Psychiatrist: Welcome, Ms. Klara.
Psychiatrist: I'm your attending psychiatrist.
Psychiatrist: Before we start the session, I'd like to confirm something.
Psychiatrist: What happened to make you lose control of your arcane skill?
Psychiatrist: Do you remember?
Kakania: ...
Memories flash before her, jumbled and messy.
She closes her eyes as she tries to recall.
Kakania: I ...
She's taken back to her days in Vienna.
Kakania: Zemfira, I ...
Zemfira: This is as far as you go, my friend.
Zemfira: We've walked a long way. You should head home. It's best not to be alone in the dark.
Kakania: What about you?
Zemfira: We enter the world alone, and we leave it alone. It's the natural way of things.
Zemfira: Don't worry, my dear Kakania. We'll see each other again.
Zemfira: I promise.
Kakania: But Russia is so very far away. Are you sure you'll still remember this place?
Zemfira: I will remember.
Kakania: May I at least walk you to the edge of town? There's a station there. I can take the tram back.
Zemfira: No need.
Kakania: I want to remember our last day together. Is it so awful to want to extend it just a little longer?
Kakania: Or is it because you don't want to see me anymore? If that's the case, I'll return the hand mirror you gave me right now.
Zemfira: It's because everything I wanted to say has been said. And the blessing has taken effect.
Zemfira: Simply looking at you makes me happy. It gives me hope to know there are still good people like you in the world.
Zemfira: That's why I gave you my blessing. As long as you don't break the mirror, you will feel its effects.
Kakania: What are you talking about?! Of course I won't break it!
Zemfira: Then please don't ever say that you'll give it back. And remember these words:
Zemfira: "Disaster will fall on the shards of a broken mirror."
Zemfira: Don't forget.
Kakania: I won't. Although I still don't understand.
Zemfira: Ask no more, dear Klara.
Zemfira: You kept asking us wanderers what we wanted. You learned that Illich desires fortune and that Laurel longs for a life free from hiding.
Zemfira: But I haven't given you my answer yet.
Zemfira: What I'm looking for is ...
Kakania: ...
Kakania: What do you long for, Zemfira?
Kakania: And where is the mirror you gave me?
Kakania: My mirror, the hand mirror.
Kakania: It appears ...
Kakania: It appears that every time I think of it, either my memory or my arcane skill goes wrong.
Psychiatrist: I see. There's a close connection between your symptoms and your hand mirror. Noted.
Psychiatrist: Then, let's take a deeper dive into your mirror.
Psychiatrist: Could you describe it to me?
Kakania: Hmm.
Kakania: It's ornate. Finely decorated.
Kakania: But it's far more than an ornament. It's my very first hand mirror.
Kakania: And it shall never be broken.
Kakania: Elbert!
Kakania: Look! My first hand mirror! My friend and I had a discussion, and I've decided to use it as a key element to improving my self-awareness.
Elbert: Klara! You're back!
Elbert: A hand mirror? May I have a look?
Elbert: Such a delicate mirror! It is perfect for your first hand mirror.
Elbert: "Your first hand mirror is for reflecting yourself. Your first table mirror is for observing others." The only thing missing is the Vingler family crest. You'd better present it to Father for his approval.
Kakania: Why should I? I have no need for his approval!
Elbert: Please consider it for me, would you, Klara?
Elbert: Father would so like to know about this. He's always wanted to understand you better.
Kakania: Fine! If I must, I'll show him the mirror. But I don't want his approval or the crest.
Kakania: I'll simply present it to him. I won't allow him to destroy it.
Elbert: sigh You can't keep doing this.
Elbert: You really should ...
Kakania: I already know what he's going to say.
Kakania: "You really should show more respect for Father."
Kakania: "You really should be more restrained. Don't disgrace yourself."
Kakania: "Stop associating with the lower class."
Kakania: "Act like a decent middle-class lady."
Kakania: "And become a part of this 'beautiful society.'"
Kakania: But ...
Kakania: Should I really?
Psychiatrist: Ms. Klara?
Kakania: I'm sorry. What are you talking about?
Kakania: Oh, my mind wandered again? Sorry.
Psychiatrist: No worries. It happens.
Psychiatrist: You were talking about the hand mirror and your brother, Elbert.
Psychiatrist: Is there anything else you want to share with me?
Kakania: ...
Is there? She asks herself.
Kakania: I don't recall where the hand mirror ended up. Perhaps it's broken.
Psychiatrist: People say that a broken mirror is a bad omen.
Psychiatrist: You've mentioned that it carries some kind of "blessing," though it sounds more like a prophecy to me.
Kakania: A prophecy, yes, of the disaster that would follow the breaking of the mirror.
Kakania: And it has come true.
Kakania: Because of that "blessing," Vienna is gone, and Elbert lost his arm.
Kakania: All because of that broken hand mirror.
Kakania: Like the one that broke in the "Storm"?
Psychiatrist: Actually, we don't know where the hand mirror is, and "prophecy" is just my personal understanding of it, not an objective truth.
Psychiatrist: So let's not jump to conclu—
Kakania jumps to her feet.
Kakania: You're right. It IS a prophecy. The mirror must be broken!
Kakania: That's why I can't do anything! It's because my mirrors are broken.
Kakania: All of them.
At the moment she buries her head in her arms, the mirrors in the room start to tremble.
They shake and crack, one after another, as Kakania falls back into her memories yet again.
Isolde: Ah!
Isolde: It's breathtakingly exquisite.
Isolde: It looks more like a frame for a delicate piece of art than a mirror.
Isolde: And look at the spider web detailing. Just gorgeous.
Kakania: ...
Middle-Aged Male: What is this thing?
Middle-Aged Male: It's pure blasphemy!
Middle-Aged Male: This is hardly a mirror, let alone one to be associated with the Vingler name! It's an utter disgrace!
Middle-Aged Male: Klara Vingler! What do you think you're doing?!
Kakania: ...
Her memories swirl in her mind, surrounding her like the fragments of broken glass that are now all over the floor. She sits with her head in her arms, her body shivering.
Kakania: Yes, the mirror is broken, just like ...
Kakania: Vienna is broken.
Kakania: ...
Kakania: What on earth am I doing?
Kakania: What on earth can I do?