When she heard the knock on the door, her heart thudded in anticipation. He’s here!
How come she was suddenly excited to spend the evening with him when just a few hours before it had terrified her? Everything was going so well. Maybe she’d been wrong about her next quest. Maybe this had nothing to do with Teague and the Story. It wasn’t like Brody’s car would turn into a pumpkin.
Charlie beat Mina to the door and yanked it open.
An extremely tall and gangly man with an equally long face stood on their front porch. His skin was pasty white, and his eyes were small and beady as if he never saw the sun.
“Can I help you?” her mom asked.
“I’m Schumacher. I’ve brought you your shoes.” His deep voice resonated, reminding Mina of Lurch from an old show called The Addams Family. Charlie and she would often stay up late to watch the reruns.
“Excuse me?” her mom said again, glancing at what he was holding out in front of him.
Mina was scared to look, but she leaned to the side of Mei and—sure enough—sitting in the palms of Schumacher’s long hands was a pair of pumps with a small two-inch heel fashioned from glass. Mina and Sara both registered the implications at the same time, because her mother slammed the door on poor old Schumacher.
“Mom! We need those.”
“No you don’t! I know what this is. Why didn’t you tell me you were given another tale? I’m your mother. I should know if your life is in danger,” she spoke harshly.
Mina rushed to her mother, grabbed her hands between her own and tried to calm her. “Mom, listen to me. We will always be in danger as long as we are alive. There’s no way around the curse. But there’s something even worse that is about to happen to you, to Charlie, to us…if I don’t take those shoes and use them to save us.”
Her mother started to cry. She reached out and pulled Mina into a long hug. “I know. I know this is something you have to do. But don’t ask me to not worry or be afraid. That’s my right as a mother to be terrified for you.” She sniffed and wiped at the back of her nose with her sleeve. Mina stepped back and nodded.
Charlie had kept the curtain back to stare at Lurch.
Mei pulled her mother into another hug, and they both watched as Mina approached the door again.
She opened the door and Schumacher was still standing there with the beautifully horrifying shoes. Beautiful in their design, horrifying in what they symbolized.
“I’m Schumacher. I’ve brought you your shoes,” he repeated.
“Why yes. Thank you, Schumacher.” Mina held out her hands to receive the shoes from him. The glass shoes tinkled together when she grasped them. Upon closer inspection, Mina could see that they were a mixture of clear glass and long pieces of mirror. The sole of the shoes were lined with mirrored glass, and she could see her reflection staring at her from within the slippers. The form and heels were sculpted glass, the tops decorated with little glass diamonds. These were the creation of not only a master cobbler but a master glassblower as well. “They’re beautiful.”
He nodded and his long face stretched into an awkward smile. He leaned forward and whispered softly to her. “Wear now.” Mina opened her mouth to ask a question, but he cut her off. “Now. Wear now!”
Mina’s mouth lost all of its moisture. “Sounds good.” Her tongue felt like a piece of sandpaper when she tried to answer him. She watched as Schumacher turned and stepped off of the porch. He walked to the nearest shadow, made from a large maple, stepped into it, and disappeared.
She turned and showed the shoes to Mei who only whistled. “You hear him. Listen to Schumacher. Don’t dilly-dally. Put them on.”
Mina did just that. Her toes felt weird sliding across the cool mirrored glass, and she was terrified that they would shatter if she put her whole weight on them. But they held. And she didn’t go flying across the floor when she walked in them either.
Another knock sounded on the door.
This time it was Brody. He smiled, showcasing his dimple. In his black form-fitted tux, which only made his blond hair look even more sun-kissed, handsome wasn’t quite the word. Mina thought she heard her own mother sigh.
Mina’s mom showed them the camera and they posed for picture after picture, but no matter what Mina did, she couldn’t regain her joy about this evening. She knew her smile must looked forced. Every time she took a step, those darn shoes tinkled against the wood floor. Taunting her about her duty—her journey that could start any minute.
They were about to leave when Mei ran back up to Mina and gave her a quick hug, pressing something cold and round into her hands—the seam ripper. Mina ran back to her bathroom tucked it in the dress. She took one last look at her reflection in the mirror and tried to smile.
The smile froze on her lips when her reflection began to flicker in and out.
Chapter 18