Tragedy is a funny thing, Rose darkly noted to herself. As a chronically panicked and anxious person, Rose considered herself pretty well prepared for any eventuality. Maybe not physically, mind you. That took quite a bit of effort that she frankly did not have the energy to accomodate. But at least mentally she had already considered just about the worst thing that could happen in any given scenario and readied herself for it. Pretty much anything that would happen she had already processed and mourned and moved on from. Was it healthy? No. But at least it helped her adapt in the moment when those unavoidable scenarios ultimately happened.

But reality has a way of presenting you with completely unexpected twists. There is always that one thing so terrible, so unthinkable, that no one would ever even entertain the idea of it happening. Events like this are so far removed from everyday life that they seem to be fantasy. Or maybe that feeling of fantasy is just shock.

Shock. That is probably what Rose would conclude that she is going through right now if she had the presence of mind to consider it. Instead, she sat frozen in the stiff backed chair of the upscaled steakhouse that she and her girlfriend Marissa had been visiting for their one-year anniversary dinner.

A tingling dread swept through Rose as she stared straight ahead at the incomprehensible sight in front of her, hand still tingling where Marissa had just been holding it. Her breath seemed stolen, the words that she had just been about to say still lingering on her lips.

Where moments ago her girlfriend had just sat, was now a whirling vortex, a gaping maw of darkness and hunger. Not even light could escape its grasp, its presence only directly evident by its lack thereof. A gaping tear in reality, weeping unreality into the world, contorting its surroundings into a crude facsimile of existence.

Lacking the ability to comprehend what she was seeing, Rose’s thoughts instead drifted briefly to Marissa. She truly was Rose’s everything. Their romance was the kind of thing that Rose had previously thought only existed in sappy romance novels and Hallmark movies.

But Marissa made them see the light in everything where there was once only hopelessness. With them, everything seemed a little bit less overwhelming, and with them, Rose felt enabled to be the best person of herself that she could be; able to not only survive, but thrive and improve as a person.

Marissa encouraged Rose to pursue her passions. She had finally started to move past her depression and start to pick up new hobbies. Before she had been frozen by indecision and sapped by her constant anxiety, but now she had been going back to the gym consistently and had been picking up more creative pursuits like writing and crafts, whatever spoke to her at the moment really. She had finally begun to actually approach something resembling living, and she attributed it all to her wonderful girlfriend.

Which is why she had decided on taking Marissa to Artie’s Steakhouse to begin with. It was a local landmark, one of the more well known locations for people to take their partners for any number of celebratory dinners. To be perfectly honest, it was entirely outside of Rose’s price range, and she would probably have to pay for the consequences of her actions for a few weeks by eating instant noodles and rice.

But it was worth it to show her appreciation for her beautiful girlfriend. It was important to her to make this gesture. Not necessarily because the place itself was expensive, but because the steakhouse represented a new experience for the both of them. Something symbolic of their relationship. A wonderful experience of living in the moment, of finally reclaiming their lives from the jaws of crippling anxiety and worry for the future and of the past.

Both Rose and Marissa had been dressed in their best attire tonight. Rose in a sheer dress with a slit running well up the thigh, with fishnets and a tasteful choker, and some light accessories. Marissa, ever the more crafty of the two, had heavily modified the outfit that they were wearing. Their shirt was a black band tee that had been thrifted and cut down each of the sides to divide it into two pieces, and then pieced back together with safety pins. A simple modification in theory but stylish and showing a care to both sustainability and appearance that drew the eye and garnered appreciation.

The neck had then been cut down to provide space for their ample chest. This modification was mostly for Marissa’s own comfort, but Rose couldn’t help but glance down every once in a while, entranced, only to be humorously scolded by her girlfriend when she was caught looking.

Paired with the pinned tee was a cute pair of high waisted elastic shorts with two rings of tasteful frills, the perfect counterpart to the more dissonant aspects of their outfit. It summarized Marissa’s personality well, Rose considered as she grinned to herself: alternative, but with a soft affection, a compassion for the world wholly at ends with what it deserved.

The outfit was completed with sleek black boots and adorned with charms, jinging merrily with Marissa’s movements. Doubly so when they rushed to catch up to Rose, her longer stride often leaving her girlfriend jogging to catch up to her when she stopped consciously tracking her steps.

Which is exactly what had happened as they arrived at Artie’s. In her haste to get inside, Rose found herself holding the door open for no one, as she looked back and saw her girlfriend at least twenty feet back, still walking across the parking lot onto the curb. Marissa stuck their tongue out at Rose, leading her to let out a giggle.

“Sorrrryyyy!” Rose singsonged, begging forgiveness from her girlfriend as they finally reunited at the door, Rose pulling them close while grabbing their side and walking into the establishment. Marissa fixed them with a glare, stopping in place and bending forward in order to focus more on Rose’s eyes. Rose knew that if she didn’t apologize that Marissa would hold it over them for longer, joking teasing them about it and using it as leverage to extract some recompense from Rose. Likely a kiss or two. Not that Rose was complaining, but it was more about the principle. It was one of many silly little games that they played.

“You better be ma’am!” Marissa nudged Rose’s nose playfully with an outstretched finger. “You can’t hog all of the food! I’ve been waiting all week to sink my teeth into a juicy…” They advanced closer, grabbing Rose’s arm, “Succulent…” They pressed Rose’s arm in between their breasts as they shimmied closer. “Thick…” They grinned, flashing their canines as to mimic a wild animal. “...slab of meat!” They finished their exclamation, beaming humorously up at Rose to wait for her response.

Rose sputtered at this, blushing as she struggled to keep eye contact with Marissa, wondering if any of the patrons nearby had heard and caught the innuendo. Eventually deciding to take her other arm to push Marissa’s head down into the arm they were holding, looking away and to the side, clearing her throat.

“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” Before Rose could come up with a good retort, she was interrupted by a voice in front of them. She hadn’t really noticed anyone as they had been coming in, too distracted by Marissa’s antics, and not entirely oriented to the new environment yet.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Slightly mortified, Rose snapped her head to the front, jolting slightly in surprise. There was a server waiting patiently at the host stand, smirking slightly. ‘There’s my answer to if anyone heard us.’ Rose thought briefly to herself, shrinking back a little in guilty pleasure as if she had been caught doing something mischievous.

She cleared her throat again, “Ah, uhm… yes! We have one. Just for uhm, us two.” She gestured to her side at her girlfriend, who was still giggling into Rose’s side, so as to not show her face to the host. “Should be for Rose and Marissa?” She added after a brief pause remembering that they would need a name.

The host tapped a few buttons on the screen in front of them before nodding and gesturing to his side with an open palm, “Right this way ladies.” He invited them as he grabbed a few supplies for the table, leading them to to their seats at a tall-backed wooden booth tucked away in one of the corners of the restaurant. A nice quiet area with romantic lighting and some privacy.

Being a friday night, the restaurant was packed full, most of the tables were filled with elegantly dressed diners, softly chattering, interrupted by the occasional light chuckle. It was a lively but relaxed environment, the tables distanced just far enough for every table to enjoy its privacy, but to still contribute to the atmosphere of eased sophistication.

A warm yellow glow was afforded by the lights at each table, the rest of the restaurant relatively dim, a romantic and soothing lighting, almost like the restaurant was enshrouded in an eternal twilight. It felt like its own little world, separated from the outside progression of time.

Rose’s only complaint was that they really could have afforded to add a few cushions, as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat before picking up the menu. She winced, noting the prices for everything. Most of the meal options were in the 30-50 dollar price range, and they would likely be getting appetizers and dessert as well. It wouldn’t really do to go to a place like this and not get all that they could out of it. Marissa could help pay of course, and would likely insist to. But Rose wouldn’t have any of it. This was an important gesture for her. She couldn’t do much as a broke college student for her girlfriend, but she could at least manage this for them.

As Rose came back to awareness, the food was already in front of her and Marissa was talking to her. But she could only really manage to make out every other word.

“...and then they… commission… how exposure… payment. Standard… should be happy…” Their words dimmed further into a distant ringing as Rose confusedly stared at them. Something felt very wrong. Rose struggled further to hear her girlfriend, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldnt make out a single word that Marissa was saying. And they didn’t seem to be reacting to her either, just emptily speaking to the air in front of them. This continued for a moment until Rose was distracted by something out of the corner of her eye. It was a purple mote of light, twirling lazily in the air. It was now the only source of color in an otherwise stencilled world.

She stared, motionless and entranced by the mote of light as it finally settled on the back of her palm. Before it abruptly flashed and disappeared, taking with it a small chunk of Rose’s hand. “Fuck!” She exclaimed, drawing her hand back and flapping it in an attempt to stem the pain, only to realize where she was.

She had been so caught up in her own head recounting what had brought her to her current circumstances, that she had briefly forgotten the bleak reality in front of her, namely the impossible tear in the fabric of space that was hovering in front of her.

Still somewhat in shock, Rose noticed another troubling fact as she stared at the portal. It was shrinking. It was initially unnoticeable. But it had sped up over the past minute or so, already half the size as it had been initially.

Rose’s heart beat erratically. ‘Oh shit oh shit oh shit! What do I do?!’ She panicked as she twisted around anxiously as if to plead to some nearby authority for help. Anyone who could take charge of the situation and tell her what to do. But strangely, even though the restaurant had been nearly full just minutes prior, it appeared completely empty. There was not a single soul to be seen.

Thus Rose was struck with the full weight of responsibility for the crisis. She would have to figure out what to do, and fast. The portal yes shrinking faster still, now just a quarter of its original massive size.

She froze, staring diagonally down at the table and processing her options.

‘Marissa is gone. In her place is this… thing.’ That suggested that they were either taken away to some unknown location or… ‘No. She isn’t dead. I’m not thinking that. She is still alive and I need to find her.’ Shaking, she raised her head, steeling her resolve.

‘Which means I need to…’ She slid out of the booth, stepping next to the shrinking portal, it now just barely shorter than her current height.

Rose felt sick to her stomach, a twisting knot of dread settling in her chest and radiating throughout her body, her blood pressure spiking and her heart resounding loudly in her chest and echoing through her eardrums.

‘Oh God.’ She trembled, inching forward ever closer to the portal. She felt like crying. She knew what she had to do and felt helpless in the face of circumstance.

‘Okay, okay, okay.’ She hyped herself up. ‘Just don’t think. Just jump in. Either it will bring you to wherever Marissa is, or it won’t, and you won’t be there to regret it anyway. Painless either way.’ Rose glanced down at the back of her hand, still dribbling blood from the arcane wound. ‘Okay, maybe a little painful.’ She screwed her eyes shut.

‘Fuck!’ She opened her eyes back wide, shaking her head. Her time was running out. The portal was nearly gone now, and if she wanted to jump in after Marissa, she would have to dive in, no gradual walk through anymore. It was all or nothing.

She slowly backed up, shaking out her limbs to trick them into moving forward. She breathed in deeply before rushing forward, her mind completely blank except for a desprate scream.

“AHHHHH!” She took two quick steps forward before diving headfirst into the small opening to god-knows-where, her body quickly disappearing within the darkness. The portal quivered in her wake, stalling for just a moment, only twisting and hovering in space in defiance of all natural laws.

With Rose gone, the restaurant was deathly silent and still. The only sound the quiet rushing of air into the tear in reality, and the quiet creaking of the nearby tables as their structures were subtly warped by the swirling motes of unreality that settled across their frames. There were no observers, no one to witness the two lovers be whisked away to another realm.

Only days later when the restaurant opened again from the weekend, did anyone notice anything was amiss. The restaurant was left unlocked and it was almost as if everyone had simultaneously decided to walk out of the steakhouse simultaneously. Dishes were left half-eated, and the kitchen was a dirty mess, half cooked dishes still on the grill, which was luckily turned off.

Of particular note was the back corner of the restaurant, which looked like a tornado had passed through, the furniture was sagging and pockmarked by holes, and the plating was scattered about haphazardly. There was an initial panic with the occurrence, the police were called and the area was cordoned off for weeks while search parties were sent out for the missing people. The story was regularly aired during this time as the mystery became the centerpoint for the town. Families and communities mourned their lost, and cried out in confusion at the world that had suddenly taken away their loved ones.

But over time, people spoke of it less and less. The restaurant eventually opened up under a new name, the event only remembered by those it had impacted directly. They carried a weight in their heart from the lost, but moved on, the hole never healing but scarring over. Their only momento a burning question to keep them up on sleepless nights, wondering ‘where did they go?’