Seven Months Earlier: May
The next morning, the young McIntyre woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring away, and discovered that she was on the sectional in her living room with the soul of the yellow sunlight, streaming through the windows. She sat up slowly, searching through the apartment for any signs of life, but there was none to be seen.
That's weird. I thought I was… I must have fallen asleep in front of the television last night, she groaned. I must have been dreaming about something on the TV, she thought sadly, remembering the encounter with the alien in her greenhouse. So much for my adventure! She shrugged the memory off and glanced at the clock on the wall. Crap! I'm late for work. She grumbled, rushing off to get dressed for a hectic workday.
She had forgotten about the greenhouse project for the entire day, that is, until her cousin returned to finish his work later in the evening.
...
"What happened here? This is a disaster! Was there a storm around here?" Nigel all but screeched. He placed his hands on his head and gawked at the demolished room. The air stank of wet earth and manure, and the wood was soaked beneath the rubble.
"Hazel?"
"Uh?" The twenty-five year old stared in awe at the room. "Everything happened for real..." She walked to the center of the room, hopping over wooden pieces and crushing glass beneath her feet.
"What happened for real?" Her cousin asked, following her steps through the misshapen maze. "Were you here last night? Did you see how this happen? Who did this?" The man inquired, tugging at his dazed cousin's sleeve. Her behavior made him nervous so he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. "Hazel, tell me what happened here last night? Who did this?" he demanded harshly.
Hazel flinched under his grasp and gathered her senses. "I don't know. There was the rain and I heard a loud bang. That's all! I thought I was dreaming," she lied. "Stop shaking me."
Nigel released her immediately and began rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect something like this to happen to your place."
"Me neither," she sighed softly, "I'm really sorry about all the hard work you put into it. It's completely ruined now, isn't it?"
"Yeah, you'll have to start over from scratch, Cuz," he answered, kicking aside a sheet of ply board.
She noted his use of the word 'you' instead of 'we' and took the hint. "Okay."
"In the meantime I'll put a temporary cover overhead to provide some protection for your floors and the rest of the stuff that could still be salvaged. Just call me next time if you hear a loud bang, okay?"
"Okay."
"Promise me?" He looked down at her and pointed his index finger at her nose as if she was a naughty student who wouldn't listen.
She brushed his hand away and scoffed, "I promise."
"Are you sure you don't know what happened here?"
"Nurse's honor," she saluted him with her right hand and smiled innocently.
Nigel gave her a skeptical look, but he didn't dwell on the matter any longer afterwards and Hazel spent the rest of her days thinking of the stranger.