Departed Days

We left Hope behind yesterday. It didn't seem so pleasant after what happened. I've managed to figure out what was going on, but I don't really want to talk about it (if you really want to know, go read about what happened from Steward).

Onward. The road feels more and more like home these days. Highways, gas stations, rest stops. Places of transition, people coming and going, only stopping for a few minutes. Liminal places. In-between places.

I'm going to talk about the Looking-Glass now. It was one of our first interviews after Mister Boots recruited us.  We talked to a Mister Higgins, whose daughter and her friend were taken by the Looking-Glass. By the City.

We didn't really believe it, you know. I mean, Frank and I had seen weird things - the Incident with the Aged Aged Man - but now someone was asking us to believe in a city that was alive. A place that lived outside of reality and trapped people within its maze. It seemed kind of silly. (I know, I know, arbitrary skepticism ahoy.)

But we did our interview and further research. We looked at the place where the girls vanished. We even interviewed other family members and friends. Finally, we were going to close the book on it and move on. Then, we heard that Mister Higgins himself had disappeared...out of a locked mental institution.

The security tape of his room (don't ask us how we got it) showed him waking up, then looking at the door to his room in awe. The camera wasn't pointed at the door, so it couldn't see it, but we saw Mister Higgins turn the knob and open the door, illuminating him in sunlight. Then, he walked through and the door closed behind him.

Sometimes, I wish I could have seen inside the Looking-Glass. Just for a moment. He had such a happy look on his face. But then I pull myself back to reality, back to the road ahead. Back to work.

 -- Carol Baker