The Pull

"Hello? Hello?" Eva's eyes cleared as she noticed that she was alone in a diner she didn't recognize. Getting up from her seat, she walked around, slightly dazed. "Hello? Is anyone here? Anyone? Hello? Where am I?"

A man spoke from behind her. "I don't know. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."

She whipped around to face him, recognizing him from earlier that evening. Excited, relieved, she let out a breath. "Ian? Is that you?" She looked him over. "It is! You're the guy I met at the diner after Michelle left with her ex."

"Eva?" He blinked, obviously confused.

"Yeah." She took a couple of steps back nervously. "Did you do this to me? Did you ... kidnap me? Why am I here?"

He blinked. "Eva?"

"No!" He looked around the room. "I don't have a clue where we are, let alone why we're here. Last I knew, I had gone back to my hotel room and went to sleep. Do you remember anything at all? Any clue as to how we both got here?"

Eva's brows pulled in as she tried to concentrate. "I don't know. I drank quite a lot. I was pretty sure I had gone home. But I'm really confused. I don't remember anyone else being at my house, and I don't remember leaving, either. Also, I don't recognize this place at all, and I know my neighborhood really well."

"It seems to be closed, too," he added. "I don't see any signs that a single employee has been here all day. Everything is clean and put away."

"Okay, this is spooky. Not that this whole thing isn't creepy enough already." She started to rub her arms as if a chill ran through her, making her physically cold.

He crossed the room and held out his hand. "Come. We can go outside and see what's on this block. Someone should be able to tell us where we are and maybe even how we got here. And I don't see anyone here to stop us."

She took his hand. "Good idea."

Once outside, the two looked around at the surrounding businesses and apartments. At first glance, everything looked like a normal city block. But upon closer inspection, both Ian and Eva saw some subtle differences. First, neither of them recognized anything. Not even from pictures. Everything seemed foreign, almost like from a movie set.

Second, nobody was anywhere to be seen. Not even when they peeked into any of the establishments. Nothing was covered in dust, and none of the doors were locked. It was like every other human had simply been plucked from the places they stood simultaneously, but there wasn't anything left out that lent to that theory either. Everything was put away, cleaned and neat. Nothing was out of place.

Third, there were tiny discrepancies in the very fabric of the streets and buildings. The streets were a little too smooth. The sky was an off color of blue. And there weren't any flaws in the sides of any of the buildings or any of the signs. And the glass in the windows? Well, they didn't reflect quite right.

"Ian!" Eva called out from the baker's down the road from where the couple had split up to inspect some neighboring establishments.

He went running over to her. "Eva? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Over here." She waved to him.

Ian crossed the lobby and wondered at the stack of baked goods on the counter. "Hello?" He shouted toward the back before turning to Eva for an explanation. "Is anyone back there? Can they tell us where we are? Are they still here?"

She shook her head, eyes wide. "I haven't seen anyone. I came in, looked around and found the place empty. But when I turned to leave, I smelled all of this. Granted, at first, I thought it was just my imagination. I had just wished for some fresh, baked bread. But there it is... fresh baked bread. Right there. Just like I was wishing for. I swear it wasn't there when I walked in."

"You wished for this, and it appeared?" His eyes narrowed.

She flushed, embarrassed. "Silly, right? I know there's no way it's connected. It just adds to the strangeness of this whole thing."

"Not silly." He took her hand. "You're right. This is all very strange... and a bit surreal. I just want to..." His words trailed off as he pulled her back across the road and to the restaurant they'd left. Once there, he closed his eyes, still holding her hand.

There was a moment of silence. But then Eva gasped. "What the..."

"Did it work?" He opened his eyes.

"Did you..." Eva stopped speaking half way through her sentence, but her mouth hung open.

Sitting in front of them was a table with chairs, several fully cooked dishes and place settings for them both, complete with ice waters, a table cloth and a gorgeous centerpiece and candles.

Eva laughed. "This is what you wished for? You asked for a swanky meal to test out if you could get a wish fulfilled? If I had known this place granted wishes, I sure wouldn't have wished for baked goods. What if it's your only wish?"

He turned his head slowly to look at her. "This is obviously a dream. I am dreaming about you after we met. So, I at least get to have one romantic meal with you before I wake up. That's why."

"What's to say this is you dreaming? It could be my dream," she countered. "I was really into you when we met, drunk or not."

He smirked. "So, you're dreaming of me, huh?"

"You were so quick to be okay with dreaming of me."

"Touché." He slid a chair out and motioned for her to sit. "Care to have dinner with me? Dream or no dream?"

She smiled and took a seat. "I'd love to."