MirrorMirror

46 / Feed the Birds

"Hey, bro. What can I do you for?"

Cassidy was in the park, watching the swans race the ducks for the scraps of bread he'd thrown into the lake. There was a scarcity of the people that gave the park its name, something he was pleased about. It was early, and the air was still fresh and untainted by the pollution the day would bring. It felt unprepared for the strains Humanity would put it through and, so, Cass felt sorry for it.

He had told Amy he'd see her later, but it was another few hours before he'd left the house. The sun had to rise. The park had to rid itself of the undesirables that occupied it at night. There was always a lull afterwards, before the school and work runs began, where a sense of expectancy hung over the space. Who'd be first in? A jogger? A dog walker? A previous night reveller walking home, still in the same clothes, from whichever bed they'd found themselves in when the alcohol faded?

Cassidy wasn't the first, but he was one of them. Feeding the birds, tuppence a bag, was something he did when he wanted to distance himself from his emotional surroundings. On this occasion, that wasn't his intention. This time, he wanted them to come to him for company. They weren't puppies, but they were still not people. Particularly not masked, pillow grabbing, mirror disappearing, murderous burglars.

He'd just broken up another slice of bread and scattered them in the water, when he called Ethan.

"Hey, you. How you doing?" he said in response to his brother's greeting.

"I'm good, thanks, even though I'm still on my first coffee of the day. You're not, obviously."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I'm your brother, you never call me this early, and you sound like someone just killed your dog."

Cassidy's words stumbled over each other in his throat, causing him to make a choking sound.

"What's up with you?" Ethan asked, the immediate concern obvious in his tone.

Cass gulped and took a deep breath before answering.

"Someone killed my dog."

"What the fuck? Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

"When? How? What the hell happened?"

What did happen? Ethan had believed the story about Amy, but was this a tale too far? Cassidy would soon find out. He told his brother the events of the night before. Nothing was left out and, when he was relating Bobby's transfer to within the mirror, he felt as if vomit might follow the bread into the lake. He wasn't sure if the ducks like regurgitated

"Oh."

Ethan's response was quiet. Shocked. He didn't know what to say that might help his brother. Maybe no words were suitable.

"Oh, indeed."

"So, she sucked them into the glass?"

"More or less. They sort of drifted in, like they were on a slope I couldn't see. They were covered in that red stuff, and... yeah. They disappeared inside the mirror."

"Do you think she, like, ate them?"

"I wondered the same, but she said no. She helped them move on, she said."

"Do you believe her?"

"I do, yes. She wouldn't lie, I'm sure."

"I tend to agree. So, now, you're going after the dad?"

"Yeah. I have to. He deserves it. And she deserves some justice. And, after the séance and everything, I feel like I owe her."

"After that, I think we all owe her!"