The Riddle in the Mirror

Maya stared at the sphinx pin on her denim jacket—some vintage thing she'd thrifted because it looked mysterious and deep. Like her. Or at least, like who she was trying to be this semester.

"Nice hat," Jordan said from across the lunch table, but he wasn't talking to her. He was nodding at Chloe, who'd just pulled her beanie off to reveal perfect waves. Maya adjusted her own beanie, suddenly self-conscious. Was it too much? Trying too hard?

Her phone buzzed. Mom again. Don't forget your vitamin D! You've been inside all weekend.

Maya rolled her eyes but mentally filed it away as another thing she was failing at. Vitamins, social cues, existing in high school without feeling like a fraud.

That night, she FaceTimed her cousin Kai. "I feel like I'm living a riddle," she said. "Like I'm the sphinx, but I don't even know my own question."

"That's deep, cuz," Kai said. "Also, low-key dramatic."

Her cat jumped onto her desk, knocking over a stack of college brochures. The sphinx pin fell off her jacket. She picked it up, turning it over in her fingers. She'd bought it because sphinxes guarded secrets, asked riddles, demanded answers before letting you pass.

She was fifteen. Why did she need all the answers already?

"You good?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Maya said, surprising herself. "Actually, yeah."

She put the pin back on—slightly crooked, whatever. Texted her mom back: Got it, thanks. Slid into the group chat where Jordan and Chloe were making plans for Friday.

Maybe the riddle wasn't about solving it. Maybe it was about sitting with the question, being okay with not knowing yet.

Her cat purred against her leg, and Maya finally let herself breathe.