It was a sunny day. The few clouds in the sky were every few minutes preventing the sun rays from reaching the unkept house by the end of the road.

The old house sheltered an old woman during all days of the year. Currently it was summer, thus she was enjoying the warmth of the weather, the shining sun, and the slight refreshing breeze to sunbathe.

Mary-Ann prided herself with the property she had obtained. It was the furthest from all the city noise and the annoying teenagers who ruined her garden in her early days.

Most would describe Mary-Ann as a bitter old lady who cursed the very existence of man. She didn't consider this the truth but she couldn't blame the humans for having drawn such conclusion.

The permanent scowl on her face was far from the welcoming smile which had once upon a time graced her youthful face. Life had gotten in the way, Mary-Ann had lost the spark in her eyes, the genuine interest in everything surrounding her, her will to live.

Now she was the lonely cat lady down the road, basking in bittersweet solitude.

The thing that brought joy to her was the lake in her backyard. Well, not her backyard per say, but it was part of her property and she loved it. With no fence around her house, as dangerous as it sounded, it was the beauty of the faint shine of the light reflecting in the surface of the the pond that made Mary-Ann buy the rusty house.

It reminded her of her late husband. His fascination with nature and his lifelong dream of living in a small cabin by the water while still near the wildlife of a forest – the best of both worlds.

They had both worked their asses off to get the money for a piece of land. Alas, things weren't as cheap as they were back in the day. Somewhere along the way David had passed away due to untreated tuberculosis.

Now that she had fulfilled his dream, she often found herself gazing at the lake. Sadly, they didn't have a child while David was alive, seeing as Mary-Ann was infertile, and she was left at her own devices, soaking in the sound of the nature around her, completely and utterly alone.

She wore a sad smile on her wrinkled face whenever she thought of her David. His passion for life was inspiring. So much so that she lived only for the memory of him, he was still her reason to keep going even though his corpse was rotting in that graveyard and his tombstone collected dust.

As she found herself lost in thought, a sudden commotion at the lake caught her attention. She blinked twice before focusing her tired eyes in the direction of it. There was something at the edge of the lake she couldn't quite see.

Driven by curiosity, she slowly stood up and dragged her skinny legs closer to the water. She lifted a hand to block the sunlight and squinted her eyes.

What she saw nearly sent her into cardiac arrest. A muddy hand was gripping the grass, fingers digging into the soil, muscles tight with tension. To go with the hand, another one appeared no long after.

She waited with a bated breath, eyes widening significantly as a tall figure rose from the water. It was heaving, crouched down on the ground, all wet and muddy from coming in contact with the dirt.

It appeared to be an otherworldly man. A very strange looking man, Mary-Ann mused. Her fragile heart was racing as she took in his features. His skin, albeit dirty, had a red tint to it. He had a slightly muscular build, which had soggy clothes clinging to it.

This wasn't so unusual to see. What was, however, were two items that didn't belong to any human – a long tail with a pointy end and a pair of sharp-looking horns.

For a moment she thought she was dreaming, or had possibly died and this was Death coming to collect her soul.

Soon she figured out it was neither of these things. She was getting light-headed from all of the unexpected turn of events and it certainly didn't help when he lifted his head and stared right back at her.

Fear gripped her heart in a painful hold, blood drained from her face. Before she knew it, she was collapsing on the ground, fainting at the sight of glowing red eyes.

Mary-Ann had troubles opening her eyes. She felt heavy, a lot heavier than ordinary. Her senses were slowly regaining and she was starting to take notice of her surroundings. She was aware of the softness of the mattress she was laying on, her tired limbs put to rest. There was a murmuring in the background of the singing of distant birds.

"Fucking unbelievable," she heard an unknown voice. It chilled her to her bones. There was an unknown man wherever she was. Memories of what had occurred earlier that day hit her like a wet mop in the face – the horns, the eyes, it was all too red.

Finally she was able to crack open her eyes. Her dazed gaze fell upon the white ceiling with green undertones of her bedroom.

The mumbling ceased and silence took over. The old lady looked to her right where she saw something that shouldn't have existed in real life. A tall boy, probably not even a day over eighteen, with soft red skin and curled horns coming out of his forehead, was watching her with deep red eyes.

That's it, I'm going to Hell, she thought to herself, preparing for the inevitable. "You'd think that scaring children off my property wouldn't be enough to earn me a place in Hell." She looked at the demonic creature in her room, closed her eyes and sighed, "My time has come."

The demon boy just stared at her in silent distaste, a grimace evident on his youthful features. "Humans are so rude. You save their life and suddenly you're there to kill them. Unbelievable," he shook his head. His words completely shocked Mary-Ann... save her life?

Just in what world did demons casually get out of a lake and save random old women from death? She was at a loss of words, her jaw dropped. She was left gaping at him like a fish.

"This is the worst punishment I have ever had," with that, the boy turned around and exited the room. Mary-Ann could only stare at his retreating form when he shut the door, thin black tail swishing behind him as he did so.