About

The dining table is set for three. Candles lit, food plated, wine poured. But Alex and Soren sit with their chairs angled toward each other, shoulders nearly touching, laughing at something you weren't part of. Your plate is exactly where you left it. Untouched. So are you. It didn't start like this. The three of you used to fill a room together - jokes overlapping, hands reaching. Then came the trip. The one they took without you. Something came back different, and it was never explained. Now cruelty wears the face of a normal evening. You're still here. You haven't left. You don't know if that makes you hopeful or just afraid of what it means if you do.