School was over for the day and Luca went to visit his favorite teacher on campus, Dr. Rye. The professor wasn’t liked by the students of his physics class. His eccentric experiments came off as weird to everyone. Nonetheless, Luca appreciated his dedication to his studies.
He walked past a few students into the now empty classroom. Dr. Rye looked up from his laptop at him. “Ah, Luca! I’ve been waiting for you! Ready to experiment?” “Yes, sir.” “Excellent!” Dr. Rye walked over to an object draped in a dusty blanket.
“This one is most intriguing.” He pulled the blanket off, revealing an antique mirror. “A mirror?” Luca looked at it curiously. “Don’t let your eyes deceive you, my dear Luca. This artifact has a mysterious aura emanating from it. And you know how out of the ordinary it is for a scientist such as myself to say that.”
Luca approached it slowly. He peered into the mirror and saw his distorted reflection. The mirror was calling to him in the back of his mind. Before he could get closer, Dr. Rye stopped him. “That’s enough. We don’t know how dangerous it is.” He ignored his warning and extended his hand to its mirrored plate glass. “No, Luca! Don’t!” Reality seemed to stutter for a second.
“What … happened, Dr. Rye?” He looked around the room. It wasn’t the science classroom he was in seconds ago. He was in a musky bedroom caked in dust and cobwebs. “Dr. Rye?” Silence. He looked in the mirror again. “W-what the?!” In the mirror was a young cat boy with purple fur.
“What are you?!” He screamed terrified. The cat boy mimicked his every movement. He looked at the reflection, then his hands. They both had the same purple fur. “What’s … going on? What happened to me?!” His heart was pounding. There was a gap in his memory between the time he touched the mirror and appeared here.
He made gestures at the mirror and saw them reflected. It was him, alright. He was now a kitten and in a different room than his school’s science classroom. That much he knew so far. Was he even in the same universe? He unlatched the room’s window and climbed out. Outside, everything appeared normal. Green grass, blue skies, and cars driving to and fro on the street.
In the distance, he saw a few figures walking on the sidewalk. He approached them for a better view. (“Oh my god! What is going on?!”) A humanoid fox and dog walked past him. They gave him an interested look and made comments while walking by. “Cute kitty.” “So adorbs!”
Luca ran away and sat against the wall of the house he found himself in when he arrived. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. He should’ve heeded Dr. Rye’s warning. A moment later, he felt a vibration in his pants pocket. His smartphone was ringing. On its screen it read Incoming Call - MOM and had a portrait of a cat woman. She looked vaguely familiar. He wiped his tears away and accepted the call.
“Luca, honey? Where are you? School’s over, and we don’t see you at the gate.” Her voice was familiar as well. “M-mom?” “What’s wrong? Are you all right?” “I-I don’t know where I am, and I’m really scared.” “Are you in danger?” “No. I’m outside a house.” “Dad and I are coming. Don’t be afraid.”
Minutes passed by slowly. The wait was unbearable. He saw a familiar luxury sedan pull up to the curb and roll its windows down. “Luca, sweetie?” The woman's voice from the phone called out to him. He sprinted to the car. Inside were a cat man and woman. He still wasn’t used to seeing animal people up close. “You had us worried. Get in.” He opened the back door and sat down.
Refreshing air blew from the car’s air conditioner. He needed to confirm that they were his parents. “Mom? Dad?” This time the man spoke. “Yeah, Son?” “Nothing.” “Are you all right? We checked Dr. Rye’s lab, and he said you never showed up.” His heart started beating out of his chest. (“Dr. Rye?! Relax, Luca. This is all just a terrible nightmare.”)
He took a few seconds to gather his nerves and speak. “O-oh. I think I got lost after school.” His mom turned around and looked at him. “Really? Your school’s a mile away. Oh! That’s right! Dr. Rye had a message for you. He wants you to check out a mirror he bought at an antiques store.” The feeling of dread hit him again. (“N-no way!”)
For the rest of the trip, he fiddled with his thumbs nervously. Was this a nightmare? So far he confirmed that his parents, Dr. Rye, and the mirror exist here. They turned the corner, and he saw his family’s mansion come into view. For once, he wasn’t shocked and was instead relieved. “Did you tell the butler to start dinner at 5:00?” “No, babe. I think I forgot. Eh, it's no big deal.” Even their conversations were familiar.
Whatever happened to him when he touched that mirror, it was apparent he was now in an alternate universe. A universe populated by animal people. Nothing else was different. He was still Luca Peyton. Well, a cat boy named Luca Peyton. Maybe everything would be fine. He would need to be patient and see how things turn out.
![[REF.] Kay Amari](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3931/3931027_CloudHusky_kay_amari_noncustom.jpg "[REF.] Kay Amari")
