Your Monster Returns - 6/16

[Brian]

[Brian]

When you were little, you could swear there was a monster under your bed--but no one believed you. On the eve of your 30th birthday, you hear noises coming from under your bed once again. The monster is back and has an important message to deliver to you.

Please limit your response to 500 words or fewer.

[Brian]

When you were little, you could swear there was a monster under your bed--but no one believed you. On the eve of your 30th birthday, you hear noises coming from under your bed once again. The monster is back and has an important message to deliver to you.

Please limit your response to 500 words or fewer.

[jules517]

It began with a soft rustle from below, just enough to wake her. Kelly looked up, squinted, and laid her head back down. Stupid cat.
The rustling got louder.
“Quit it, Pebbles,” she mumbled.
The rustling got louder.
“You are a pain -” she swore as she heaved herself toward the end of the bed. Her leg swung out and bumped into something furry. “Pebbles?”
The cat looked back, her ears pinned back and tail twitching furiously.
If she’s up here… Kelly’s eyes widened as she looked down at the growing shadow creeping across the floor. Pebbles hissed and took off. She gasped as a furry red beast emerged. It was large and menacing and… vaguely familiar?
“What’s the matter?” it cackled. “Don’t remember me?”
She opened her month, but nothing came out. “You… you used to… hide under my bed when I was a kid!”
It smiled, an ugly one, all fangs and no lips.
“But my parents told me you weren’t real! You were just my imagination!”
“And you believe them,” it sneered. “Which is why I’m still here, in the same place I was fifteen years ago. How’s the job search going?”
Kelly stared dumbly. “I have a job,” she managed.
“But you hate it. It’s killing your creativity, so you said you were going to get a new one. But you didn’t think you’d get anything else. How’s the love life?”
“How do you know…”
“You had a date with that nice UPS gut, but didn’t follow up because you couldn’t ‘see it going anywhere’. See a pattern forming?”
“Who the hell are you?” Kelly cried. “And what the hell are you talking about?”
“Pay attention,” it growled. “What did I used to tell you, before your parents convinced you I was a figment of your imagination and nothing I said was real or important?”
Kelly searched her mind for the answer, and when it came to her, she sagged down onto the bed. “To keep dreaming. To keep an open mind and have faith.”
“And what have you done that last fifteen years?”
“Not that,” she mumbled.
“Hence, I’m here again, going over the same stuff I usually tell eight-year-olds. So, are you going to listen this time?”
Are you going to listen this time… The phrase echoed in her head as she slowly woke out of a restless sleep. Remembering the monster, she threw herself over the edge of the bed so fast she had to wait for her head to stop spinning before she could see if it was still there. It was not.
From the corner of the bed, Pebbles mewed curiously.
It was a dream, she told herself. Just forget about it. Just forget.. She stopped herself.
She got it now. That was the whole point, to not forget about it.
She jumped up, flipped open her laptop, and clicked onto the internet.
“TO: Editor, Writer’s Magazine. You are going to love my idea for a story…”

[scarletscribe]

Tomorrow I’ll be 30 but today I’m still 29 and last night I partied like I was still a kid. After all, 30 is over the hill, or so my husband tells me. Too bad he couldn’t get home for my birthday but his conference won’t be over for two more days so I just celebrated for both of us.

I donned my best party dress and barely-there heels then headed to our favorite night spot. Some of our friends had already arrived so I had some drinking to catch up on. Between catching up and all the toasts to my birthday, I started losing track of what was going on. I know I was having a great time but some of it is kinda blurry. Fortunately home was just a couple of blocks away so I didn’t have to worry about driving. I vaguely remember someone walking me home and dumping me in bed before I passed completely out.

Someone or something woke me up by punching the underside of the bed. At first I thought it was whoever brought me home pulling a joke on me until I leaned over and looked under the bed. I was looking into the eyes of that monster who had haunted my childhood. It was just as ugly and scary now as it had been then. I jumped up and back peddled to the door.

“Wait,” the monster said. “Don’t run away. I never meant you harm even when you were a child. I just have something very important to tell you before you turn 30.”

I jerked the door open and ran to the bathroom but the monster followed me. I thought I heard him crying but monsters don’t cry. I slammed the door before he could catch up. I always could outrun my monster.

“Please open the door. I need to talk to you,” he said as I heard him sniffle.

“Go away. I conquered you years ago. You don’t really exist,” I shouted.

“I did exist and I still do. That’s why I have to talk to you before midnight tonight.”

“What happens if I don’t listen to you?”

“You’ll never be able to tell the children we are not here to harm them. We are sent to protect them until they are all grown up.”

“So why does it have to be tonight?”

“Because tomorrow you will be all grown up and my job is over. You will no longer need me and I will be dead.”

[scarletscribe]

Tomorrow I’ll be 30 but today I’m still 29 and last night I partied like I was still a kid. After all, 30 is over the hill, or so my husband tells me. Too bad he couldn’t get home for my birthday but his conference won’t be over for two more days so I just celebrated for both of us.

I donned my best party dress and barely-there heels then headed to our favorite night spot. Some of our friends had already arrived so I had some drinking to catch up on. Between catching up and all the toasts to my birthday, I started losing track of what was going on. I know I was having a great time but some of it is kinda blurry. Fortunately home was just a couple of blocks away so I didn’t have to worry about driving. I vaguely remember someone walking me home and dumping me in bed before I passed completely out.

Someone or something woke me up by punching the underside of the bed. At first I thought it was whoever brought me home pulling a joke on me until I leaned over and looked under the bed. I was looking into the eyes of that monster who had haunted my childhood. It was just as ugly and scary now as it had been then. I jumped up and back peddled to the door.

“Wait,” the monster said. “Don’t run away. I never meant you harm even when you were a child. I just have something very important to tell you before you turn 30.”

I jerked the door open and ran to the bathroom but the monster followed me. I thought I heard him crying but monsters don’t cry. I slammed the door before he could catch up. I always could outrun my monster.

“Please open the door. I need to talk to you,” he said as I heard him sniffle.

“Go away. I conquered you years ago. You don’t really exist,” I shouted.

“I did exist and I still do. That’s why I have to talk to you before midnight tonight.”

“What happens if I don’t listen to you?”

“You’ll never be able to tell the children we are not here to harm them. We are sent to protect them until they are all grown up.”

“So why does it have to be tonight?”

“Because tomorrow you will be all grown up and my job is over. You will no longer need me and I will be dead.”

[swimmer007]

He waggled a cigar inbetween his grisly, yellow teeth. Eyes squinting, he reached into his overalls and took out a stack of notecards.

 "Ahem.." clearing his throat.

 "You brought notecards?"

"Hey! You're not my only client." He said as his pointed fingernails gently glided over the cards.

 "Give me a sec, will ya? I've got to put these in order."

"In order! What kind of a childhood monster are you?" Ignoing my taunting, he took a seat ontop of the hope-chest. It creaked a little.

I eyed him. "Excuse me.. I had burrito's.. BEECCH! Too much hot sauce." he said, not looking up from the cards. Niiccee. Not only is that breeze whiffing up from the curtains, but it is acting as a catalysist to carry his putrid breath in circles around my face.

 Finally, he looked up, looking all official in his reading glasses.

"Say! Listen up! This is seriously, super, simportant: His yellow coated, piano teeth whistled every "S" for emphasis.

I propped the pillows up and reached over for that cold drink of water. Ice cubes melted hours ago. Curling my feet in a circle, ankles clicked. The ceiling fan whirled, and the red digital clock flipped 11:30PM

"You are thirty." His fingernails scraped over the index cards "Now..stop rolling your eyes! I'm here early because the last client thought I was an S&M Gothic furby."

 "A what?" I choked with laughter. "Never you mind, " he puffed his cigar smoke.

"As I was saaaayyying!" He uses his spindly fingers to push cards under each other as he finishes reading them.

"You are going back to college. Graduate six years later, suffer through a major economic recession., undoubtedly blame yourself for not finding meaningful career options for. According to my calculations, you will be staying with one friend during this time for seven months. Before the eight month, a really swanky place for you to stay will be provided by the least likely. After three years, unlike the last douche the next one will marry you. As the blusing bride, you will move to NYC for his job and your writing career will blossom brighter, fragarent, and more beautiful than any spring season."

[swimmer007]

He waggled a cigar inbetween his grisly, yellow teeth. Eyes squinting, he reached into his overalls and took out a stack of notecards.

 "Ahem.." clearing his throat.

 "You brought notecards?"

"Hey! You're not my only client." He said as his pointed fingernails gently glided over the cards.

 "Give me a sec, will ya? I've got to put these in order."

"In order! What kind of a childhood monster are you?" Ignoing my taunting, he took a seat ontop of the hope-chest. It creaked a little.

I eyed him. "Excuse me.. I had burrito's.. BEECCH! Too much hot sauce." he said, not looking up from the cards. Niiccee. Not only is that breeze whiffing up from the curtains, but it is acting as a catalysist to carry his putrid breath in circles around my face.

 Finally, he looked up, looking all official in his reading glasses.

"Say! Listen up! This is seriously, super, simportant: His yellow coated, piano teeth whistled every "S" for emphasis.

I propped the pillows up and reached over for that cold drink of water. Ice cubes melted hours ago. Curling my feet in a circle, ankles clicked. The ceiling fan whirled, and the red digital clock flipped 11:30PM

"You are thirty." His fingernails scraped over the index cards "Now..stop rolling your eyes! I'm here early because the last client thought I was an S&M Gothic furby."

 "A what?" I choked with laughter. "Never you mind, " he puffed his cigar smoke.

"As I was saaaayyying!" He uses his spindly fingers to push cards under each other as he finishes reading them.

"You are going back to college. Graduate six years later, suffer through a major economic recession., undoubtedly blame yourself for not finding meaningful career options for. According to my calculations, you will be staying with one friend during this time for seven months. Before the eight month, a really swanky place for you to stay will be provided by the least likely. After three years, unlike the last douche the next one will marry you. As the blusing bride, you will move to NYC for his job and your writing career will blossom brighter, fragarent, and more beautiful than any spring season."

[ironvic]

She's been sitting at the kitchen table all morning. Waiting for me. The last time I saw her, she was under my bed and I was only a kid. Now I'm all grown up and she's back.

The second I saw her drinking coffee from my pot, I recognized her. In the old days, her body was far more shapely and her teeth were a lot sharper. The nose is now kind of crooked and the lips much thinner, accentuating the fangs, now yellowed from drinking way too much coffee over the decades. Her black dress is much tighter than before, she's definitely grown a bit of a paunch. The scary waif is now an old hag, but she's as menacing looking as ever.

Her voice cracks like busted glass, "Vic, come sit with me.." Well, I'm older and a little wiser now, so I pour a cup of coffee and join her at the table. I'm strangely unafraid of her. Of course, she should by all rights be dead and I'm dying to hear her story.

"I thought you died in the fire..."

"I don't die easily, Victor, but then again, I never really die. Besides, it's against the laws of nature for you to kill me. I've been with you all your life. I'm that movement you've noticed out of the corner of your eye from time to time. I was that little voice that said, 'Turn right. Turn right, [I]right now[I]' just as the big semi truck roared past. The one that would have hit you if you hadn't turned right."

This is a lot to take in on this day, my birthday. "So what are you, then? A guardian angel, a demon?"

Her whip-like tongue splits her dessicated lips and licks a drop of coffee from her chin. The fangs part ever so slightly, "Yessss, Victor, I am your guardian angel."

I almost recoil at the thought that this thing has been watching over me all my life. But I have to admit, my life has been charmed and filled with good things.

OK, so it's my birthday and so far I haven't received any cards or even any presents, but this ugly thing did make me coffee. She hisses, "If I was a beautiful angelic thing, you would feel it as I stood by your side. You would like me, even desire me and that would make my job far more difficult. No, far better for me to appear to you as a disgusting thing so you stay your distance and allow me to do my work."

She smiled and stared deep into my eyes. Loving and caring flowed from her and I felt visibly warm in her presence. "This will be your last birthday, Victor. We seldom impart this kind of information, but I thought you needed to know. This will be a great year and you will revel in it. There will be revelations, joys and peace for you. It will be the best year of your life and those around you will deeply miss you after your death."

I took in this information. Somewhere inside myself, I knew what she said was true. Felt it in my bones all week. Funny thing is, I'm ready.

"So, old lady, what's your name anyway? I fully expected her to say, "Death" but she simply answered, "Rebecca."

Rebecca poured me another cup of coffee, her gnarly knuckles deftly handling the steaming cup. "On your final day, Victor, I will appear once more. You won't recognize me because I will look different." I think she smiled, but her avulsed grin looked more like a mile of crooked road.

"When I come for you, we will step into the everlasting eternity together as companions and my job will be done here on Earth."

[ironvic]

She's been sitting at the kitchen table all morning. Waiting for me. The last time I saw her, she was under my bed and I was only a kid. Now I'm all grown up and she's back.

The second I saw her drinking coffee from my pot, I recognized her. In the old days, her body was far more shapely and her teeth were a lot sharper. The nose is now kind of crooked and the lips much thinner, accentuating the fangs, now yellowed from drinking way too much coffee over the decades. Her black dress is much tighter than before, she's definitely grown a bit of a paunch. The scary waif is now an old hag, but she's as menacing looking as ever.

Her voice cracks like busted glass, "Vic, come sit with me.." Well, I'm older and a little wiser now, so I pour a cup of coffee and join her at the table. I'm strangely unafraid of her. Of course, she should by all rights be dead and I'm dying to hear her story.

"I thought you died in the fire..."

"I don't die easily, Victor, but then again, I never really die. Besides, it's against the laws of nature for you to kill me. I've been with you all your life. I'm that movement you've noticed out of the corner of your eye from time to time. I was that little voice that said, 'Turn right. Turn right, [I]right now[I]' just as the big semi truck roared past. The one that would have hit you if you hadn't turned right."

This is a lot to take in on this day, my birthday. "So what are you, then? A guardian angel, a demon?"

Her whip-like tongue splits her dessicated lips and licks a drop of coffee from her chin. The fangs part ever so slightly, "Yessss, Victor, I am your guardian angel."

I almost recoil at the thought that this thing has been watching over me all my life. But I have to admit, my life has been charmed and filled with good things.

OK, so it's my birthday and so far I haven't received any cards or even any presents, but this ugly thing did make me coffee. She hisses, "If I was a beautiful angelic thing, you would feel it as I stood by your side. You would like me, even desire me and that would make my job far more difficult. No, far better for me to appear to you as a disgusting thing so you stay your distance and allow me to do my work."

She smiled and stared deep into my eyes. Loving and caring flowed from her and I felt visibly warm in her presence. "This will be your last birthday, Victor. We seldom impart this kind of information, but I thought you needed to know. This will be a great year and you will revel in it. There will be revelations, joys and peace for you. It will be the best year of your life and those around you will deeply miss you after your death."

I took in this information. Somewhere inside myself, I knew what she said was true. Felt it in my bones all week. Funny thing is, I'm ready.

"So, old lady, what's your name anyway? I fully expected her to say, "Death" but she simply answered, "Rebecca."

Rebecca poured me another cup of coffee, her gnarly knuckles deftly handling the steaming cup. "On your final day, Victor, I will appear once more. You won't recognize me because I will look different." I think she smiled, but her avulsed grin looked more like a mile of crooked road.

"When I come for you, we will step into the everlasting eternity together as companions and my job will be done here on Earth."