'I don't know how to act around her,' said Aunt Alice to Matilda. 'She's completely changed. It's like she is a different person. She's not laughing anymore, let alone speaking to anyone. She's roaming around the village all day like she's looking for something. I asked her to go home if she doesn't like it here anymore, but she stubbornly refused. She keeps telling me she has something to do... and I don't even know where she is now. What might have happened to her? How can I explain her mother, my sister, this drastic change?'

Aunt Alice wiped the tears from her eyes with the handkerchief she kept in the sleeves of her lacy blouse.

'She seems different to me, too,' said Matilda. 'I even saw her walking around the house in the middle of the night, like she was looking for something. She scared me senseless. I'm telling you that the orphan boy has something to do with it. People are talking; they're saying the two of them visited the old witch on top of the hill. God knows what kind of black magic she's done to her... God have mercy on our souls!' said Matilda, eyes to the sky, crossing her heart.

'If that's the case, I know what needs to be done,' the aunt said with determination. 'I'll find him and get him to tell me what happened to her.' And with that, she grabbed her knitted shawl, tidied up her hair and stormed out the door.

She found him throwing rocks in a puddle at the edge of the village. Paul knew something happened that night. The kind and sweet Victoria changed into a cold hearted soul. He tried talking to her several times, he missed seeing her, smelling her fresh perfume, walk around the forest, and talking about whatever they felt like. Did their kiss mean anything to her?

But something troubled him even more. When he called her name and she looked at him like he was a stranger. And that look... That cold, empty look...

"The eyes are the mirror to the soul, the eyes don't lie." That's what the old witch said. And then he knew. Those eyes weren't Victoria's! The mere thought made him shiver. The girl that looked exactly like her was not really Victoria!

Paul didn't even hear Aunt Alice approaching. He sprung up on his feet and almost bumped into her.

'Good day, young man,' said Aunt Alice gently. 'I want to talk to you. It's important. It's about Victoria.'

'Follow me, Miss Alice,' he begged her. 'I know what happened to Victoria.'

The aunt hesitated.

'What do you mean? Where are we going?'

'We're going to the house on top of the hill,' said the boy in a hurry.

But the aunt didn't budge. 'I'm not going up there! I just want to help Victoria! I want my niece back!' she incisively said.

Paul turned to her and smiled encouragingly:

'I want the same thing, Miss Alice. The girl living in your house is not Victoria! Together we'll bring the real Victoria back.'

⃰

The woman in black was looking curiously at the two visitors from the doorstep. When she noticed Victoria wasn't with them, she immediately opened the door with great concern. Paul barged in while the aunt walked timidly behind him. They went through the dark corridors until the warm light from the reading saloon engulfed them, scattering their fear away. The aunt sat, still frightful, on the couch, while a spotted cat curled up on her lap like it'd known her forever. She's known about the old lady very well, but they never spoke. What could a witch and a piano teacher have in common, she thought every time she saw the lonely old lady around town, avoided by everyone.

'Where is Victoria?' the old woman asked, pouring them a cup of her flavorful tea. 'She was supposed to bring me the mirror two days ago.'

Paul gave her a saddened look and the old woman knew.

'She went through the gate, didn't she?...' she said and felt her heart skip a beat.

Paul nodded without saying a word.

'So, that means that her double is in our world...' she said to herself. 'And this means Victoria is trapped in a strange world...'

The aunt, who kept it to herself until then, stood up and the cat jumped from her lap.

'Can anyone tell me what you two are talking about? If you're going to keep doing this, I'm leaving this instant!'

The old woman smiled, and like magic, Aunt Alice sat back down on the couch. The cat returned like nothing had happened.

The old woman hurried towards the bookcase that reigned over the room and looked behind some thick books, pulling out one that had very thick covers and chipped yellow pages. It was a fairytale book, with a blonde fairy on the cover, wearing a flower wreath on her head. The drawing was almost completely gone, so was the frame made of climbing roses. But the fairy was still there, smiling calmly, like a knowing something. The old woman opened the book to the page showing a mirror and started to read, following each word with her bony finger and squinting to see a little better. Paul approached her and asked if he could read. The old woman gave him the book with a bitter smile:

'All these years I spent searching, again and again, for a way to get back home. Over the time, I've collected dozens of books in the hope that someone, sometime, had gone through what I went through. And the books piled up in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of pages, filling up my house and my life. And just when I thought no one dared to write about something that terrifying, I remembered about the childhood stories. Was there really no truth in all the stories about fairies, dragons and witches? Wasn't Snow-White's evil stepmother's mirror real? And I found this book in an antique shop that no longer exists...'

The old woman stared at the aunt, with her milky-blue eyes.

'You see, my dear, the mirror you bought for your niece is not an ordinary mirror. It's not an enchanted mirror like the one in the story either. It's a gate to another world in which Victoria is now. The same gate that brought me to this world... Now we must find Victoria from the other world and convince her to go back. It's the only way to get our sweet Victoria back...'

Aunt Alice found hard to believe the nonsense she was hearing. What was this crazy old woman talking about?

As if she had read her mind, the old lady went on. 'It might seem hard to believe, I know... But I'm sure you too saw a change in the girl like she's a completely different person. Put her to a test. Ask her about herself, about her parents... You'll see she doesn't know the answers... or she'll avoid them.'

'All right, let's suppose this unbelievable story it's true. What can we do to bring her back?'

Paul, who'd studied the book carefully, interrupted them:

'It says here that the gate will open again in three days, during the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Then it will remain closed for the next thirteen years.

"For the balance between two worlds to be in its place,

A soul with another soul must be replaced"' he read gravely.

'This means,' said the old woman, 'that in precisely three days, at three in the morning, the worlds will collide and the other Victoria must go back to her world. And our Victoria has to come back. If they don't, another thirteen years must go by until the gate will open again. As for me, I couldn't get the balance back, that's why I couldn't get to the other side for so long...'

'What can we do now?' said the aunt, covering her mouth with her handkerchief.

'We need to find the other Victoria!' said Paul and the old woman at the same time.

⃰

Three different people were hastily walking together, leaving the passers-by in awe. A weird old lady, leaning on her cane, an elegant lady trying to keep the dust away from her long dress and a young man in drab clothes. They were walking quickly, behind each other. The young man, being more agile, tried to hurry the two women who were barely catching their breath but didn't slow down.

The three of them eventually reached the aunt's house, where Matilda greeted them gasping:

'Miss Alice, she ran away... Victoria ran away! I heard her rummaging around the house, she took her luggage and left without noticing me, ran like the wind, like the end was coming. I tried to stop her, to ask her what was going on, but to no avail... She gave me the harshest look I've ever seen, pushed me away and went on her way. I've never seen anything like this,' she said sobbing. 'And to make matters worse, she stole all your jewelry and the silverware!'

But as Matilda met eyes with her mistress's two companions, her look grew darker. 'What are they doing here?!!! Go away,' she started yelling, waving her hands around like she was trying to scare away crows. 'You have no business in a respectable house like this!!'

'Matilda, calm down!' said the aunt in a soft voice. 'They're here to help.' And turning to the two, she said gravely:

'We have to find her right away! She's trying to escape!'

The three of them turned around, the same way they came from.

'Lord, it takes all sorts to make your world,' added Matilda, crossing her heart and watching them depart.

⃰

'Have you seen my niece?' Aunt Alice asked the antique merchant.

'You've just missed her,' he said, taken by surprise. 'She sold me some old jewelry, silverware, and glasses. Not very valuable, I'm afraid... She seemed to be in quite a hurry. She took the money and ran.'

The two women could barely stand.

'She's going to the train station,' said the aunt in one breathe. 'She wants us to lose track of her. Paul, please stop her, whatever it takes!' she said with tears in her eyes.

Paul ran out of the shop and went straight to the station. He finally saw her making her way through the market crowd. He called her. And he was sure she'd heard him, as she started walking faster, almost running. They went through the winding streets for minutes on end, without getting closer to each other.

A carriage appeared out of nowhere right in front of the girl, and before she could avoid it, the horses got on their back legs, like they've seen a ghost, neighing and snuffling loudly. And the girl was crushed by their hooves.

Things are getting complicated! What would Victoria do now, that her double is dead? Let me hear your thoughts about this chapter! And don't forget to vote! Thank you so much!