Jaden walked into the dark room with his eyes wide and his senses on alert. Ah, it wasn't all that dark. Rather, the light was strange there.
He stepped in first, followed by Nate, a step behind. When he stood there, he noticed his reflection on the other side of the room.
Is that what Nate wanted him to see? A mirror?
«Hmph,» he scoffed, annoyed. What did that man think? He was a big boy and knew what a mirror was. It was past the time he could spend hours glaring at his reflection.
His mommy liked looking at herself in a mirror, so he had tried as well. Still, he couldn't find what his mommy loved about reflections. Sure, they were funny the first few times because the reflection did what he did. But after that, it soon became boring.
He took another step, uninterested. At that moment, he noticed another one of his shapes, in the other corner of the room. He tilted his head, confused. Was there another mirror?
Another step made him open his mouth wide and his eyes shine. So many Jadens! Everywhere!
There were too many to count - even though he knew how to count only to five - and they seemed to play together if he turned and moved his hands.
He laughed hard, and the echo replied to him. It was a little eerie, but he didn't have time to be scared because the new adventure was much more interesting than it seemed in the first few steps. He walked forward, almost reaching the reflection in front of him. Before touching its hand, though, he crashed into an invisible wall and hurt his forehead. He bounced back and fell on his bottom, his eyes filling with tears at the shock. What was that?
«Hey,» Nate said, reaching him. He pulled him up and massaged his back, and a thousand other Nates took care of each of their Jaden. Some merged into one, forming a weird shape. Others were smaller, some bigger... But they all moved at the same time and saved the boy.
«Be careful: some mirrors are difficult to see,» Nate said. He talked in a low volume to avoid the echo so that Jaden could understand. «Are you hurt?»
Jaden shook his head, even though his face did hurt a little. Not as much as to cry, though. He wasn't a kid anymore.
«I'm relieved,» Nate sighed, turning his attention away to observe their other copies. «We can get out of here now.»
«No...» Jaden whispered, almost frightened to admit he liked that magic place. «Can we stay here a little longer?»
«Can we?» Nate repeated, fixing the hat to cover the white wolf ears.
The little one was excited, that was sure.
«We can't get out until you calm down,» Nate pointed out. «Or people might notice the ears...» At least, the tail wasn't anywhere to be seen.
«How does this work?» Jaden asked, ignoring the talk about not being seen. «Are they only reflections?»
«Yes, they are.»
«Phew,» the boy sighed, visibly relieved.
«Were you worried, perhaps?»
«Reflections don't steal mommies,» Jaden explained. «They have their own.»
«Ah, I see...»
It was like that: the other Jaden on the other side had his mommy who loved him as much as Jaden's did. He once panicked when Lara wanted to hug him in front of the mirror, scared from the perspective of sharing her with another cub. But then, he saw her own reflection and realised that that world was too far for them to interfere: they couldn't even hear each other!
«Even all those Nates aren't as dangerous,» he continued.
«You prefer my reflections to my original self,» the man pointed out, his voice not that low anymore. The echo made him look angry and a little threatening, but Jaden didn't seem to mind.
«Of course,» he explained. Those Nates didn't want his mommy, so he didn't care to hate them.
«The reflections don't come from a single mirror,» Nate explained, remembering he was there to teach something to the little boy. It was the only way he had found to approach him, and it was a path worth exploring. «It's a system of mirrors. It's interesting, isn't it? We can build one room like this at my home if you want.»
«At your home? Where? In the room where Scarlet and I slept?»
«Oh, not in the penthouse but in the villa. It's where my family stays usually. There are plenty of rooms, and one can be used for games or experiments.»
«Experiments? What is that?»
«Something you will come to like, trust me. It's about discovering how things work and why stuff happens.»
«Oh, I see...» Jaden murmured, pretending to know what they were talking about.
«We can come back another time; are you ready to get out?»
«Yes. I am hungry.»
«That's good. With Scarlet, we usually buy a cake for your mother. What do you think?»
«Hmm... I want to bring something special to mommy. Not just a cake.»
Nate checked the ears, back to human, and he walked out with the kid still in his arms.
«Special like what?»
«Strawberry cake,» he said, smooth. It was not an idea he came up with at the last minute...
«Scarlet told you how to answer, didn't she?» Nate asked, surprised.
Jaden pouted, shaking his head and refusing to admit it.
Nate chuckled, happy to have read through the pups. It was hard, but he was starting to understand them.
«Regarding the villa... What do you think about visiting it during the weekend? You can check the rooms and choose one for your toys.»
«Why?»
«Because you have a grandmother, and she'd like to meet you. And to spoil you so much that your mother and I can't deal with you later, but that's not your problem to solve... What do you think?»
«I have a grandmother? What does a grandmother do?»
«Oh, you'll see.. She will help your mother take care of you.»
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