Tess wandered her backyard as she did every bright, sunny morning. Birds chirped as she filled the fairy feeder for their breakfast, her voice carrying an old childhood song as she watered and pruned her plants. On the surface, today was like any other, she was happy, yet beneath that happiness, she felt her energy draining away. Some days were worse than others, but today the heaviness was overwhelming. It was as if a creature clung to her back, sucking out her light and life.
Tess tried to push through, but the weight drove her back inside. She resigned herself to watching the beautiful songbirds from her window, another day spent trapped indoors. Her hands flew across her keyboard, working, while her mind spun wondrous tales of adventures she’d never taken outside her own imagination.
But today was special. Tess needed to muster the energy to finish her work and prepare dinner for her beloved Gregory, it was his birthday, and she was determined to make it joyful. Her fingers danced across the keyboard, finishing her tasks in record time. She glanced at the clock: 3:59 p.m. Gregory would be home by five, giving her just enough time to prepare dinner and finish the German chocolate cake she’d started that morning, his favorite, made from scratch.
Upstairs, Tess wrapped his gift: a pair of high-tech sunglasses she’d found at a pop-up stand. The salesperson claimed they used the latest wide-spectrum light-blocking technology and were so new that only twenty pairs existed. Since Gregory had everything he wanted and had recently broken his old sunglasses on a trip to Africa, Tess hoped this unique gift would be perfect. She considered trying them on herself, curious about the technology, but decided to let Gregory have the first look.
She tied a neat ribbon around the box, tucked it into her apron pocket, and hurried downstairs to greet him. At 4:59 p.m., she saw his car rounding the corner. The garage door opened, and Tess’s smile grew, though the heaviness still clung to her. She straightened her apron and waited.
Gregory opened the door to find Tess waiting with open arms and a radiant smile. He swept her up in a hug. “Hello, beautiful! I’ve missed you so much,” he exclaimed, noticing the cake on the table. “Is that my favorite cake? What’s the occasion?”
Tess twirled out of his arms, singing, “Happy birthday to you, my sweet Gregory! It’s all for you.” Gregory laughed and kissed her nose.
Without another word, Tess pulled the wrapped gift from her apron. “For you, my prince of men,” she said, presenting it with both hands. Gregory grinned, kissed her, and carefully unwrapped the gift, he always saved the paper to reuse for Tess’s Christmas presents. When he saw the sunglasses, he let out a delighted squeal. “Sunglasses! Yes!”
Tess explained how special and rare they were, boasting about the wide-spectrum light-blocking technology. Gregory was excited but skeptical; most sunglasses didn’t fit over his prescription glasses. But to his surprise, these fit perfectly. Without looking at Tess, he stepped outside to test them, marveling at the vivid colors and clarity. “You have to try these!” he called.
Tess followed, moving slowly, drained and weak. Gregory spun around to hand her the glasses—but what he saw made his blood run cold. Tess stood by her raised flower beds, clutching them for support, clearly struggling. Clinging to her back was a creature, reptilian in form, but with tentacles instead of a head and tail. One tentacle pierced the base of her skull, another her spine. It looked like an alien leech, siphoning her very life.
Gregory gasped and ripped off the glasses. Instantly, the creature vanished, there was nothing on Tess’s back. Shaken, he stared at the glasses, unsure if he’d imagined it. Tess noticed his distress and asked what was wrong, but he was too stunned to answer. He simply took her hand and led her inside, setting the sunglasses on the table and thanking her again for the thoughtful gift.
He excused himself to clean up for dinner, while Tess returned to her preparations, unaware of the nightmare Gregory had glimpsed through the lenses of her gift.
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