Missing

"Can you help me?" a young woman of around 30 looks at me as if I am her only hope.
"I'm only a fortune teller," I answer, "but please do tell me your fears."
"Do you know the stories about these people who all of a sudden disappear and never ever show up again? Normal people with jobs and families and kids and hobbies, who walk around the block one day to let out the dog or get some cigarettes or walk outside late, under the stars to put out the bin and... that's it. Gone?"
"Yes, I've heared stories like that," I answer not sure what she means.
"I think I'm one of them." she says, almost horrified at herself, her voice faltering. I look at her questioningly.
"I have this urge, you see. I want to disappear. I've had it since I was young. But the feeling grows stronger. These last months it's been very difficult to resist."
"But where will you go?" I ask.
"I thought I could disappear into my lover. I mean I can, but only for a limited time. A few seconds, half an hour. But I long to be gone for at least a day. And after that maybe a month or a year." She's staring in the distance dreamily, but then she looks me in the eye and her voice sounds urgent, panicky again.
"What's the secret, Edith? How can I go missing?"
"Well,I'm no expert, but I've tried a few things... . Invite me to dinner tonight and I'll show you."

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