Sofi and Melly face a swirling vortex that's centered over the bathtub drain.
“Do you think Patrick did it?” Melly asks.
“Did Pat sabotage my bathroom with a mystical portal as some kind of breakup revenge?” Sofi leans against the wall. “I honestly don’t think he’d know how. He couldn’t restart the router.”
Melly nods sagely.
“So...” Melly tilts her head. “Should we throw something in? A test?”
Sofi tosses a wad of toilet paper. It sinks into the swirling colors; the portal shimmers lighter blue, and a scent like flowers fills the bathroom.
“Weird…” Melly says.
“Weird.” Sofi agrees.
“What do you think would happen if I went in? Think it leads someplace cool? Like Mars?”
Sofi rolls her eyes. “You’d die if it led to Mars.”
“Hypothetically speaking.”
"Hypothetically speaking, it’s probably a glitch in the universe. It probably leads to a black hole.”
“But…” She stretches out a hand ever so slightly. “What if I fell in? What would happen?”
“I’d jump in after you.” Sofi takes a firm hold of Melly’s sweatshirt. “I’d follow you into the sun if you were dumb enough to jump.”
Melly turns to her best friend. Sofi looks terrible. Melly should’ve come over earlier, even if Sofi said she didn’t want company. Sofi needs a shower, and something disgusting to eat–like one of those burgers where the buns are made out of donuts.
“Let’s get out of here.” Melly loops her arm around Sofi’s waist. “We can deal with this later.”
“Pat’s coming by later to get some stuff.”
Melly flashes her a grin. “Let him.” They cackle as they leave the bathroom, turning off the light and shutting the door behind them.
The vortex sparkles firework blue in the darkness, a sound like laughter bubbling up from the center.
Jennifer Skogen loves reading too many books at the same time and going for long walks in beautiful places (usually in the Pacific Northwest). When she isn’t maintaining her two cats’ extravagant lifestyles, she can be found writing speculative fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in journals including Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Orion’s Belt, Luna Station Quarterly, Hungry Shadow Press, Drabbledark III anthology, Crow & Cross Keys, and Rust & Moth.
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