No one pays any attention to her. She's a sweetheart, the kind of person who reminds you of a mother hen, but easily forgettable in a sea of faces.
She just seems to drift through life. Wakes up at 7, goes to work in the coffee shop at 9, comes home at 5, and goes to bed at 10. It's a simple life, but people wonder if there's something wrong with her. How could a nice girl like that have no friends or family to speak of? But then she comes in the shop and flashes a smile, and everyone relaxes. She's perfectly normal, though her name only exists on the tip of everyone's tongue.
One summer day, she comes in the shop bubbling with enthusiasm. People ask if she has a date, but she denies it. However, no one can ignore the way she smiles to herself, that woman's in love. The day draws to a close, and she makes her way home, exactly the same way she does everyday. When she enters the apartment though, she finds him lounging on the couch.
"Levi!" The man gets up, popping the joints in his neck.
"Shit, what took you so long?" Despite the harshness of his words, his touch is soft. He wraps his arms around her, afraid she'll disappear any moment. Though no words are exchanged, both know what the other thinks.
"I missed you, I thought I'd never see you again, I was counting down the days, please don't ever leave me ever again."
The two collapse on the couch, dying to catch up after the long months.
"How's everyone doing?"
"The war hasn't ended, but everyone's alive. Erwin's busy as ever, Hanji's researching more about inter-dimension travel, Erd and Gunther became leaders of their own squad, and Auruo is being Auruo."
"What about my father?" Levi looks away. Alphonse Ral thinks his daughter, Petra Ral, died three years ago. He think that his rock, the only thing that kept him sane is gone forever, so he drinks away the days, hoping to dull the pain. Knowing his son-in-law was the one in charge of the mission where she disappeared, he ignores all Levi says. So he only does what he can to help the man get by. He probably wouldn't even believe him if he told the truth.
"He's doing fine as well," Petra lets out a sigh of relief and rambles about her life, the new worker at the shop and his crush on a female customer with the red scarf, her boss who doesn't even try to remember her name, and the cute lesbian couple that comes every Tuesday. She leaves out the part of the aching loneliness, how she wishes she could see her friends and family again.
"How much longer do you got?" She always dreads this question, but it most be asked.
"About a minute or two," And Petra wants to cry at the unfairness, but she knows she must be strong. If she cries now, so will Levi, and she couldn't bear to see that. So, she kisses him relentlessly, hoping somehow she can force him to stay. He's just as unyielding, hoping the clock could just slow down. He kisses her lips, her nose, her neck, anywhere, trying to make the most of the time left.
Soon, Petra realizes she can't feel him anymore.
"Don't worry," She gives a shaky grin. "There's a person here whose written books about our world, I'll find a way back."
Levi nods, but he knows she's lying, trying to provide some hope. He's slowly fading away.
"I'll come back on the next solstice. We'll bring you home, I promise. Don't forget I-" Petra can't hear him anymore, he's running out of magic. She holds his hand, though she can't feel it and says,
"I love you too, Levi. See you later." She watches him disappear before her eyes, as if he was never there.
Only once he's gone does she let the tears fall. She doesn't want this, those people who forget she exists once she's out of there sight. She wants to finally apologize to her father, she wants to goof off with Auruo, gossip with Erd, and practice magic with Gunther. She wants to go back to being a mage, listen to Hanji's lectures, and their new discoveries. Most of all, she wants to spend more than a few minutes with her husband every year.
Petra wiped her tears. She had been lying about the author, but she hadn't been lying about finding a way home. Somehow she would.
