2 - The Black Hole

Once your black hole appears, it's simply time to go.

Raul's wife took some convincing, but ultimately, I told him she had to go. I wasn't about to lose my new car because she kept wasting time, allowing the hole to expand.

So, yeah, Raul let her know we don't get to decide when our time is up. He sat with her outside of the damn hole for what felt like an eternity, but I let him have that moment. It would be their last.

I was pacing back and forth in the living room. If stares could burn, I would have incinerated her with mine. But, alas, I don't know what he told her, but she jumped.

I hadn't seen someone jump like that in ages. It's eerie.

It all happens so quickly; one moment the black hole is there, the next it's gone.

Raul came back inside and immediately started gathering her belongings. He tossed them right into the fireplace.

It didn't take him more than an hour, which is odd, considering this was her home originally.

Afterward, we sat there, cracked open some beers, and tried to make sense of it all. She was, after all, part of a book series; there was even a movie made once. How could someone like her just be gone?

Raul started spiraling, of course. "If it happened to her, why wouldn't it happen to me?"

He asked that question over and over.

Honestly, I was thinking the same thing. About myself. About my mom. About my elderly neighbor who always brings me spaghetti on Thursdays.

None of us were prominent characters in anyone's book. Nobody was starting book clubs about us, sharing quotes, making shirts, or debating which actor would play us in a movie.

So, I convinced Raul to go screening with me that very night.

We grabbed my keys and headed to the local bar, Zoomies. They have a portal, and it's the cheapest entry in town. Sure, the place smells like complete dog piss, but once you start screening, your senses shift. I never smell anything once I walk through the portal. I've actually never asked anyone else if it's the same experience for them, but I would assume it is.

Anyway, that's where I found you.

You were at work, well, pretending to work. You were dead staring into nothingness, but I could tell you weren't actually buffering; you were just disassociated from your world.

You looked so alone.

Raul said I shouldn't have screened you, but there was something about you that hypnotized me.

It was the way you looked like you belonged but didn’t, like you were the mismatched sock someone wears for comedic relief—except there was no relief in your face.

It reminded me of myself.

And in that moment, I knew you'd be my next partner.