The little girl sighed and shook her head.
“That’s lucky,” she said. “It takes most people their whole lives to learn that lesson. Every day I watch more and more people stare at themselves with such deep sadness in their eyes. I try to give them compliments and tell them it’s the inside that counts, but they’re always so frightened to see a little girl appear, they don’t listen to a word I say.”
The girl was one of the most peculiar children Froggy had ever met. She spoke so elegantly and moved around the mirrors so freely, it made him question whether she was really a little girl at all.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
The girl thought about it, but nothing seemed to come to mind.
“I don’t remember,” she said. “I’m sure I had one once, I just can’t recall what it was.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Froggy said. “Memory loss is a side effect of living in this dimension. The longer we stay inside it, the more we fade into nothing but reflections. How long have you been trapped?”
The girl thought even harder but still couldn’t find the answer.
“I don’t remember that, either,” she said with a laugh.
“Doesn’t that concern you?”
“It did once, but I forgot why,” she said. “Actually, I find forgetfulness very pleasant. A memory is nice for people with good memories, but amnesia can be quite comforting to others.”
“You must have lived a rather tragic life to believe that,” Froggy said.
“I suppose I did,” she said, pondering. “I miss having dreams, but at least I don’t live with nightmares anymore. Perhaps you’ll enjoy forgetting, too.”
The little girl’s bizarre outlook made Froggy even more anxious. He didn’t know how much longer he would have his own memory, but she was proof it was only a matter of time before his mind was wiped clean.
“I wish forgetfulness were all I was concerned about,” he said. “I’m in desperate need to find someone who can give my friends a warning. Their home is about to be invaded by a terrible army, and I need to contact them before it’s too late. Have you ever communicated with someone in the palace without scaring them off?”
The little girl thought about it, and to the amazement of both of them, she had an answer.
“I’ve been able to communicate with lots of people in the past without frightening them,” she recalled. “However, I don’t believe I’ve ever talked to someone in this palace.”
“You mean, you’ve traveled to other palaces?” Froggy asked.
“Well, of course! I’ve traveled all over the kingdoms. Haven’t you?”
“No,” he said. “Besides a witch’s basement, the mirrors in the Northern Palace are all I’ve been able to find in this world.”
“You can travel to any mirror you’d like,” the little girl explained. “All you have to do is visualize where you want to go, and the mirror dimension will take you there. It’s as simple as that.”
Suddenly, all of Froggy’s time in the mirror dimension began to make sense. Had he realized what he wanted to find before he’d started searching, the Northern Palace would have appeared much sooner than it had. Knowing that all the mirrors throughout the kingdoms were available to him gave him his first rush of hope in weeks. If the Bailey twins were near a mirror, he could deliver a warning himself—he just needed to figure out where they were hiding.
Froggy closed his eyes, and the first location that came to his mind was the castle in the Center Kingdom. He visualized the castle’s hallways, the sitting rooms, the dining rooms, and the spacious library Red had built for him.
“You did it!” the little girl cheered. “Look over there! You made more mirrors appear!”
Froggy opened his eyes and looked where she was pointing. In the distance amid the darkness was a cluster of twinkling lights, as if a small patch of a starry night sky had manifested. The little girl grabbed Froggy’s hand and pulled him toward the lights.
“We’ll search these mirrors first, and if we don’t find your friends there, we’ll search every mirror in the kingdoms until we do!” she said.
“You don’t mind helping me look for them?” Froggy asked.
“Not at all,” the little girl said. “It’s been ages since I had an actual activity. By the way, I forgot to ask—what’s your name?”
Froggy opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He thought he was just experiencing a mental hiccup of sorts, but his silence continued. No matter how hard he thought about it, Froggy couldn’t recall his name.
“I… I… I can’t remember,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t matter now—all that matters is finding my friends and warning them.”
The little girl shrugged and started to skip as she pulled him toward the newly materialized mirrors. Froggy was glad she was escorting him; otherwise he would have frozen with panic after forgetting his own name. Wherever the Bailey twins were, he prayed they’d find them quickly. Froggy had to warn them about the Literary Army while he still knew there was something to warn them about.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PIZZA BAGELS AND BARRICADES
In Midtown Manhattan, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-Fourth Street, was a famous bistro called Cheesy Street. The café was a tourist hotspot and sold all the food New York City was famous for. Visitors and locals alike journeyed to Cheesy Street for their renowned pizza, bagels, cheesecake, pastrami, and clam chowder. The staff had seen their fair share of eccentric customers over the years, but nothing like the party of twelve who joined them for lunch today.
Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and Wendy (known in their community as the Book Huggers) shared a plate of Cheesy Street’s signature pizza bagels. The girls stared down at the cheesy hybrid on their plates in total silence, with blank expressions. Sitting across from them were all four pairs of the Book Huggers’ parents. They eyed their daughters with great caution and concern, as if the girls were explosives with faulty wiring.
“I’m so glad we decided to go on this trip,” Mindy’s mom said. “It was very last-minute, but sometimes a spontaneous trip is exactly what you need to clear your head. Isn’t it?”
The Book Huggers didn’t respond or look up from their plates.
“I think we picked the perfect place to visit,” Cindy’s dad said. “Isn’t New York an amazing city? There are so many things to do and see here. What’s been your favorite attraction so far?”
Once again, the Book Huggers didn’t say a word or move a muscle.
“I loved Central Park,” Lindy’s mom said. “I also liked the Empire State Building, visiting Ellis Island, our tour of the United Nations, and of course, last night’s performance of The Phantom of the Opera.”