Mia's hands shook as she wrote down her words. A part of her hoped that she would be shattered this time so that she could go be with Ivy. Well, only if there was some kind of afterlife for dolls. Could there be? What if Ivy was still alive? What if she was just somewhere else? What if she could see Mia and was looking down at her right now? What would Ivy be telling her to do? Ivy had said that Mia needed to be very good for Ruby. From now on, that would be Mia's goal. She was going to stay quiet and calm during the game no matter what and if Ruby told her to do anything, she would listen. Mary was talking again. But Mia couldn't understand a word of what she was saying. Everything sounded faint and muffled now. Ruby shook Mia gently.
"You need to get out your mirror now," whispered Ruby. Hm, were they really going to play the mirror game again? Instantly, Mia obeyed. She reached into her bag and pulled out the mirror, without asking any questions. It was time for her to be quiet and listen to Ruby. Now the world around Mia really was going dark. Everything was really fading away. Only when she held up her mirror could she see again. Then the knowledge that Ivy wasn't there to protect her hit Mia fully. Ivy had always fought off the attackers. How were they going to make it through this without her? They probably couldn't. Good. Maybe Mia would get to see Ivy after she died. But then again, Ivy wouldn't want Mia to want to die.
Ivy would be so angry with Mia when she reached the afterlife. In fact, Ivy would probably spend all of eternity scolding Mia about how she should have tried harder, and Mia wouldn't mind that one bit. All that she wanted was to see Ivy again. Was that really too much to ask for? Mary's voice was growing louder and louder.
"Three... two... one!" called Mary.
"Stay close. We're heading for that building on the corner," hissed Ruby. Mia clung to Ruby with one arm and her mirror with the other as Ruby lifted her off the ground. They were running now. The world around Mia became a faint blur that flew by as they ran. Screams, cries, shouts and the sound of glass shattering filled the air. All that Mia wanted to do was sink into the ground and disappear. She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep. She didn't ever want to wake up. She would just sleep forever and ever. That way, she wouldn't have to think about the pain.
To make Ivy proud, Mia promised herself that she would stay quiet. Not once would she pester Ruby or ask about playing a game. Besides, Mia didn't even feel like playing a game at the moment. There was a sudden, sharp cry that came from next to Mia and she flinched.
"It's alright," Ruby whispered. Mia couldn't take much more of this. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the mirror was her eyes now. She still had to watch all that happened to her. It wasn't the danger that scared her. Mia was used to that. It was the fact that Ruby could die. There was no way that Mia could stand to see another friend die. If someone attacked Ruby, there would be nothing that Mia could do to help her. She would just have to sit there and watch helplessly, just like with Ivy. Helplessness, that was all that Mia had ever been. They had entered a building now. The screaming faded away.
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"I would feel better if Ivy were here. But I don't think I'm hurt," whispered Mia.
"I know. But we need to stay focused. Let's just find somewhere quiet to hide. Hopefully we can just spend the rest of the day there and we won't need to worry about fighting any more dolls," said Ruby.
"Can I sleep once we find a safe, hidden place?" asked Mia.
"I-I guess so. Oh, perfect. We can hide in this closet here, Mia." Hadn't they hidden in a closet last time they had played the mirror game? Mia slipped her mirror into her bag. She would rather stay in darkness. It wasn't like she was much help to Ruby either way. That was one thing that hadn't changed. Mia was just as useless with Ruby as she had been with Ivy. The closet was quiet and filled with dust. What a perfect place for napping. With a sigh that stirred the dust around, Mia curled up on Ruby's chest and waited for sleep to come and take away her pain.
At last, the whole world faded away and Mia was able to drift off. She drifted in and out of a restless sleep. Sometimes she would wake up to lots of noise from the streets below. But other times she would open her eyes to hear nothing but stillness and the sound of Ruby breathing next to her. The sleep brought a little bit of peace to Mia. But every once in a while, the peace would be interrupted by a nightmare.
To Mia, there was nothing in the whole world that was worse than nightmares. Ivy was the only person who had known exactly how to make Mia relax when she was scared. But now Mia couldn't rely on her for comfort. There wasn't anything that she could do to distract herself from the pain except roll over and go back to sleep. Why was she so tired? Oh, right, because she had been up so late last night. She had probably gotten less than an hour of real sleep last night. Finally, Mia was gently shaken awake by Ruby.
"Guess what; it's over. We did it and we didn't have to fight anybody. Let's head back. You can sleep more once we're home," said Ruby softly. Mia sat up and rubbed her eyes. Well, she was surprised. She had half expected to wake up to a doll stabbing her to death. They had made it through a round of the game without Ivy. Why? How was that possible? Maybe it had just been luck. Maybe Ivy's spirit was guiding them and that was why they had made it.
"Ruby, can you carry me?" asked Mia.
"Sure." Ruby lifted the child up once again and Mia buried her face in Ruby's shoulder. Would tomorrow feel the same way that today had? Was life just going to feel hollow and empty from now on? Was there nothing that Mia could do to change that? "Would you like to play a game when we get back?" asked Ruby.
"No. I don't feel like it," muttered Mia. "I just want to head straight to bed when we get home."
"Are you still sleepy?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I hope you sleep soundly and get all the rest that you need, Mia."
"Can you please come and sleep with me? Ivy did that sometimes when I was scared."
"Alright. I can do that."
"Can you also call me kiddo? That was something that Ivy liked to call me!"
"I can. But Mia, you know I'm not Ivy," Ruby whispered. That was true. Mia knew it. There was no one in the whole world who could replace Ivy, no matter how hard they tried or how much Mia wanted them to.
Mia wiggled free from Ruby as they reached the apartment. Blossom was sitting on the front steps, waiting for them. She stood up as they approached. There was no trace of the cheer that had been on Blossom's face that morning.
"I just want to know how," was all that Blossom said to Ruby.
"Alright, but not here. Let's talk inside," said Ruby. Mia headed up to bed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle hearing the story again. If only she hadn't ever met Rosy. It was because of her that Ivy was dead. If only Rosy hadn't discovered the secret. A million if only's filled Mia's mind and carried her off into a sleep that was filled with nightmares.