Val woke up in her dreary, yellow-stained, greasy studio apartment. Her phone alarm blared, a reminder that her shift as a grocery cashier started soon. She hit snooze. This was not a life worth waking up for. When the alarm woke her up again, her stomach grumbled. Life wasn’t great; hunger was worse. Val rolled out from gray, dingy sheets and walked five paces to the fridge. Yesterday’s leftover cabbage and potato soup was waiting for her, along with a waft of unpleasant fridge smells, chemical, sour and old. The gobs of fat on top of the soup grossed her out, but it would appease her stomach. A knock interrupted her before she touched the container.

  “Valentina, it’s me. Open up already,” the person said, knocking again.

  Val, relieved for a reason to avoid the greasy food, shut the fridge, walked three paces to the main apartment door, made sure the safety chain was still on, and opened the door a couple of inches, angling her body. No stranger needed to see her in her old gray t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms.

  Her neighbor, Elissa, stood on the other side, holding a green burlap bag that looked bursting full and heavy, as big as she was, though Elissa held it in her arms easily enough. She had a panicked look on her face, but a glance down the dreary hallway showed nothing dangerous. Val took the safety chain off, opening the door. Elissa pushed her way in.

  “Close the door,” Elissa said, walking inside and putting the burlap bag down. “Listen, I know this is weird, but I can’t handle this. My grandmother died recently. I inherited this thing. No one else in my family will take it, and I thought of you and how miserable you’ve been! It’s a Guardian mirror.” Elissa pulled at the top of the bag, revealing a gilt-framed mirror that was indeed as tall as her.

  “Your grammy died? I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry for your loss.” Tears welled up in Val’s eyes as she closed and locked the door. She had lost family members. Elissa’s life was forever changed for the worse.

  “No, no,” Elissa said impatiently. “I never met her. This is a logistical nightmare for me, not an emotional thingy. You missed the important part. It’s a Guardian mirror! It might be the only one that exists.” Elissa pulled the burlap bag down with a flourish and leaned the mirror against the wall.

  “A Guardian mirror! Those aren’t real!” Val blinked back her tears and focused.

  “You can see for yourself. Touch it,” Elissa said, still impatient. “I’ve got to get this mirror off my plate and get to work. What do you know about Guardian mirrors?”

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  “Those don’t exist,” Val asserted. “They’re not games, they’re just urban legends to explain missing people. Absolute nonsense.”

  “Not nonsense. They are more than a game, they are a distinct reality. My grandmother disappeared into it decades ago and didn’t reappear until she was at death’s door. So what do you know about Wyrd? That’s the planet my grandma lived on.”

  “I know nothing. I don’t play games. Why are you bringing this to me?” Val asked, unwilling to argue the obvious point that alternate realities did not exist.

  “It sounds like she made a mess of things and it’s up to my family to fix it. The people on the other side of this mirror deserve for their town to be fixed. But I’m happy here. I like my job! I don’t want to spoil what I’ve got!”

  “And like you said, I’m miserable.”

  “Try it out! You can always come back to Earth if you don’t like it.”

  “Any excuse to avoid work,” Val said drily.

  “Thanks. My Uber is here, so I’ll go now. I’ll keep an eye on things! Bye.” Elissa ran out the door.

  “Wait! I was kidding!” Val called, running after her, down the stairs and down the hallway to the building entrance. Was Elissa just leaving her with some heirloom mirror? Did the mirror have some special game tech? “What do I need to know? What did your grammy say needed fixing? If it’s a game can’t I just start a new file?”

  Elissa, now on the sidewalk, waved over her shoulder as Val pushed the main entrance door open. “I don’t know anything useful! I’ll keep an eye on your apartment!” Elissa had an Uber waiting. She hopped in, leaving Val on the sidewalk.

  Work or something new? Val walked slowly up the stairs. Let’s do this.

  She texted her aunt. A friend gave me a Guardian mirror. I’m going to check out. If the rumors are true, I might not be able to come back. If you don’t hear from me by the first of the month, take care of my apartment. She included Emily’s contact info.

  Before her aunt could text her back, Val threw her phone onto her unmade bed. The soup could rot in the fridge for all she cared.

  She looked at the Guardian mirror, which reflected her and the apartment perfectly. Ugh.

  Val touched the mirror, just to see what would happen. Nothing. She touched harder with intent. Her hand and arm vanished into the mirror instead of hitting the wall behind it. She couldn’t feel anything. The mirror had different physics. How was this possible?

  A force pulled on her arm. Val grabbed onto the mirror frame with her free hand to stay in her apartment.

  Was this life on Earth so bad? Yes. Nothing for it but to play.

  Val let go of the frame, stumbling through the mirror.

  Val stepped through the mirror and onto a beach at night. No, wait, was this a beach? The sky was pitch-black. The quiet ocean was full of glowing iridescent white foam, the only source of light.

  She squeezed her hands and breathed deep. She felt as real as she had in her apartment. A distinct ozone scent filled the air.

  What had the mirror done to her? What kind of game could have this kind of technology?

  “Yoo hoo! Over here!” Someone waved to her from a … beach blanket?