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Roman peered once more into the magic mirror, watching the violet fog swirl in the glass. He hadn’t yet told his parents--they would force him to throw it away, and nothing as pretty as the ornate golden mirror should be in the trash! Roman, even at seven years old, truly believed that antiques should be protected and treasured. It was a wonderful piece of history that led back to the people of the past.
That being said, Roman wanted to make a wish.
“Magic mirror... I would like... a doll,” he whispered as he clutched the mirror in his small, chubby fists.
“As you wish.”
A doll materialized on the grass with a puff of purple fog. Roman delicately picked it up to inspect it. The doll’s hair was soft and thick in dark brown curls that flopped over its pale face similarly to Roman’s auburn waves. The eyes were large and round; the dark gray color matched beautifully with the lacy black and purple dress on its body.
“Wow,” Roman murmured while pinching the silky fabric of the dress between his fingers. “I wish they were real...”
“As you wish.”
Before Roman could object, the smoke took away the doll, and there was suddenly a person the same age as him sitting a few inches away on the ground. They were slightly more life-like than the doll, but their eyes were still so large.
Roman blinked a few times before saying, “Hello.”
“Um,” the doll-turned-human squeaked. “Hello?”
“My name is Roman. What’s your name?”
The doll scrunched up their face. “I don’t, um, have one.”
“Oh.”
“You could give me one? If it makes you feel better?”
Roman lit up. “Oh! You could be called Virgil! Like the poet!!!”
“Vir-gil... I like... Virgil,” they said, smiling just the tiniest bit.
“Fantastic! Now, are you a boy or a girl?”
Virgil tilted their head, confused. “I don’t know. What do I look like?”
“Well,” Roman started. “Your hair is like a boy’s, but your clothes are like a girl’s.”
“Okay...”
“But you don’t have to be either! You can be both or neither. I have a friend named Talyn who doesn’t go by either, and they’re really cool!”
“I think I don’t want to have either,” Virgil said. “What are you?”
“I’m a boy! I use he/him. You’d probably go by they/them.” Roman smiled brightly. He couldn’t be happier about his new friend.
“I’d like that.”
“Great!” Roman shot up and tugged Virgil along. “Let’s go introduce you to my parents!”