The dark October New York sky was shrouded with stormy clouds, that were bloated up and ready to pour down any minute. The smell of earth hung in the air, giving a sense of nostalgia to anyone who roamed the lit up, bustling streets of New York. People lounged in cafes with their colleagues or friends waiting for the first shower of Autumn. Every other person held a Pumpkin Spice Latte, as they drew their cardigans or sweaters closer to their bodies, shielding themselves from the chill settled in the atmosphere. It was a beautiful evening. Everything was in tranquility. Chaos and Order, in perfect harmony.

Not for Mayra Knott. Oh, definitely not for Mayra Knott. Her day had been very far from peaceful. Now all she wanted to do was get home as soon as possible, take a hot shower, watch Netflix with her Mom, and eventually fall asleep to the pattering of raindrops outside her window.

But the universe decided to add a sprinkle of dust to the serenity of the evening. 

Unlocking her apartment, Mayra headed straight to her room, knowing fully well that her Mom was to be busy at work today. Just as she removed her scarf and coat and settled them on the skeleton, her glass balcony was smashed into pieces by a red and black figure. Shards of glass flew everywhere as Mayra crouched, covering her head to prevent an injury. Her heart skipped beats and her body went numb and cold. That is until she heard a high pitched squeal.

"Holy shit! You're not my girlfriend!"

The voice was enough to make her gather up all the courage she lost the last second and put on her scary demeanor. Her dusky brown eyes scanned the person standing in red and black spandex. The mechanical white eyes on the mask were widened in shock, seemingly imitating the expression of whoever was wearing it. A spider on the chest of the figure gleamed under the light of her room. Spider-Man had just broken into her fucking house and, she had no idea how to react. She appreciated the guy for looking out for the city, keeping civilians safe, and most importantly, helping the Avengers fight Thanos. The purple raisin chined dude, who decimated half of the population including, her and her Mom. Mayra had developed huge respect and admiration towards people who'd go out of their way to make others' lives better, which is why she was so fond of Spider-Man. If it were any other day, she wouldn't have blasted him out for breaking into her house.

"Of course, I'm not your girlfriend, you idiot!"

"I'm so so so sorry. I-I promise I'll pay you back for this," Spider-Man said, his pitch rising higher and speech getting stuttered as he realized the damage he had done. He looked around Myra's room which, was now shielded under the glass shards of the balcony. It was on her bed, on her floor, on her study table, it was everywhere.

"I-I wouldn't advise you to sleep here tonight, ma'am," he said sheepishly, brushing off a few glass particles from his shoulders.

"No shit, Sherlock," Mayra replied, also brushing off the glass from her scalp. By this time, the wind had settled onto a colder temperature and the rain drizzled from the clouds. Mayra desperately hoped that it shouldn't rain too heavily unless she wanted to have her house flooded. The part of the room near the balcony had already started to get wet, noticing that Spider-Man let out an exhausted sigh, "I promise I'll have it fixed up by tomorrow-"

His vow was interrupted when he noticed Mayra standing near a skeleton that housed her brown coat and scarf. He took a few steps back, readying himself to web up the murderer that had haunted New York for the past six months.

"Ma'am, wha- why do you have a skeleton in your house?" Spider-Man asked, trying to maintain a stern voice and look intimidating.

Mayra looked confused for a moment and then gave out a tired chuckle, "I study forensic science Spider-boy. I need my buddy to know my anatomy," she said, draping her arm over the shoulders of her skeleton, whom she'd named Milo. Spider-Man heaved a sigh of relief after confirming it was fake. He bid her goodbye, repeatedly apologizing for the broken balcony window and guaranteeing Mayra he'd have it fixed the first thing in the morning.

After about ten minutes of processing what had just happened, Mayra carefully tiptoed to the balcony, stepping out into the cold rain that gently poured upon her. She eyed the balcony windows of her neighbors on both sides that were tightly shut. Through the polished glass panes of the building in front of her, she saw the reflection of the balcony windows below her apartment. Closed. She arched her head upwards to look for an open balcony window, and there she saw it. The windows wide opened while the soft yellow lights escaped into the dark rainy sky. Wide enough for a man of the size of Spider-Man to get in.

Her mind immediately landed on a conclusion. The girl living on the floor above her was Spider-Man's girlfriend. But she dismissed the idea, crushing it under the fact that it could be just a coincidence. Mayra's mind was stubborn, the gears constantly rotated, trying to manufacture a figment of thought and then processing it to a whole theory. Mayra was observant which made her a great criminology student at Columbia University. Her grades in freshman year were good enough to land her a job as an intern for one of the greatest detectives of NYC, Mr. Fuller. Interning for him had been the most stressful, exciting, and terrifying thing she'd done. Mr. Fuller kept her on her toes, gave her the correct exposure to the detective world and also integrated her into solving the greatest mystery NY ever faced.

Thirty-five disappearances in the past six months. Five more since Mayra joined as an intern, which was last month. The criminal left no clue, not even the slightest hint, but everyone at Mr.Fuller's office was hell-bent on catching them. The entire NYC was desperately tracking down the monstrous beast, including the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The most current disappearance was of a father of three daughters aged fifteen, thirteen, and eight; two days ago. Mr. Beckham had magically vanished after leaving the office and his disappearance offered no witnesses. The CCTV cameras showed no signs of anything suspicious. The colleagues and daughters were taken in for questioning after a thorough investigation of the premises the previous day. Mayra had to sit through the whole interrogation process, jotting down important details that may come in handy for solving the case. The daughters and another one of his colleagues were called for another round of interrogation today. Draining the seven espressos charged energy out of Mayra.

An exhausted sigh left Mayra's dehydrated lips. She faced the rainy sky, letting the water caress her skin and soothe her mind. After a well deserved hot shower, she switched into a set of comfortable PJs and cleaned out the havoc caused in her room.

"May? I'm home, darling!"

Mayra immediately made her way out of the room, dodging the few glass shards along the way. She slammed the door of her room shut and hurried off to the living area to greet her Mom.

"Mom! How was your day?" Mayra asked, a bit too enthusiastically, her voice sounding a bit too cheerful compared to her not so cheerful day. Her Mom, who knew her like the back of her hand, arched up her eyebrows, expressing clear perplexion over her joyful tone. A tone that wasn't heard too often from a second-year criminology and forensic science student who was also balancing a very delicate and dangerous case.

"Assuming you found the person responsible for thirty-five disappearances?" Mom asked, surprised at her jolly behavior after a tough day of interning for Mr.Fuller. Mayra hoped her sweet voice masked the anxiety from the previous occurrence of chaotic events. But eventually, the cat had to be let out of the bag.

"Unfortunately no, interrogation is still on, was thinking of bringing Mr.Beckham's daughters here, since they have no other family, they could stay here for a bit, y' know until we found their father?"

"They're still questioning them?"

"Yeah, but it ain't of any use, it's the same guy and everyone in the office knows it but formalities, ugh."

"Bring them here tomorrow. They could use some friendly people around them," Ms.Julia Otters said, trying to cheer up her daughter while drying off her umbrella and grabbing a glass of water.

"So how was your day?"

Mom's blue-green eyes brightened up by five shades and a natural glow enshrouded her face, giving Mayra hints that she had some good news.

"So..."

"So?" Mayra urged her to continue.

"I got promoted to the CEO of of Mechatech!" Mom squealed as she engulfed her daughter into a bear hug and showered her in kisses.

"Congrats!" Mayra squealed back as she dialed up to order pizza for the celebration.

"Not only that, but I also found three families for five kids who have spent their life in orphanages as far as they can remember."

Ms. Julia Otters had adopted Mayra when she was ten years old from an orphanage. And the two of them had been inseparable ever since. Mayra would do anything in the world to keep her Mom happy because she owed her all the happiness she ever got in the past nine years. Ms.Otters was the only family Mayra had and, Mayra was the only family Ms.Otters did. Listening to Mayra's struggles out on the harsh streets of New York, Ms.Otters had decided to form an organization, 'Home For All.' The organization picked up kids from orphanages and helped them find perfect families. On less intense days, Mayra would hang out at the building, entertaining kids and helping them find the perfect families with her Mom.

***

"What are you hiding?"

"Huh?"

"Mayra, your voice is at a higher pitch than Ariana Grande. What are you hiding?"

Mayra wiped off her mouth and drank the full glass of Cola kept across from her, stalling for time. "Spider-Man broke into my room and, I don't have a balcony window anymore," Mayra let it out, all in one breath.

"What?"

"Spider-Man broke into our house BUT, he said he'll repair the windows tomorrow."

"May, Spider-Man is a superhero, he won't remember fixing our windows or even our house," Ms.Otters let out an exasperated sigh. Mayra opened her mouth to refute the possibility that he wouldn't remember the house but thought that it was better to keep it to herself.

"Let's watch a shitty Ashton Kutcher rom-com to make you happy now, shall we?," Mayra said eagerly, to avoid a lecture on how she should be more careful about a superhero crashing into her room. Mayra dragged her Mom to the sofa and a little while later both of them had snoozed off as 'What Happens in Vegas' played in the background. The pattering of raindrops getting violent on their windows. Petrichor seeping its way into their apartment from Mayra's broken balcony windows. Sending them into a deep, blissful sleep.

2AM in the morning and the rain was settling down to a calm pace. Soft snores of her Mom resonated from the living area. Just as Mayra was to be plunged down to a Non-REM sleep, her phone rung, dragging her out from the depths of firmament which she considered sleep. Sleep which she desperately desired since the semester started. Mr.Fuller's was not someone to be ghosted. The words of her partner wandered through her half awake mind, "You do not ghost Ryder Fuller."

So reluctantly, tucking back her Mom in the cozy blue blanket she picked up his phone.

"He called. Get here ASAP."