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The glint of the sunlight bouncing off of something in the lowest shelf blinded Mio, making her squint. Raising her hand over her eyes, she drew closer to the shelf and bent down. Slowly, she pulled out a silver heart-shaped mirror from the stack of things, dusty and antique.
"That's a good catch," a woman's voice said.
Mio whirled around to see the woman at the front desk. She was smiling mysteriously as she casually strolled over, browsing the other items on the shelves.
"The mirror of truth doesn't choose just anyone; only those who really need it."
The mirror of truth?
Although Mio wasn't entirely sold on the idea of magic, which the peculiar shop claimed to offer its wandering customers, she was intrigued by the mirror. It was pretty and she thought it would not be such a bad idea to purchase it. "Okay, I'll take it."
Guiding her towards the front desk, the woman started writing down her purchase. After buying the mirror, Mio started to leave the shop.
"The mirror... don't you want to know how it works?"
Shrugging, Mio said, "Yeah, why not?"
The woman chuckled. "I can see that you don't believe. That's dangerous. If you plan on using it, you must remember that magic will work a lot easier with your cooperation. And that would also include belief, dear customer. And as for using the mirror, it will grant you three answers to any question you will ask. Just keep in mind: in the end, everything balances out."
"You mean, there are consequences?"
The woman merely smiled mysteriously at her.
Her first question was: What questions will appear in our Math exam?
It was just a test, to see if it really worked. She studied according to the answers given to her by the mirror. Mio ended up acing her test that day. She was filled with awe, confusion and a little bit of reverence for the magic brought by the mirror.
Her second question, fueled by belief and an insatiable desire for answers, was: Will I be able to achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer?
She felt discouraged when the mirror showed her the failure that she would experience along with her resignation to becoming a call center agent, completely foregoing her former youthful dream. But to her happiness, it also showed her just where everything went wrong: her father would get into an accident, forcing her to drop out of college and abandon her dreams.
And so, on the day of her father's supposed accident, she was able to prevent it.
Her third and final question was: Will Renjun return my feelings for him if I confess to him?
But Mio, in her excited and thus blinded state, didn't notice how she had frequent stomach aches after acing her Math test, or how her father started complaining of headaches and more dizzy spells after she prevented his accident.
So, when the mirror answered yes, Renjun will return your feelings if you confess to him, she was ecstatic.
She planned everything in her head: how she would invite her best friend, Huang Renjun, to eat lunch at the school garden with her. How she would buy him his favorite Moomin drink. How she would confess to him. How he would smile slowly, his face lighting up, and how he would hug her and tell her that he felt the same.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but one of your classmates, Huang Renjun, was involved in a car accident last night. Currently, we have received news that he is in a comatose state."
Her entire world crashed and burned when she heard those words out of their adviser's mouth. The entire day, she felt like throwing up. When classes were dismissed, she rushed out of school, heading straight to the hospital were Renjun was confined. Tears spilled from her eyes in misery as she brought her feet closer towards his sleeping figure. He looked so peaceful that she could easily fool herself that he was just sleeping. She would shake him by his shoulders and he would lazily open his eyes, groggily complaining about being woken up.
Just like he always did.
But as she took his hand in hers, a sob escaped her lips. He didn't stir.
The person she loved - the person she had always loved since the time her heart had learned to beat for someone else - was hanging in a state between life and death because of her.
"What can I do to reverse it? Please, let me save him..."
The woman looked up from her open book placed on top of the desk. She breathed in - careful, controlled, slow. And then, she said, "There is something I can do. But you must know that in exchange for saving his life, you are also giving him up."
With a gulp, she nodded. The woman touched her forehead with a finger.
Mio fell into a deep sleep.
Mio woke up in her room to her annoying alarm clock.
It was the day she had stumbled upon the little shop around the corner. Or, at least, it was supposed to be.
But today, she would not find it on her way home from the study group session. In fact, she would not remember the strange little shop. Nor the silver heart-shaped mirror. Nor the answers that it had revealed to her.
Shit, she cursed, remembering that she had a study group for her Math exam tomorrow. Hurriedly, she started to prepare. She took extra time styling her hair and almost bathed in perfume because Renjun would be there.
She smiled at the thought of him.
Once again, the thought of confessing to him crossed her mind. Would he reciprocate her feelings if she confessed to him?
She shook her head.
No.
For Mio, having him as her best friend was something she was not willing to risk. The thought of being with him made her happy, but the thought of never losing him made her even happier.
And she chose the latter.
I love you, Renjun. Even if you're never going to know.