“You know Tasha, late at night monsters
come out from under little girls beds and scare you,” my brother told me.
“You’re
lying, there’s no such things as monsters,” I replied.
“Fine
don’t believe me, but when you hear knocking, and taps late at night and big
green scaly monsters stand over you, you will wish you never said that,” he
retorted.
Being
six I was gullible and really did believe a monster lived under my bed and it’s
three eyes, sharp teeth, foaming mouth, and scaly skin slept there. For the
next week I had my mother check under my bed for a green monster.
For
as long as I could remember my brother and I always played tricks on each
other, pretended to be knights fighting in battles, even having the adventures
of captain underpants which we reenacted in the living room. Playing with
Barbie and playing house were not something I spent much of with my time, I was
more interested in the adventures my brother came up with. This time the adventure
was more for him than me; the idea of monsters under my bed terrified me.
“Is
there a monster under there?” I would ask my mother. My heart would pound and I
would feel uneasy until I saw her head again, her deep brown eyes reassuring me
that everything was fine.
“No
monsters just dust,” she answered with a grin that lessoned the pace of my
heart. But I was still skeptical.
“Are
you sure?” I’d ask.
“Yes
now go to sleep honey.”
My
sister became curious as usual always asking me why mom was always under the
bed. I didn’t want her to know there were monsters under there because they
might get her. The mind of a six year old is filled with pure imagination, now I
understand why I fell for the trick in the first place. My brother was amused
at the sight of my mother always checking under my bed and at first he laughed
and I told him to go away because he knew that I believed his trick. However,
after two weeks of no big, green, scaly monsters I told my mom I didn’t need her
to continue to check for the monster.
I
began teasing my brother and would run around the house screaming there were no
monsters under my bed. However today I still fear something could be under my
bed or creepers in my closet. Even the tiniest noise makes my hair stand on
end, you could say that I became afraid of the dark. I really never got over
the fact that things are out there in the dark and I can’t stop them from
coming. My brother didn’t help with his prank, after a few days of the teasing,
I was so happy that on a nice evening I crawled into bed ready to get yet
another peaceful night of sleep.
The
usual routine happened, my mom tucked my sister and I into bed, kissed us, and
shut the light off leaving the light from the hall illuminating in. I fell
asleep quickly, tired from the day of school and a day full of fun. I dreamed
and laid in bed happy as could be, then I heard it. The door to my room crept
open awakening me from my slumber, the light in the hall had gone out and the
sound of the creaks my house made filled my ears, echoing through me. A feeling
deep within myself knew something was wrong, I through my self back onto the
bed and flung the blanket over my head. I curled into a ball breathing heavily,
I knew now that there was something coming for me. The sensation of my heart
pounding in my chest was so much I wanted to let out a scream. I could hear a
tapping coming from under my bed and the sound of something moving out from
under me. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it close to me and created a hole so
I could see what was now standing over me. It was large and green his arms
reached out to grab my arm. The pressure that had built up in my chest was let
out with a scream so loud that the creature grabbing me ran out of my room.
Tears streamed down my face as I cried for my mother. She ran into my room her
arms wrapped around me and she whispered something into my ear and it calmed me
down. My mom finally got me to go back to sleep but she never left my side.
The following day I felt compelled
to tell my brother all that had happened. But when I entered the kitchen he was
standing there and as he saw me he blurted out an apology and stormed off to
his room. That monster wont be under my bed again, anytime soon.
