Falling Through Glass Read Free Page A

film’s director, joked when they joined the crew assembling near the front desk of the luxury hotel not far from the Imperial Palace.
    Jake grinned. “Only the best for the stunt coordinator slash martial arts choreographer hyphen consultant.”
    The director flipped Jake off, which made everyone laugh, then he handed out the room assignments and hotel keys to Jake and the rest of the advance crew, who’d arrived ahead of the film’s actors and other crewmembers.
    Emmi was getting her mirror from the property master when the director approached with the keys.
    “Giving away our stuff, Eric?”
    “No, Dan, I was carrying it for Miss Maeda. It wouldn’t fit in her carry-on, and I didn’t want to chance it in the checked bags.”
    Jake gave the prop master a playful hug. “Eric is so sweet that way.”
    Everyone but Eric laughed, and the director asked if he could look at the mirror. Emmi didn’t want to let him touch it, but Jake had that ‘do it for me’ look that coerced her to hand it over.
    Cruze set the mirror on top of the hotel’s check-in desk and did that framing the shot with his hands thing, which she’d never seen done except in movies featuring stereotypical movie folk.
    “This would be fabulous in my opening shot. We’ll pan across the room in the teahouse and show the ninja sneaking in to murder the sleeping samurai.” He looked at Emmi. “You’ll let us borrow it, right? I’ll pay you a rental fee.”
    A sick feeling hit Emmi in the stomach, and she wanted to throw up. Having heard enough about Cruze always getting his way, she sensed she couldn’t refuse. And yet… “I-I can’t.” She looked to Jake for support when Cruze’s expression hardened.
    “It’s an heirloom, Danny,” he lied. “Kenny gave it to her before…you know.”
    Cruze sort of winced and turned on Eric, the prop master. “You’ll make me an exact replica by five a.m. tomorrow.”
    Eric sighed and guilt stabbed Emmi.
    “Sure, Dan. I’ll get right on it.”
    Cruze smiled. “Great. Later, people. I have an interview with a reporter from NHK in the bar.”
    Eric took a digital camera from one of his bags. “I need to get measurements and some pics, okay? Then I’ll bring it to your room. You’re in seven-one-eight, right? That’s down the hall from me. I’ll be careful with it. You’ll have it back within the hour.”
    Emmi nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help? I didn’t mean to make more work for you.”
    Eric laughed. “It’s okay. I’ll get a bonus out of the fearless leader for the aggravation.”
    Emmi smiled in return, but the sick feeling in her stomach stayed and got worse as she followed Jake through the garden-like atrium toward the elevators. Nothing could happen to the mirror. It just couldn’t.
    “You okay, Em-chan? You look like you got hold of a bad piece of sushi.”
    “I’m okay,” she muttered. She craned her neck to see the mirror one last time before the elevator doors closed.
    Except she knew everything wasn’t okay.
     
    * * * *
     
    “There wasn’t a thing to worry about,” Emmi whispered to herself when Eric returned the mirror within the hour as promised.
    She placed it on the desk and stretched out on the bed across from it. After a second, she impulsively got up to adjust the mirror so she could look into the glass when lying down, just the way she’d had it back home. It wasn’t positioned quite right, so she repeated the ritual until it was. Finally Emmi lay on her stomach and stared into the mirror, so many thoughts going through her head. Could it have been her dad’s spirit she’d seen, after all? Was he unhappy wherever he was?
    Jake came out of the bathroom, toweling dry his long hair. He sat beside her. “You okay?”
    “Why didn’t he listen to me?” Emmi blurted, voicing the question that had been nagging her for months. “If he’d believed me, he would still be alive.”
    Tears stung her eyes, and the torment she’d been struggling to