"That was a kind thing you did for the Lashfarnen woman," says Kivuli as she grabs the blue slime that sat on a shelf above the sink. Its dot eyes shrink as its mouth squiggles.

"I didn't know what else to do," I say, rubbing my arm. There's a mirror behind us in the hallway with another in the kitchen, and every time I glance around, I catch my own eyes staring back at me. Accusingly, like what the fuck are you doing here? You don't belong here. But I don't want Kivuli to think I'm a scaredy cat, afraid of my own reflection.

"Most folk wouldn't have done anything," says Kivuli. When she squeezes the blue slime, water gushes out of its body like a faucet. Once the bowl is halfway full, she sets the slime back on the shelf where it relaxes, seemingly content and happy. Kivuli sprinkles in a pitch of white powder before swirling the bowl with a sponge, and it foams up like soap.

I don't know what to say, and I catch my reflection again and shudder. My hair looks so bad. I brush it to the side and shake off the strands that come loose. I want to help with the dishes, but all Kivuli told me to do was place the pot on the wooden stove and that was it. I’d accepted the Quest to be her apprentice, and I thought something more would follow, but so far, this is it.

"Some folks," continues Kivuli, pausing to grab the blue slime again. "Some folks would've taken advantage of a woman in that situation. And I'm sure they'll try. But you did the right thing pointing her to my mother. She’ll know best."

She rinses off the bowl and sets it on the countertop. Then she motions for me to grab a towel as she starts on the next bowl.

Grateful to have something to do, I oblige. Kivuli grabs the blue slime again, and she's not treating the poor thing gently, but it seems to completely love it as its gelatinous body is squeezed like a water balloon.

"This is Puddle," says Kivuli.

The slime blinks at me from its shelf and I blink back. Being squeezed like that looked like it felt good, and the Ember Slime mind agrees. A strange shiver of want fills my chest; I want to be squeezed too. But is that want mine or the slime’s?

Puddle looks almost identical to Squishy. The dots for eyes. The little line for a mouth. The only difference is the bright blue body. It emanates light as well, a faint blue color that’s almost white, but there’s no warmth.

I wonder if Slimes are the light bulbs of this world. If Slimes came in all sorts of forms with a variety of uses.

Kivuli sets all the washed silverware in front of me. "Don't get used to these kinds of meals," she says. "If you're serious about assisting my Shaman work, we'll be subsiding on M'geshrooms primarily. But we'll be fasting when we work."

"Fasting?" I ask.

"When dealing with Spirits, best to have your mind as clear as possible."

"But what about the stew we have left?" I ask. I'd thought we'd have that again for dinner.

She glances at the pot. "That's for Rhinestone."

"He... eats?"

"Of course, he eats." She looks bewildered by my question. "Don't tell me you've never seen a ghost before?"

I shake my head, wondering how a ghost would even eat food. Wouldn't everything pass right through Rhinestone?

"Strange," mutters Kivuli under her breath. Her shadow arms open the cabinet doors overhead and she stacks the bowls I dried onto a shelf. "Now while you're staying with me, I expect everything cleaned and put away after use. No exceptions. Not even for the mayor."

"Yes, Ma'am," I say, face reddening at for the mayor.

"Don't call me that." She motions at a box beside the sink. It looks heavy, kind of like an old-fashioned refrigerator carved from dark stone. "We don't eat meat in this cottage, but we store meat as lure for spirits and other things."

The way she says that sends a chill down my spine, but as she wipes her hand dry, she looks me up and down. “I gave you a shirt and some of my old pants because I thought you should dress the part. But about your philosophy, being an apprentice to everyone. How do you imagine that’ll work out?”

“I guess...” I swallow hard, squeezing the towel I’d used to dry the bowls. “In my world, all our leaders kinda suck. So, I’d always wondered what I’d do differently if I was in charge.” But who doesn’t fantasize about saving the world so they can live in peace? But I realize I’m coming off too strong, so I get flustered and wave my hands. “Not that I want to be in charge or that I should be in a position of power. But I always figured the best kind of public servant should actually serve the people. And the best way to do that is to learn as much as possible about everyone, right?”

My heart’s pounding. I’ve never really spoken to anyone except Jia about this. And this philosophy was Jia’s. It’s why she loved studying art and history; you can learn so much about so many people just by looking through the present and the past. In a strange way, isn’t this whole being mayor thing... a lump forms in my throat. My eyes start to water. Isn’t this Jia’s dream?

“I think I’m beginning to understand the fox spirit’s choice,” says Kivuli softly. She leads me out of the kitchen.

The hallway is narrow and goes down the length of the cottage. My reflection makes me wince, but I make note of how, from this angle, you can see the stairwell and the front door easily.

There are two more mirrors along the left wall, separated by windows that show the ocean. The skies are heavy and gray, and mist covers almost everything, but a beam of light cuts through the low visibility every once in a while.

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On the right were the doorways. The first one, right next to the stairwell, led to the kitchen, and it was the only room without a door. Just an entryway.

The next room's door had yet another mirror bolted to it. Two metal chains hung across it, forming an 'X'. Kivuli stops and touches the chain. "This door must always remain locked."

There’s an odd chill when I step by the room, my reflection’s eyes flashing a little brighter than normal. But that could’ve just been my imagination, stirred by what Kivuli said. I wonder what’s in there. But I don’t need to be told twice to stay away.

I only wish there weren’t so many mirrors in this hallway. But I hear exposure therapy is great for conquering your fears, and I don’t want to be afraid of this anymore. I want to be healthy. I want to heal. I want to be as strong as Jia.

But maybe later.

After the chained room is my room. Then the bathroom. And the final room at the end of the hallway is Kivuli's room. It seems like the mirrors were set strategically so that she could clearly see the front door from her room. I make a note to try that out later.

Kivuli opens the door to my room. Gloom shines through a front-facing window, and I can just about make out the hills through the storm. Rain taps against the glass, and excitement flutters up to my head. I want to rush right to the window. I want to go to sleep and wake up to the view on a sunny day.

“You’ll have to catch your own Ember Slime,” says Kivuli, stepping inside. "I prefer the dark, so I don't really mind. But Squishy must always remain downstairs. You might bring Puddle in here for the time being, but at your own risk."

The room's not very big, about half the size of my bedroom back home. There's a small bed that claims half the space and there's a trunk beneath the window where I imagine I'll have to store my clothes. There's only just enough room for both of us to stand side by side, but at least the ceiling is quite high. Exposed wooden beams hang overhead.

"Being a Shaman doesn't pay very well," says Kivuli. "And people get strange when it comes to Spirits." She pauses and touches the window glass, and somehow, I know she's staring in the direction of Blossom Water. "But since you're the mayor, you could have a much nicer place in town built for you. I only offered to take you in under the assumption you had nowhere else to go."

"What?" I shake my head. "No way. This place is perfect. I want to stay here with you." The town's bustling and loud, and I've had enough of being surrounded by people. Here, I feel like I'm at the top of the world, away from everything else. This is almost exactly the dream home I'd always wished for. On a cliff by the sea. It’s tiny and cozy and quiet. Other than the nightmarish thing that tried to get inside, but that still beats being surrounded by people like Mia and her goons.

I think I see Kivuli’s lips twitch into a smile, but it's too dark to be sure. She gestures to the bed where something is waiting on my pillow. It's a notebook and what looks like a pencil.

"I'm glad I had an extra notebook on hand," she says. "You'll have to keep your own notes as you learn. I suspect they'll be infinitely necessary as you're not of this world." She pauses to turn around. "And remind me, we should inspect the site where you fell out of the sky."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She sighs. "Samiya, you are the mayor. Calling me that is..."

"It just feels wrong to use your name," I say, blushing slightly. "Where I'm from, we never addressed our teachers by first name. And I kinda like calling you Ma'am."'

Kivuli doesn't say anything. But she seems to give in as she wipes dust off the wall. "You'll have to tidy up. This room's not been used in a long time."

Oh, right. Her previous apprentice. I almost want to ask, but I'm afraid of the answer, but before I can open my mouth, Kivuli waves her hand. Her body's outlined by the gloom of the storm, and her eyes seem to shine with silver light.

"I imagine you have questions," she says.

"Yeah." I clear my throat. "Who was your last apprentice?" What happened to her? How dangerous is this gonna be?

Her shadows extend, encompassing the room and blocking out the window, further darkening the room. "It's not something I'm happy about, but you have a right to know as her successor." She lowers her gaze. "Her name was Anri. She'd opened the door one night, for the Wraith."

"You mean that thing?" I whisper, remembering the horrid voices of my mother and my sister and all the people I knew. How it had taunted me. Tried to trick me into opening the door. What did Anri hear to make her give in? More importantly, what did it do to her?

"By the time I got there, the damage was done."

"Is she... did she?"

"Die?" Kivuli shakes her head. "I managed to heal her injuries, but Anri was never the same. She took her belongings and left, saying she'd start her own Shaman services in the Hammurabi Desert. Her homeland."

The Hammurabi Desert... and that thing was a Wraith. But I'm glad her former apprentice is alive.

"What if I'd opened the door last night?" I ask quietly. I'd been so close. When I heard Jia's voice, that was all I wanted to do. I wanted to see her. What did Anri hear? What convinced her to open the door? Would the Wraith eventually get me too?

"I wouldn't have let you," says Kivuli softly. For a moment, her age starts to show. The wrinkles seem so deep on her face. Her silvery hair looks dull and lifeless. Then her shadows seep back into her. The room brightens. She picks up the notebook and hands it to me, and we stand quietly for a while. For some reason, I really, really want to hug her.

Which is an astonishing development because I never want to hug anyone. I flip through the notebook to conceal that.

The notebook’s cover is heavy and dark, made from some kind of thick parchment. The inside is soft brown paper. It's thick too, maybe two hundred or so pages. It’s got a satisfying weight to it, and I wonder if it’s handmade.

Kivuli seems to shift gears. “Remember this: everything you write yourself will stick in your memory best.” She sounds like a professor now, and again I’m reminded of my strict third grade teacher Mrs. Hawthorne. But a question’s burning a hole in my head, and I have to ask.

“Is that Wraith thing going to come back tonight?”

She nods. “Every night for all nights.”

“Why?” I stare out the window wondering if I’d be able to see it from up here when it knocked tonight. Wondering if I even wanted to see what it looked like. “And I thought a Shaman’s job would be to get rid of something like that?”

“This one’s complicated,” she says, her face darkening. “I’ll tell you about it when you are ready. For now, I ask that you trust me and swear you won’t open the door. It is harmless as long as we don’t give in to its words.”

“I swear.”

“Good. Now. There’s much for you to learn, and I’ve been thinking that maybe being my apprentice will do you good as Mayor. There’s overlap and...” She must’ve seen my mouth open, about to ask another question. “Don’t worry Samiya. The Wraith is bound to this cliff. Your town is safe. But I’m glad to see you taking your job seriously.”

Heat rises to my face, but I nod, glad that this thing won’t be bothering anyone else. I feel like it’s not even that different from my usual nightmares, waking up shivering in the dark, convinced that something clung to the ceiling, staring down at me, lying naked and helpless and paralyzed, unable to even blink.

Nobody else should have to suffer that.

I sit on the bed, my new bed, and place the notebook on my lap, opened to the first page.

This world isn’t all cozy and warm and nice, despite how friendly most people were in town. Or how nice the hills looked in sunlight. But I’d already known, hadn’t I? I already tasted the danger. A squirrel tried to eat me when I landed here. People held disdain for witches. And what about that pink woman and her children? They were clearly struggling. And I’ve only just arrived.

And of course, the horrible Wraith that hurt the previous apprentice. Not to mention the Evil Spirit that vanished from Kivuli’s quest when I became mayor. There’s so much I have to learn, but a small part of me, some naïve and innocent part, had deeply hoped this world wouldn’t hurt so much.

But as mayor, maybe... maybe I can help.

Jia, what would you do?