**This is a long one I wrote from a prompt – so I might need to add the continuation in comments! I have a discord where I post all my writings, let me know if you want more!**
It was most annoying in summer. Being held hostage in a hot house, the warm summer air stagnant and sticky. But going outside after curfew could be dangerous. First the smoky haze would sweep in. Like the haze from a nearby forest fire. Luckily the haze didn’t scratch and choke the way real smoke did. It was more of a humid sticky wetness than a true fog. In the haze though, was danger. The rumors swirled, although Meenie had never experienced it herself.
Some said it was a demon, a succubus – others said it was an octopus, a kraken. Either way one thing always was the same, story to story. The tentacles.
It was a languid Sunday afternoon. Meenie had mowed the lawn and weeded out the small garden behind her small cottage. Being a single woman in a small house suited her well. She liked the charm of her old little cottage despite the constant need for small fixes. She liked her small garden. This year, early in spring she found an antique wooden lounger. A cheap set of cushions, and it was perfect.