Forked lightning flashed across the blackened sky, illuminating a face at the window. Carla froze, soapy washcloth in one hand, half-cleaned pot in the other, and considered she might have listened to one too many true crime podcasts, but then, it moved. The pan clattered back into the sink, splashing the floor with water as Carla screamed and scrambled to drag the blind closed before she scurried towards safety.

Heavy footsteps on the stairs told her Marvin had heard the commotion. Either that, or he was going to inform her she’d woken the baby. Again.

“What happened?” he asked, hurrying forward and landing on his backside. “And why is the floor all wet?”

She offered him a trembling hand. “Someone’s out there.”

Marvin frowned. “You know the blind is closed, right?”

Carla rolled her eyes and dried her hands on the bottom of her t-shirt, ignoring the streaks of red tomato sauce left behind. In the silence, the storm raged on. The wind caused tree branches to creak and rose bushes to scrape against windows while rain hammered the roof. A banging on the front door made them both jump.

“I’ll get it,” Marvin said.

Carla’s phone vibrated with a text. As she read it, heat crept across her face, and she groaned.

Marvin cleared his throat, and she spun around to find her bedraggled mother scowling at her, dripping water all over the floor.

“You’re so dramatic,” Mom said. “Instead of screaming, you could have just let me in!”

Word: lightning | Action: illuminating