The beautiful, evening sky appeared above Port Marbine. Different shades of red and purple colored across the sky. The clouds were scattered high above the ground and airline jets flown through them. The seagulls up north were migrating here and flew above the town in V-shaped formations. Ian looked out of his opened window with his second cigarette in his hand. He couldn't help but admire the picturesque view of the sky. Suddenly, a girl jumped out in front of his window and let out a high-pitched scream.
"Oh, shit!" Ian screamed out. His cigarette dropped as he stumbled and fell backward.
"The hell was that for?!" Ian shouted. He picked up the cigarette before placing it in his ashtray. He groaned in pain while massaging his lower back. He looked towards the window and saw Lily laughing.
"Are you okay?" Lily said while laughing. Ian gave her a black look while grumbling incoherent words.
"Come on, Ian. Don't make such a scary looking face." Lily waved her hand back and forth with a smug expression on her cute face. She felt accomplished for scaring him.
"Well, aren't you going to let me in?" Lily asked while raising one of her eyebrows.
'Oh, right." Ian walked up to the door and unlocked it. He opened the door to let her in. As she walked into the room, what greeted her was the smell of cigarette smoke. She scrunched up her face and covered her nose.
"Ian, you know smoking is bad for you!" Lily spoke in a nasal voice, displeasure could be heard by the sound of her tone.
"I know, I know. It was only for today, I'll stop right after." Ian hastily said.
"That's what all the addicts say." She rolled her eyes and replied.
Lily looked around the apartment, and her face turned pale. She saw trash lying around the floor, dishes stacked up in the sink, and garbage bags that haven't been thrown out yet. Anger welled up inside her.
"How can you be this dirty!" She screamed.
Before Ian had the chance to retort, she ran off before reappearing right back in his room. Lily wore yellow latex gloves with a mop and bucket in her hands. She had a white mask that covered her mouth and a red headscarf that was tied around her hair. She wore a grey skirt, a white shirt, and had a light blue apron around her. Lily's eyes had the flames of hatred as she looked at the dirty room as if it was her enemy. In a flash, she ferociously began mopping the floor. Ian stood there slackjawed.
...
The wooden floor was glowing brightly; it was polished to perfection. When Ian looked down, he could see his own reflection. The kitchen looked as if it has been newly built without a speck of dust to be seen. Everything looked brand new. Lily stood there nodding her head with a satisfied smiled.
"Woah....." Ian stood there in a daze.
"Amazing, aren't I?" Lily said as she let out a prideful smile, "Oh, I almost forgot! I wan- I mean, my mom wants to invite you over for dinner with us." She hurriedly corrected herself and blushed.
She hastily continued, "I-I mean, you don't have to come. It's not like I wanted you t-"
"Of course I'm gonna go! You're mom's a damn good cook!" Ian interrupted her.
"Ah, really?!" She didn't hide her enthusiasm and continued, "I'll go tell my mom that you're coming!" She ran out of the door after finishing what she wanted to say.
Ian slowly closed the door behind him. He had a wide grin on his face.
"Seems like the Lord has given me a chance to shine." Ian happily said, "I can't slip this one up with Lily." He took in deep breaths as he tried to build his self-confidence up.
Ian took a quick shower and dressed himself up in jeans and a black t-shirt. He looked in the mirror and ruffled his hair.
"Nice." Ian confidently said before he left through the front door.
Ian arrived at her door and knocked. The light escaped as Lily opened the door.
"Yo, whaddup beautiful." Ian snapped both of his fingers into finger guns while leaning back slightly. He tried to give her his best smile that he had so that he can leave a good impression on her.
"Seriously, don't do that again, you creep," Lily said with a dark expression on her face. Ian's heart broke right then and there. His soul flew away when he heard her say that. He stood there with a blank expression as his self-confidence drained down the hole.
"Hurry up and come in already!" she shouted as he dragged him in by his shirt.
The smell of lemon roasted chicken passed through his nose. What came afterward was the aroma of fried fish which made Ian's stomach growl loudly. Drool slowly came out of his mouth before he sucked it back in.
"Mom! Ian's here!" Lily shouted at a middle-aged woman who was currently setting up dishes on the table.
Lily's mother had the same hair and eye color as her. She had her hair tied up into a bun and was wearing a white headscarf. Lily's mother had a chubby face, but she had a contagious smile that affected everyone around her. Her long, brown dress couldn't hide her plump figure. She was shorter than Ian but was tall compared to Lily. Lily's mother looked quite young compared to other women around her age.
Lily's mother placed down the last plate before rushing up to Ian and lifting him off the ground. She squeezed him and gave him a bear hug. His back started hurting from her sudden hug.
"Ian, I haven't seen you in such a long time!" She shouted enthusiastically as she vigorously shook him from side to side.
"How come you haven't visited us in a while?" She pouted and stared at him, waiting for him to answer.
"Ah... Mrs. Willard.. you're hurting... me...." Ian painfully said.
"Mom, let go of him already!" Lily shouted.
"Whoops, my mistake." Mrs. Willard chuckled and said. She then lowered Ian to the ground before dragging him to the kitchen, "Dinner has all been set up. I'm sure you haven't eaten yet!"
Lily followed behind them. All three of them sat down and were looking at the food. Ian's eyes brighten up as he looked around the table. It was a large feast for three people. There were mashed potatoes and stirred fried veggies on the left side of the table. The right side had a bowl of Fettuccine Alfredo, beef stew, and fried fish. In the middle was the main course: lemon roasted chicken. Ian couldn't help but gulp while staring at food heaven.
"Don't just stare at it. Eat up! Lily made the chicken especially for you!" Mrs.Willard said with a smile.
"No, I didn't, mom!" Lily quickly denied. Her face was turning red from embarrassment. She then glanced at Ian from time to time.
Ian immediately went for the roasted chicken and sliced a big piece of meat off of it. Drops of melted chicken fat fell onto his plate as he quickly put the chicken down. Lily was staring at him with anticipation. He sliced off a strip of chicken before putting it into his mouth. The chicken was juicy and tender with a lemony flavor to it that melted in Ian's mouth. It had the perfect amount of seasons to it that made it flavorful.
"Holy crap, Lily! This chicken is really good!" Ian said in delight as he licked his lips.
"Ahh... I-it's not that bad." Lily said, trying to play it down. She had a pleased smile plastered on her face.
Ian began scrounging the various food on the table and shoving it into his mouth like a madman. The two ladies smiled sweetly and slowly ate their food.
In the pitch dark of night, the moon shined its light above the ocean. In the ocean, something slowly rose above the water as it moved closer to the sandy beach. Soon after, more of them slowly rose up. The creature was bipedal and had the height of a giraffe; it was standing around twenty feet tall (6m). It was black in color and had an incredibly bony body. The creature's arm was disproportionately longer than the rest of its body as it reached the ground. Its slim neck held up an overly large, circular head. The creature had no eyes, but instead, it had two large gaping holes on its face. The creature also didn't have a nose, but it had numerous long, purple tentacles squirming at each side of its head that acted as sensors. These tentacles could be stretched two times the creature's body length. Hundreds of them finally came out of the water and walked onto the beach.
Accompanying them were large fish that were ten feet in length (3m) and had decaying appearances. The fish dragged their bodies with their long, bony arms, located behind the gills, onto the shores. Their eyes were missing from their heads, but a large eye was connected inside the mouth that protruded far out from their body.
The black, bony creature that led them unhinged its jaw. The creature's jaw reached down to its chest and made a loud, high-pitched scream before running towards Port Marbine. The rest of them followed suit.