Reflection (Twisted Tales, #4)

by Elizabeth Lim

Suddenly she wondered why she’d wanted this so much—to be given away to a stranger to marry. Couldn’t a woman be worth something without having to be a bride?

“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.”

Choose me, another reflection implored her. I’ve always been pretending to be someone I’m not. First the perfect bride so someone might marry me, then the perfect soldier so I might bring honor home. I need to accept there is no perfect path for me.

“I want to honor my family by being a good daughter,” she continued, “but I also want the freedom to be myself, to say and do what I think is right, even if that means deviating from the path that is expected of me. For so long, I’ve been scared—scared of what my parents will think when I go home, scared of what my friends in the army would think if they found out I’m a girl. I’m not scared anymore. It doesn’t matter if I’m pretending to be Ping or if I’m Mulan. As long as I am true to myself, then my reflection will show who I really am.”

“‘The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all,’” Mulan murmured.

“Your heart has been tested, and you have come far. But not every fight is fought on the battlefield. There will be more to come, for you and those who follow you. Do not let yourself be forgotten, Fa Mulan. And do not forget—you are not alone.”