Mark was an average Joe. He was in his mid-thirties living in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He never really got out much. He generally felt lonesomeness clawing at him. He worked at a small movie store, his pay wasn’t astounding, but it was an appreciable amount. His apartment was located in the “not so nice” part of town, which isn’t saying much, considering the town he lived in is extremely underprivileged. He arrived home one evening, Tuesday, January 16th. The coldness creeping into his cracked windows caused him an enormous amount of discomfort. He popped a microwaveable meal into his toaster oven, hoping that would warm him up. He tore off his work shirt, and slid into something more appropriate for the occasion. Slithering into a blanket, he crashed onto the couch, and waited for his meal to cook. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket, and scrolled through the media, in hopes to find a beautiful girl to attempt to talk to. His intentions weren’t questionable, he just wanted some company. To his surprise, he found a woman who was around his age, her name was Anna, she was local also. He couldn’t help but to investigate. He swiped through all of her feed, and made an executive decision to message her. His message read…

“Hello! My name is Mark. I am also from Arkansas, and I was wondering if you’d like to meet for coffee? And maybe chat a bit?😊”

He was bewildered when he saw the three dots bobbing around. Anna replied with a message, her words exactly were…

“Sure! Where are you?”

They continued talking and they scheduled a date to meet. Things were starting to look up for Mark, his lonely days were finally over! So he thought.

January 19th, Friday morning, they agreed to meet at a well known coffee shop in Mark’s town. Mark’s heart raced as he quickly got ready and stumbled out of his apartment, running late, which was typical for Mark. He squirted a few sprits of a random $6 cologne on his neck as he drove down the street, after some time, he arrived at his destination. Seeing Anna standing on the sidewalk next to the outside tables, he felt so relieved. He pulled in, parked his car, and stepped out of his vehicle, and was greeted by the most beautiful woman he believed he had ever saw. She was on the taller side, slim but not quite fit. Long blonde hair with red lips and rosy cheeks, she looked like she had fallen from Heaven, her smile could light up a room, and she smelled amazing. A musky vanilla scent that really caught Mark’s attention. Mark didn’t necessarily have a well-put-together look like Anna did. He was decently attractive, his smile was crooked and his nose was large, but he wasn’t hideous. His shaggy brown hair was hardly ever combed, and his tall appearance made him insecure. He slouched over as he stood, but something about his look made Anna crazy… maybe too crazy.

They joined each other, chatting among themselves as they entered the cafe. They ordered a plate of mini donuts and a pitcher of coffee, which they would share. Anna began to ask Mark simple “get to know me” questions, like his favorite food, his favorite color, and his hobbies outside of work. Mark did the same for Anna. Their answers weren’t anything special, just simple replies. They laughed and smiled with one another, Anna felt grateful to meet Mark, she believed she needed him. After a couple hours of conversation, they felt as if they connected. Anna asked to bring Mark to her home, naturally Mark agreed. He didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t. Hello? A beautiful girl invited him to her house! How could he say no? Obviously he thought he would be getting lucky, but how could he not? Anna was making apparent romance advances. They arrived at Anna’s house, it was quite big for one person, Mark just thought she was wealthy, which wasn’t a problem for him, considering his current situation. They walked in, and Mark immediately noticed a smell. It wasn’t a pleasant smell, it was a burnt almost rotten smell. He realized there were candles lit, and he thought maybe one of them had gotten blown out. He lived a fairly filthy life, he wasn’t one to judge. Anna showed him around the place, she showed him the kitchen, the living room, the dining area, her bedroom, and her bathroom. Mark noticed another door, his curiosity got the best of him and he reached for the handle. Anna yelled, she shouted at him to “NEVER GO IN THERE!!” She told Mark that it was another bathroom, and that the plumber hadn’t fixed the pipes that bursted. Which made perfect sense to Mark, it was freezing outside. They sat down to watch a movie, Anna, knowing Mark’s job, asked him which movie he wanted to watch. He chose Gone With The Wind, it’s evident where it was heading with these two.

The lights were low, the movie played on, Mark noticed a slight pressure on his shoulder, Anna had laid her head on his shoulder. It brought him such a great deal of confidence, that he couldn’t help but kiss her. A make out sesh broke loose, but it was short lived, it was interrupted by something Mark had noticed earlier. The smell, it was back with a vengeance. He pulled away from Anna, telling her he had to use the bathroom. She began to ramble on about how to NOT go into the room he tried to enter before, he gave her his word and headed down the hallway. He noticed the smell was much more intense, he couldn’t ignore it much longer. He did what Anna said not to, he approached the door, covering his nose as he opened it. He could not believe what he was witnessing, he must be having a nightmare.