“Look into the Mirror of Baqa,” It said.
Anna examined the mirror but nothing happened.
“What does it do?” Anna asked.
“Baqa means WISH in Mongolian. Look closely, and you’ll find what you desire,” Arslan explained.
Anna did as she was told. At first, only her image was shown, but gradually another figure
appeared, which resembled Celia. The blurry image of Anna holding a bottle in hand and pouring
some liquid onto Celia’s leg was getting clear. And Celia’s blood-stained wound closed up miraculously.
Anna took her eyes off the mirror to glance hopefully back at Irves, which chuckled as the
mirror vanished into thin air.
“Your wish has been granted,” it whispered with glee.
“What about Tony?” Anna asked. “Is he gone forever?”
Irves lowered its head and turned aside.
“I cannot help out. Neither can the mirror. It’s his choice!” it signed.
“But you can make him reappear, can’t you?” Arslan asked.
Irves shook its head, its glowing fur getting dimmer and starting to fade out bit by bit.
“Go now! I’ve done my best,” the Irves turned around and there it submerged in darkness.
“Wait—” Anna took a step forward but found herself falling into a dark portal with Arslan.
She screamed and snatched Arslan tightly, hoping to survive the nasty tumble.
Anna could feel the heat wave of the desert and the scotching sand as she came round and
found herself in an alley of the Caj Khota, with Arslan by her side. The search for the antidote had
taken hours and the sun had almost touched the horizon, painting the golden sand into blazing
orange and flashing amber.
“We’re back!” Anna gasped.
Arslan nodded, feeling dizzily confused. A moment ago they were still in the chamber.
What had happened just now remained a mystery, and the Irves was gone forever along with the
chamber. Was it a hallucination or what?
“Look, a bottle!” Arslan pointed at a shiny crystal bottle lying right half-buried in the sand.
Anna picked it up and examined the silvery liquid inside.
“It must be the antidote!” Arslan smiled and showed Anna an approving nod.
“Let’s go back for Celia,” Anna suggested, feeling the sounds of hope jingling in her heart.
They headed back to the shed while Anna was pondering the Irves and Tony on her way back.
Laden with guilt, Anna couldn’t help blaming herself for not being able to rescue her friend. How
she wished she’d given the warnings more forcefully …
“Altan!” Arslan chanted as the two girls were entering.
“The antidote!” Anna showed Altan the bottle with a great sense of pride and poured the
liquid gently onto Celia’s wound. The liquid gave out a soothing peppermint smell and the wound
magically healed.
Celia got up on her feet to give Anna a bear hug while looking around, searching for someone
she knew.
“Where’s Tony?” She asked.
No one answered.
“Where’s Tony?” She asked again.
A deathly hush lingered in the air. Time had frozen.
“Thank you for helping us!” Anna’s words broke the silence as she thanked the the two
