Reflection (Twisted Tales, #4)

by Elizabeth Lim

ALL OF LIFE IS A DREAM WALKING, ALL OF DEATH IS A GOING HOME.

All achievements she’d thought were impossible. Until they weren’t. Speed, endurance, strength. Precision, focus, confidence, Mulan told herself. I am the coursing river, the raging fire. I am the warrior.

“My father encouraged me to see the strength within,” Mulan told the mirror crisply. “When I was a little girl, he told me that life is a journey, one whose path diverges due to the choices I made. He told me not to worry about how difficult a path might look, for the only one worth following was the one that my heart chose.” She waited, but the Fa Zhou in the mirror said nothing. “My father would understand what I did. He believes in me.”

The Lady of Forgetfulness passed the sword to Mulan, but Mulan shook her head. “It’s yours, not mine. I have my father’s sword waiting for me back in the real world.” Meng Po smiled again. “Then take this, as a memory of the battles you have fought here.” The sword disappeared, and in its place was a magnolia blossom. Its petals were soft and pink like the blush of a peach. Meng Po tucked the blossom behind Mulan’s ear. “There. A reminder that where there is beauty, there is also strength and courage and resilience.”