I awoke to the sound of rain pitter pattering outside my room. Rubbing the crust of sleep from my eyes, I turned over in my bed to look out the balcony. There I found the familiar view of the kapok tree, now no longer shrouded by night but instead softly bathed in the bluish gray hues of the overcast morning.


    “Huh,” I said groggily, “I guess the rain hasn’t picked up yet.”


    I raised my arms high overhead, stretching and looked over to Alejandro’s bed, to where I should’ve found my slumbering little brother. He, of course, wasn’t there. His bright blue covers looked as though they were cast off in a hurry. They hung untidily off his bedside and pooled on the floor. “Weird.”


    Papi had a saying: How can you expect to get anything done if you can’t even make your own bed? I had taken this as a personal challenge and haven’t made my bed since the first time he said it but for some reason it seemed to work on my hermanito. He’s been making his bed every day for the last year.


    I rubbed my eyes one more time and glanced toward the door which had been left ajar. Sliding the pink covers off of me, I swung my legs off the bed. The moment my bare feet met the black speckled tile floor, a terrible shiver shot up my legs. Goosebumps stippled my lightly tanned arms. “Oh wow! Why is it so cold in here?” I quickly wrapped my arms around myself as I stood up.


    While making my way toward the door, I noticed my purple hooded jacket hanging on a hook behind it. I rushed over to grab it and slid it on. It wasn’t thick enough to keep the cold completely out, but it was better than nothing. I zipped it closed and then stepped out of the room.


    The windows all seemed to be open, letting in more of the bluish gray daylight which gave color to the otherwise white hall. I looked left and right. The hall was filled with colorful croton plants and lush corn plants. Various wooden Taíno inspired totems and colorful vejigante masks decorated the walls.


    I tilted my head and blinked curiously at one of the vejigante masks in front of me. It was positioned between two windows. Its colors were earthy and warm. Greens, oranges, and reds. It was oval in shape and had a wide smile. The fangs were painted on in white, which was in contrast to the paper-maché of some of the others on the walls. Four horns, two short and two long, jutted out from the top of its head. It seemed to be looking at me through its empty eye shaped openings.


    Something about the mask just felt off to me, and once I straightened my head, I realized what that was. It was nothing nefarious or anything really all that noteworthy. The mask was simply crooked. I walked up to it, grabbed it by the chin, and straightened it back out.


    “That’s better,” I giggled to myself and turned right to continue on. Before even taking a step, I completely stopped dead in my tracks. The door into my parents’ room was still closed. “Okay . . . weeeeeird. Aren’t they usually up by now?” I asked, even though, and I’m being honest, I had absolutely no idea what time it was. It’s just that they were always up around the same time as Alejandro and they never closed their door if they weren’t asleep.


    I startled at what sounded like a chorus of wind chimes erupting into song behind me. My heart almost leapt from my chest. Spinning around on my heels, I saw nothing. I didn’t know what I expected to find but all that was there were more giant potted plants. Laughter then sounded from the same direction as the wind chimes.


    “Alejandro?” I called out.


    I didn’t get a reply.


    Rubbing my arms, I decided to walk down the hall, following the sound of my little brother. Each step on the black speckled tiles was seriously like walking on ice cubes. I couldn’t stop shivering. Come on, I thought, why was it so cold here? Puerto Rico was a tropical island, not a freezer like . . . Whatever, some place that’s super cold! You get what I mean.


    Eventually I came upon stairs that led back to the first floor, but suddenly heard more wind chimes again, this time coming the other direction. Behind me.


    As I turned around, a blue ghost spirit thing came floating up through the floor. If it were really possible to scare the pants off of someone, let’s just say I wouldn’t have even had the time to wave goodbye as my pants ran down the stairs, out the front door, and hailed a cab.


    I jumped back with a gasp, ready to shriek, but I managed to hold on to a little bit of my dignity. After a blink or two, I noticed it looked like a manatee. In fact, I realized it was the same manatee from last night.


    “Wait . . . No way, are you the same ghost from last night?” I narrowed my eyes at it and stared at the floating apparition, but it didn’t answer. It just floated in a circle before me, almost like it was dancing.


    I raised a brow at it, curious as to what it was doing and tilted my head to the side, a little suspicious of it. As I was about to open my mouth to say something else, someone came running up the stairs sounding out of breath.


    “Oh! You found her.” It was Alejandro and he was still in his pajamas. He walked up to me with wide, excited eyes and a beaming smile. I couldn’t help but be taken aback.


    “Her? Wait, do you know . . . what she is?”


    My chest was quiet, so I guessed I didn’t need to be afraid, but I was standing in front of a flipping ghost. I think I handled it pretty well. My only experience with ghosts up until then was with the adult movies that I totally, definitely, never ever watched, but in those, the only time scary ghosts came out was at night, so I should’ve known it was safe.


    Alejandro nodded with a now relaxed smile. “She said she’s a spirit, and she’s asking for help.”


    “Help? Help with what?” I asked, still pretty shocked that there was a literal spirit of an animal right in front of us.


    Wind chimes sounded again, even louder than before. It seemed to be coming from the manatee spirit. My brother and I both turned to find it floating away from us, back where I came from down the hall, and turned into a room on the right.


    “Come on Irene!” Alejandro exclaimed as he dashed past me after the spirit.


    I reached out for him, hoping to stop him, but I missed. “Alejandro, wait! How do you know what the she-spirit thingy is saying anyway?” I chased after him, of course. His laughter echoed down the hall. Weirdly enough, our parents still hadn’t woken up yet.


    As we made it to the room the spirit disappeared into, we skidded to a stop and just barely managed not to slam into each other at the open door. The manatee floated about in a circle at the center of what looked like a study.


    Two of the walls were lined with bookshelves filled with books and what were either really well-made movie props or ancient artifacts from the past. I had absolutely no idea where they could’ve come from. There was also a big mahogany desk that had . . . actually, nothing whatsoever on it. Not even pictures or stationeries. It was like the desk had been brought in here and abruptly abandoned.


    Wind chimes sounded again. I was starting to get the impression that the chimes were the spirit’s way of calling us and as I spotted it, the spirit flew into a large, oval, wooden frame hanging low on a mostly empty wall. It looked like a mirror or picture frame but I couldn’t tell from where I was standing. Alejandro didn’t chase after the spirit this time, for which I was super thankful because I was still trying to catch my breath. He instead was clinging to the door frame.


    I looked around the room. Although the blinds were open, it seemed only a little of the outside light managed to break through their barrier, leaving the simple study looking pretty dreary and maybe a little spooky.


    I was the oldest and so I stepped into the room first, staying as quiet as I could and walked straight to the oval frame. My little brother shifted nervously at the doorway, but after barely a minute, he came in after me. I felt him grab onto the back of my purple jacket hoodie.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I took a sudden breath as my chest started to hum. This wasn’t a mild hum, mind you, it was a full on salsa. Like, there was something really, really bad about to happen, but I had no idea what that could be. After all, it was just me and my little brother in my abuelo’s study. Okay there was a ghost too but whoever saw a manatee and yelled danger? I decided to ignore the warning signal and continued toward the frame.


    Once I got to it, I was taken aback. At this distance I could tell it was definitely a mirror’s frame but inside it, instead of finding my reflection, or that of Alejandro’s, or anything at all, all I saw was . . . nothing. The face of the mirror was some sort of shiny black surface. If you walked into a windowless room and turned off each and every light. THAT’S how black the surface of the mirror was. It looked like I was staring into a black onyx gemstone. I wasn’t sure if it was pretty or scary. The wooden frame was cool though. It depicted a bunch of symbols of the Taíno gods carved from top to bottom. Someone must’ve spent a really long time adding every line and detail to the totems.


    “Oh my, I see you’ve found my mirror.”


    Alejandro and I jumped. We turned around to find our abuelo standing in the doorway. He had clearly been up longer than us. At the very least, he had gotten dressed. He stood there in dark blue slacks and had his hands tucked casually in his pockets. In no time at all he strode on over and stopped behind us, his eyes looking straight into the mirror and a curious half smile creasing his lips.


    “If it’s a mirror,” I said while turning back to the inky black face before me, “then why doesn’t it show our reflections?”


    Abuelo knelt down and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. “Because this is no ordinary mirror. I had to sacrifice a kapok tree to make it.”


    I gulped. The humming in my chest was going absolutely nuts. Alejandro and I glanced at each other and not knowing what to do, I just shrugged.


    “So, it’s a magic mirror? Like in Snow White?” Alejandro asked.


    Abuelo chuckled with amusement and looked at my little brother. “Sí, y no. Kapok trees are magical, and the older the tree, the more power it holds. Its connection to the spirits is especially potent. I couldn’t cut down la Ceiba in Ponce; too many eyes on her, so I had to search about the island for another.”


    “So, what are we looking at then?” I asked, growing increasingly suspicious. Abuelo was acting weird and I couldn’t shake away the feeling that something bad was about to happen. The way he looked at the mirror was all wrong. There was a strange longing in Abuelo’s eyes as if there was more to it than he was letting on. It gave me the creeps.


    “Kapok trees, according to what we know of what’s been left behind by the Taíno tribes, are our connection to the spirits, but that’s not all. They also serve as a sort of link to other worlds.”


    “Other worlds?” I looked at him with a raised brow.


    “Sí. The Taínos believed that there are alternate worlds out there, both similar and different from ours. Think of it like looking at your reflection in a pool of water. While you see your reflection looking back at you on the water’s surface, each ripple makes the image unique. Although magic is rare, and here it has been dying for a long while, it is bountiful elsewhere. Even though this Earth is incredibly old, another might only be a few centuries young.” Abuelo patted our shoulders and his smile left large crinkles around his eyes. “Here, why not touch the mirror’s surface and see for yourself.” He then gently pushed us toward the mirror.


    Alejandro and I hesitated, barely taking a step forward. I rubbed my hands together anxiously. My little brother looked to be just as nervous as I was, but he nodded bravely all the same. I blinked, honestly stunned by the gesture, and with that we both looked at the mirror.


    Raising my hands to the shiny surface, I ran the tips of my middle and ring fingers against the mirror. A cold sensation raced up my arm, causing me to lightly shiver. Alejandro did the same. I gasped as bright blue ripples spread out from where we touched it. As I slid more of my hand through the mirror, more and more ripples formed and crashed against the edges of the frame.


    “Oh wow,” I said breathlessly.


    Alejandro laughed sweetly. “It’s like I’m touching water in a fountain.”


    For a moment we smiled at each other and I thought I might’ve been overthinking things. Maybe there was nothing to be afraid of, but then why was the buzzing in my chest still freaking out? It had never been wrong before.


    My smile faded as I felt an immediate tug against my hand, jerking me even further in. Judging by Alejandro’s face he had felt it as well. We both quickly yanked our hands back and thankfully we both came free without a problem. My hand was incredibly cold to the touch though.


    As I rubbed away the pins and needles in my palm, I glanced up to the mirror, and startled. An image now showed itself in the mirror. It looked like winding pathways of glowing tree roots, like those of a kapok tree. The paths were surrounded by a faint night sky complete with twinkling stars in all directions. At the very end of each of the branching paths were glowing, swirling, glittering portals.


    “Perfect,” Abuelo said softly.


    As it turns out, I really should’ve listened to the buzzing. Electricity suddenly shot up my spine, making the hairs on my neck stand up on end. “Abue—”


    Before I had even managed to react, Alejandro and I were thrust forward. The world was a blur as I stumbled and did everything I could to keep my footing.


    My heart jumped into my throat. I braced for the inevitable crash against a glass surface, which with hindsight was silly since I had just poked my hand through it but magic was still new to me and in my defense, most mirrors are quite solid thank you very much. I was instead plunged into a freezing, jelly-like substance. Imagine a gel pad after it had been in the freezer for twenty-four hours.


    The sensation didn’t last long, maybe only a couple of seconds. We fell downward, landing on the intertwined root path hard with a pair of loud thuds. Everything felt cold. I could see my breath hanging in the air, which given I was still in my pajamas, meant I should’ve been absolutely freezing. My teeth should’ve been chattering away and my body should’ve been shaking for warmth, but neither of those things were happening. It was no colder than if I were standing in front of the fridge, doors open and searching for a midnight snack.


    I slid my hand back across the rough cool surface and lifted myself lightly. The ground was hard, but didn’t feel like stone. It was far too smooth, like those trees that don’t have that scratchy bark attached to them. I shook my head and looked up in shock. We had entered the bizarre night world with the windy tree root paths.


    I pushed myself up, my brown eyes wide, and my stomach heavy with dread. Jumping to my feet, I looked about our new surroundings. A vast emptiness filled the space between the network of root paths and in the distance was a sea of stars and deep, rich hues shifting between blues, purples, and pitch black. Looking at the wood beneath my feet I then felt thankful. Although it looked to be kind of translucent, I was glad to find it to be quite solid. At least I wouldn’t be falling again.


    I then heard a clunk from somewhere behind me. Spinning around as quickly as I could, I found Zigor smearing something red across the mirror’s surface. He drew a big X. Yeah, there was no way I would be calling him Abuelo ever again.


    “NO!”


    I ran toward the mirror portal thing, but instead of going right through it like we had a minute ago, it was now completely solid and I slammed into it with a thwack. Adrenaline pumping, I slammed my fists against it with all my might. Tears tried to fight their way out of my eyes but I was too angry to let them come.


    “What are you doing!? Let us out!”


    Alejandro was knelt on the ground where he had fell, crying and clutching his knees. Zigor wrapped his hand with a cloth and the bandage quickly soaked with red. His only acknowledgement of us was a disinterested smirk.


    My heart was attacking my rib cage with the same ferocity as I was attacking the portal. Just what the heck did this man plan to do to us?


    “Now listen to me very carefully Irene, because I’m only going to say this once. Find the Opía I know you two have been seeing. Once you do, it will take you to where I’m from.”


    Zigor’s amber brown eyes hardened into such a scary glare that I could’ve sworn they turned to a deep crimson. He leaned his uninjured hand against the mirror’s edge. His expression made me shudder.


    “Where you’re . . . Why don’t you go there yourself!?”


    “Because I was banished from Guanínké, never to return. My beloved Cacica was turned to stone. Find my world and set my Cacica free.”


    Cacica? The term caught me by surprise. Wasn’t that Taíno for chief? What was he talking about? This only served to make me more upset.


    “I—Mami y Papi won’t let you get away with this!” I shrieked, no longer able to hold back the tears rolling down my flustered cheeks.


    Zigor chortled with amusement. “My dear Irene, my daughter and her husband will remain asleep until you do what I say. Use that as your motivation. Now, a ponerse en marcha.” He waved his hand at us as one would shooing away a pest.


    I glared at him. My hands balled into fists and I could feel the anger pooling in my temples. This man was supposed to be our abuelo, but Zigor had made it very clear that he didn’t care about his family. I now had a much better understanding of why Papi didn’t like him.


    My chest was tight and the humming continued. I should’ve listened to the warning, but how was I supposed to know THIS was what it was trying to warn me about?


    I grunted and turned around to Alejandro, grabbing his hand. “Come on, the faster we do this, the faster we can go home.”


    “That’s the spirit.” Zigor smirked wickedly.


    “Cállate!” I shot the jerk a challenging glare, hoping to annoy him but he simply shrugged and nudged his head forward, leaving me beyond furious.


    “NGH! Come on, Alejandro, let’s go!” I yanked my little brother’s hand for him to follow and must’ve pulled too hard because I thought I heard him yelp. I knew I needed to apologize to him, but for the time being, I needed to get him as far away from Zigor as possible, even if that meant wandering into the strange unknown of the mirror world.