Chapter Two: The Reflection Moves First

The vermilion door burst open. Wind smelling of river mud and old paper blew through seamless glass. Beyond hung an inverted street: eaves pointed down, rain fell upward, and a distant clock tower had only ten marks. A yellowed document lay beneath the threshold. Su reached for it. Her mirrored self suddenly turned around. Its face was blank; on the back of its head was the character SACRIFICE. “Don't look!” Lin pulled down the blackout cloth. Su caught the document's corner. The two worlds tugged, tearing it in half. One portion fell into reality as the door vanished. The page was titled *Record of Linchuan's Calendar Reform*, dated four centuries before.