful warnings, plastered the walls, cautioning patients against a slew of woes. Far-flung footsteps resonated in the lonely hall, and Inês felt a tremor she couldn't control; the place was cold. She tried to rub her hands on her arms, but there was nothing to be done. Then, like the warmth had been taken away, she felt the light dim as it appeared. It was a tall, looming figure; dark and vindictive. It came from a door off to the left. She knew that door, she had been there before and she didn't want to go back. It pushed on. Inês was frozen to her sit, cold and incapable of moving away. It seemed to grow ever larger as it got nearer. She could hear it even if it wasn't speaking its words. Why had she been so selfish? Why did she have to make that stupid wish? Why did she break their family apart? Why did she have to ruin everything? Inês trembled, she went to clasp her chest, but her mother's locket was nowhere to be found. She put her hands over her ears, lowering her head to escape the wrath of the figure; that was when she noticed her. Under her sit there laid the tiniest, loveliest little fox. Their eyes locked, and the chill began to evaporate. Hushed, Inês took a deep breath. She looked up, her body steady and she left her chair, coming face to face with the figure; it didn't seem so tall anymore.

  “I'm sorry mom died,” she said. “And I'm sorry the baby died, too. I never wanted that to happen, but that's not my fault. None of it is.”

  The light was love her heart couldn't contain. It detonated in a flash and sent the tetchy figure into a pitiful cry. The passageway materialized, and the memory began to deteriorate. She stepped forward to the exit, but looked over her shoulder before she departed; the little fox was rolled up under her sit, still. Their gazes locked once more.

  “Thanks,” she said with a sad smile. The fox burrowed her face again and closed her eyes. In a formidable dance of yellow, pink, and orange flammes, she combusted.

  Inês stepped out of her trial with a lighter mind, but a heavy gut. She hadn't realized it would take so much out of her to face an echo she had been playing at the back of her mind for half of her life. Thankfully, Lu was right there to help her not fall on her face; her own visage was hatched in tears.

  “Thank you,” said Inês.

  “You look like hell!”

  “I just got back," she smiled.

  In that moment, Inês wished they could put all of this abracadabra aside, just be two teenage girls and watch Heathers together. Her tired mind started to wander off, thinking that they might be able to use their powers to build a television, but then they would have to remake the movie. Who would play which characters? Of course, who else but her could embody Veronica? And Marcel would definitely play Heather C! Jin… Heather D, maybe? So Lu would be Heather M? She started laughing to herself feverishly. It must have been a frightening sight, because Lu seemed disturbed.

  “Hum, Inês?” she said with care. “You still have to get your netsuke.”

  Right, the charm. She got up, not without pain, and straightened her arm out into the mirror. It felt like putting her hand into a sink after washing the dishes to retrieve a prized possession. It took a few seconds, but she soon felt the light weight of it. She pulled the netsuke out, cupping it in her palm. It was a graceful ivory crane, carved from bone; its wings were tucked and its neck folded as if it were asleep. She smiled and tightened her hand around it. Lu rested her head on her shoulder. They stood there a short instant, contemplating what they had just been through. Before long, they heard a little buzzing sound grow closer from outside.

  “What in the world are you two doing here?!” asked Debuu. “Your fellow sentai are fighting for their lives!”