Title: the world outside, the world below
Fandom: Guardian
Rating: G-rated
Length: 500 words (drabble sequence)
Notes: Zhou Weiwei, the mirror girl from eps 5 & 6. Backstory and a glimpse of what's next. Inter-dimensional travel. Angst.
Summary: She always knew it was too good to be true.



At first, conscious of her shadowlessness, she’s afraid to leave the room. People will notice; they’ll know she’s not real. Anyway, it’s enough to breathe real air, to eat and bathe. To spin, arms outstretched. To change her hair, choose her clothes. Everything she’s longed for.

She consults her counterpart, but the real Weiwei’s curled into a ball. “I don’t know, I don’t want to think about it. Everything’s hateful.”

So she dresses carefully, takes their purse and ventures out.

The world is endless – buildings, cars, trees, birds – and domed with sky. A schoolgirl smiles at her; she smiles back.


*


The optician suggests contact lenses. When she tries them, suddenly life is unframed. “Oh!” she breathes. “Yes, please!”

She can’t pay attention in class, too busy noticing slight scuffmarks on a leather bag, the gleam of gold jewellery, a fuzz-soft sweater, chalk dust clouding the air. The boy next to her is wearing a t-shirt with a fraying neckline. It’s all beautiful, touchable.

She goes shopping for clothes that make her heart thump. In the changing-room mirror, she looks flushed and pretty. She looks as real as any other student, despite her shadowlessness.

Her counterpart is too miserable to care.


*


She studies alone in the library, looks after her appearance and her health, experiments to find what she likes: spicy food, pork, ice cream, milk. Occasionally she forgets and takes her new life for granted. Forgets she isn’t real. But at home her counterpart is waiting.

She recounts her day to prove her gratitude: where she went, who she spoke to. She doesn’t have friends, but every interaction is special. What else can she do to make her counterpart happy? She buys a bigger three-panel mirror, giving different angles on the room.

One day she says, “I met a boy.”


*


Ji Xiaobai is sweet and funny, patient with her fears. He’s attentive, yet still believes she’s human. She’s so happy it’s hard to contain.

Her counterpart is greedy for details, starts calling him “our boyfriend”, and she can’t object. She owes her counterpart everything: her face, her body, her whole life. (But not Xiaobai.)

She arrives home later and later, too tired to describe her day in detail. She wipes off her makeup, takes off her shoes and falls into bed to dream of her future. Lies in the dark, pretending she didn’t see dissatisfaction in the other girl’s eyes.


*


She always knew it was too good to be true. She was right. Xiaobai chooses her human counterpart, and the Envoy deports her to hot, dark Dixing.

She can’t stop crying, alone for the first time. No Xiaobai. No other self. No escape.

The Envoy asks a middle-aged lady with a hostel to house her, then takes her aside. “You needn’t hide in mirrors, but you must be careful. Obey the laws without exception. In time, I hope you’ll find friends and build a new life here.”

When he’s gone, the landlady asks about her power.

She covers her face.