Mystery Saja's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Mystery Saja knew every hair on his own head, and still no one had ever seen his face. Purple strands hung past his chin like a curtain. He wanted just one person to look under it. Not a crowd. Just the blue-haired boy who lived at the tall apartment block near the North Pole ice. He found Baby Saja on the frozen practice rink. Baby Saja was the boy who had promised to teach voice tricks, but only if his students obeyed without asking why. He stood pushing air from his belly, mouth wide, sending sound across the ice. "Watch," Baby Saja said. He did not turn around. "You breathe from here." He pressed a hand to his stomach. "Not the throat." Mystery Saja tried. His voice cracked and died halfway across the rink. Baby Saja laughed, still not looking at him. "Again," Baby Saja said. "And keep that hair out of your mouth." That was the problem. The hair. Every day Mystery Saja hid behind it. He wanted Baby Saja to see him, really see him. But Baby Saja stared at the ice, at the far wall, at anything but his face. Mystery Saja stopped. His heart pounded. He reached up with both hands. "Look at me," he said. "Please. Turn around." Baby Saja sighed and turned. "What now?" Mystery Saja pushed the purple curtain aside. He held it back against his forehead. For the first time, the wind touched his whole face. His eyes, his nose, his mouth, all bare in the cold light. Baby Saja went still. His own eyes went wide. He stepped closer across the ice, slow, careful. "So that's you," Baby Saja said quietly. "That's me," Mystery Saja said. His voice shook. "I wanted you to know." Baby Saja studied the face he had never seen. Then his mouth fell open, not in wonder now, but in shock. "I know you," Baby Saja whispered. He backed up one step. "You're the one the judges are looking for. They said someone snuck into the final round. They have your picture." Mystery Saja's hands dropped. The hair fell back across his face. "What picture?" he said. Baby Saja pointed a shaking finger. "They banned that face from the glacier stage. If they see you now, you're out. Both of us, maybe." He looked toward the showcase hall, where the three judges waited. "Why did you show me?" Mystery Saja stood frozen on the ice. He had finally revealed himself. One person had seen his true face at last. And that one person had just named him a wanted stranger.