I'd never liked looking at myself in the mirror. It always made me feel uncomfortable, less of a human girl and more of a freak of nature than I'd like.

But today, it felt okay. 

I had completely forgotten about the mirror in the parlor. I'd gotten it in an attempt to make this hollow house feel more lived-in, back when I was just some kid with nothing figured out. Some interior designer in a magazine I picked up off of the sidewalk said it would let more light in. 

But for the first time ever, I did not need to make this dismal house seem more bright. I had Juniper next to me. 

I know, I know. It's cheesy, but if you could see the way the sun danced across the strands of her glittering hair, you would know what I meant. 

When I walked into the house, the first thing I noticed was her expression. It was barely noticeable, a fledgling of hope hidden behind a stony, guarded facade. But I noticed. 

I was too distracted, staring at her in the mirror like some stalker, to even notice my own reflection. I couldn't help it. Juniper shone like a glittering star amidst the shallow sea of gray. She was pretty, sure, but it was more than that. 

I'd do anything, as long as she would let me be her friend. Heck, I'd do anything if I could stop her from hating me after all of this. 

She looked up at my reflection in the mirror, and we locked eyes for a moment, time slipping away from us. But just as soon as the moment began, it ended. 

I quickly averted my eyes and cleared my throat, the air suddenly stuffy and suffocating. But clearing my throat quickly turned into a cough, which quickly turned into me, on the ground, wheezing and hacking like my life depended on it. 

I swear, one day, I'll die of a dust allergy. It won't even be cool, like dying while beating bandits or saving foreign dignitaries. I will go down in history as the operative who died because she inhaled too much dust.

Juniper glanced down and eked out a small burst of laughter, her eyes gleaming as she tried her best to hold her chuckles in. She reached out her hand to me, offering to help me up. 

I shot her a look, brushed off my knees, and pulled myself into a standing position.

"Juniper," I mustered up a smile. "Why don't I show you where you'll be staying for the next couple of nights?"

"Sure," she squeaked, still recovering from my absolutely terrific coughing fit. "Do you need me to grab anything?"

"No, I am good," I let out a forced smile, my lungs still hurting from earlier. "What about you?"

She turned away from the mirror and gave me a small shake no, gesturing with her hands for me to lead the way. 

I glided past her and turned down a long, dark hallway, my flats from this morning clicking against the tiled floor and echoing a haunting song throughout the empty house. 

It had been so long since I had stayed here, yet the furniture was sparkling, not a cobweb in sight. It was eery how pristine this house remained, even after long absences. 

Before we turned down the hallway, I pressed a button near the ornate arch that decorated the entrance and illuminated the sconces dotting the corridor walls. The almost sepia hue the sconces emitted only furthered the antique grandeur of the hallway, highlighting the ancient mahogany furniture left behind by the old owners that glittered with a dim shine, as if even the furniture's best days were behind them. 

I glanced back to find Juniper gazing in awe at the decor before us. I suppose it was rather pretty, just not my taste. 

We continued down the long hallway, the sconces casting haunting shadows of our figures on the mahogany cabinets and illuminating the dried angel's snow flowers sitting in vases on the furniture. Even dead, the flower still looked perfectly fine, save the withered yellow stems just barely visible in the dim light. Yet, I knew that if I picked one up, the petals would crumple into dust before my eyes, as if they had never been there. 

We reached the end of the hallway and faced a wooden door, painted a warm white shade that had chipped from wear near the bottom. I twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open, gesturing for Juniper to step inside. 

She slid around me and mumbled a barely audible thank you before slipping into her new room. I quickly followed her, turning the room's lights on and shutting the door behind us in one smooth motion. 

Once the lights turned on, Juniper began investigating the room, opening drawer after drawer and pulling back the curtains to gaze out into the darkness outside. She opened the doors to the closet and bathroom and peeked her head in, taking inventory of her surroundings. 

Her new room was rather sparsely decorated compared to the rest of the house and was devoid of any of the typical decorating styles of the house - whether it be in the old owners' vintage mahogany furniture or my admittedly messy hodgepodge collection of hopefully livable accouterments. 

I had intentionally picked this room for that very reason. I wanted for her to have the chance to choose her surroundings - at least to some degree. 

Obviously, I wouldn't be letting her go all of a sudden. My brain was a little muddled at the moment, but to do so would be to throw away over three decades of hard work and experience for some girl - a prisoner at that. 

But I wanted her to get the chance to decorate the room for herself. Being on the run from your home planet's embassy was difficult enough. I thought that by giving her one small piece of normalcy, she might not hate me after all of this. Hopefully. 

Juniper finished her thorough examination of her new room and plopped down on the bed, immediately laying her head down. 

I walked over to an armchair near the bed to join her, anxious to hear her thoughts on the place. 

"How do you like it?" I asked.

Juniper sat up and shot me a small grin, her eyes twinkling in the dim light. 

"It's wonderful," she replied. "Thank you."