CHAPTER 6 - MIRROR MERCHANT

“No, I need a bigger one, like the ones that cover the whole body, Lisa.”

The storekeeper put away the hand mirror before returning to the counter with a frown. “Sorry, William. I don’t really stock up on any full-length mirrors. Most people just buy one and keep it forever, so I never really thought about getting more. Where’d you get yours last time? Maybe they might still have some.”

“To be honest, my mirror came with the place. The last owner didn’t give much of a care for most of the furniture when they sold it to me.”

She sighed. “Then, I guess you could ask around if anybody’s got extras.”

“Maybe.”

“Or you could wait for any traveling salesmen to come to town. They might carry some.”

“True, I guess I’ll just ask around for now.”

“Sorry again, William. I’ll try to stock up on some next time.”

“No worries, Lisa. It ain’t that big a deal.”

As I was leaving through the door, she gave me a few last words. I could practically hear her smile when she said, “Also, try not to punch any more mirrors.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Even though she wouldn’t see it on my way out, I still couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

I didn’t even tell her how I broke my mirror, but it didn’t take the world’s smartest detective to put two and two together. A guy who lives alone with a newly-bandaged hand comes in talking about a broken mirror. Unless it fell or a ghost slammed it on his hand and broke, then it didn’t take much to figure out what happened.

If only people in this town were a bit dumber, but I guess that’d include me too.

Maybe a bit quieter would be nice, then.

No sooner than that thought, I felt a tap from behind.

It was Jane.

“What’s got you looking so irritated?”

I raised my right hand. The bandages spoke for themselves.

“First, you burned it, and, now, you managed to get it all cut up? Aren’t you supposed to be doing what you can to get it healed?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be behind a counter tending drinks?”

“I decided to take the day off.”

“You can do that?”

“After hiring Daisy? Yeah.”

“Fitz’s granddaughter? She’s old enough to work at a saloon now?”

“You’re acting like she’s that much younger than us,” she said with a quirked brow. “So, how’d you get it all cut up?”

“A bear attacked me at night, so I thought it only natural to beat it with my bare fists.” I smiled. “It got some lucky hits in, but I managed.”

“A bear out here? We’re practically in a desert,” she said. “But sure, I’ll believe you.”

“Well, it was good catching up, but I need to– Wait, you wouldn’t have any extra mirrors lying around you don’t need, do ya?”

“I only got one, and I’d like to keep it. Why what happened to yours?” It didn’t take her long before her eyes lingered on my bandaged hand. “Oh, my god. You’re an idiot.”

She doubled over and couldn’t stop laughing. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel annoyed at her little enjoyment of my idiocy.

“What do you mean? The bear broke it.”

“Uh-huh,” she said in between chuckles.

“Well, if you don’t got a mirror to spare, you know who does?”

“Of course not. You think I just know how many mirrors people have?”

“I guess I’ll just have to wait for a salesman to come to town.”

“We can check right now. Midday’s about time when travelers show up around the entrance.”

Making our way to the end of Easy Breeze’s main road, we saw a lot of carriages parking in town. Some of them were mere visitors taking a break from their long journeys, and some were the merchants I was looking forward to.

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Many of them were already setting up their tents and laying out items in the front to attract any customers. A few were succeeding in their ventures, but none attracted me so far.

“Any mirrors?” I asked.

“No,” they’d say.

Or they would hold up a hand mirror and I’d have to explain about a full-length mirror, which would eventually lead to the short answer as the others.

Going through each and every tent, the sun began to set.

“Seems like a lot of them just don’t have it for now, William,” Jane said, walking with my arm wrapped by hers. “You can always check tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Letting go of my arm, she said, “Well, I’d better go and take a look at how Daisy’s doing on her first day on her own. Don’t want the girl to feel overwhelmed and quit on me.”

“That’s not really a day off now is it?” I said.

“I guess not. I’ll just have to work my way up to one, then,” she said. “See ya later.”

I waved her goodbye and felt a little disappointed she didn’t stay. It didn’t matter too much though. I didn’t wake up and get out of bed to spend the day with Jane.

I did it to get a new mirror.

Gazing through the parade of different tents, I spotted one I hadn’t visited on the farthest edge, isolated from the rest of the other visiting wagons.

What makes you so special?

Entering the tent, I was immediately greeted by a tall, lanky mustached man. “Hello, good sir. What can I get you?”

He didn’t speak like the usual people that’d come to a town like Easy Breeze. He spoke like one of those big city folk.

Someone with a lot of money to their name.

Yet, he was here in a drab tent like the rest of the traveling salesmen. From the outside, he looked the same, but the way he talked gave a clear indication he was not of the same cloth.

There was only one word that encompassed how I felt looking at him.

Uneasy.

I didn’t know exactly why I felt the way I did, though.

It was like instinct.

“I’m just looking for a full-length mirror. One of the ones that–”

“Let you see your whole body, right?” he finished for me.

“Yeah.”

“I got exactly what you need, sir.” He moved to the side and hidden behind him was an object draped over by some fabric. “It’s covered in case of dust, but that’s my only full-length mirror.”

“How much?”

He whipped out long paper that comically unrolled all the way to the ground. Swinging his eyes back and forth, they made their way down the list as he quietly read whatever was on the paper.

When he stopped, he let out a long hum. “It seems it’s your lucky day, sir. The mirror is currently discounted.”

“Discounted? For what?”

“It’s on the paper.” He flipped the list over to me and jabbed a finger at the word “discounted” beside the listed mirror.

Gently pushing the paper out of my face, I said, “I get that. I’m just asking why though. Is there a holiday I don’t know about?”

He rolled the list back up and tossed it behind him. Putting a hand to his chin, he said, “There’s a lot of holidays. So, probably yes, good sir. There probably is a holiday you don’t know about.”

“Okay, I’m going to be a little more specific. I’m talking about today. Is there a holiday you know of that’s happening today?”

“No.”

“So, what’s the discount for?”

“It’s on the paper,” he said in a tone as if I was the crazy one. He spoke it like he was surprised at my apparent stupidity.

It was annoying.

“Okay, whatever. How much is the price, then?”

“Free.”

If there was a word that immediately invoked distrust in me, it was “free”.

“You know what. I just realized I don’t actually need a mirror anymore.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, a friend of mine told me she might have one.”

“It’s bad luck to leave without buying anything.”

Looking around, I grabbed a dusty plate. “I’ll buy this, then.”

“That’s reserved for someone else.”

“How bout this one?” I grabbed a watch.

“That too.”

I let out a groan. “Then what’s not?”

He pointed to the mirror.

“Anything else?”

“No, good sir. That’s the only item.”

I wanted out of this tent. I could throw away the mirror if it’s weird later. “Fine, give it here.”

Walking over to the mirror, the mustached man gripped the fabric cover and wrapped it all over the mirror, covering every inch. “Here you go, good sir.”

I gave him a nod and picked up the mirror and placed it under an arm.

As I left the tent, I could hear him say, “Have a good rest of the night.”

But the oddest thing was… I could swear he said my name at the end.

“William.”

That’d be impossible, though.

I’d have remembered meeting a man like that.

Guaranteed.