All Too Familiar

There's a monster in our house.

Mom always told me that monsters don't exist, so I have no reason to be afraid of them. She's lying though, I know that well by now. She knows just as much as I do, that monsters do exist, especially because she too, had seen one almost every night for a while now.

It's been here for over a year now, I think. It couldn't have come at a worse time, since we already had some problems back then. I don't know all of it, but Mom and Dad often talked about how they were in some kind of crisis. I didn't notice much of that though, except maybe that I didn't get as many sweets as I did when I was younger. When I asked about it, Mom just ruffled my hair and said that too many sweets would ruin my teeth anyway. The monster appeared around that time too.

At first no one seemed to notice it, but after a couple of days, even I could hear it outside my room. They were only thuds in the beginning, they became louder and louder. The monster itself had begun to speak as well, but I couldn't understand anything of it. It probably wanted me to come out of my room, so it could eat me. It still tries that every time.

It only seems to come out during the night, like most monsters do. During the day, I never even hear it crawling around the house. It's probably just preparing for the evening though, no doubt to haunt us again. Whenever I hear it, I hide under my covers, shaking like a leaf. Even my teeth chatter sometimes, when it starts banging on my door, trying to reach me.

The worst thing is that I think my Mom and Dad are trying so hard to protect me, that the monster hurts them instead, most of the times. Even though they always say otherwise, I just know its true, now more than ever. Dad's always very tired in the morning, his eyes baggy and he keeps complaining about a headache, while Mom sits at the other end of the table, looking at the ground. She hides it well, but I can see it from her eyes that she had been crying and she seems to be hurting in various places.

It's the same every evening. Dad's out working till late, so Mom makes dinner, then I bathe, brush my teeth and go to bed after she reads me a story. I can never sleep though, not until the monster leaves. Mom locks my door as she goes out though. At first I didn't understand why, but when I saw just how evil that monster was, I understood why she always did so. She just wanted to protect me.

After an hour or so, I can hear our door slam. I pull the covers to my nose, knowing the monster had arrived. It starts going around our house, shouting and banging the walls to scare us. Mom tries to reason with it, but it never works. Sometimes it get impatient though and all of a sudden, I hear another bang. This one's different though, as whatever the monster does, Mom cries out from it. By that time, I can barely stop crying I'm so afraid, but I always stuff my face into the pillow, so the monster wouldn't hear me. I can't help but cry though.

I'm in second grade now, so I don't really like to mention this to my classmates. They'd tease me for it and I don't want that. My teacher seems to know about the monster though. I think Mom might have told her about it in the end, probably so that they'd stay in touch whenever things would get even more dangerous.

After class, she sometimes keeps me around to help her with setting the chairs and things like that, while asking me about how things are going back home. I told her all about the monster and what it does every night. I even told her how afraid I always am, since she promised not to tell anyone else. By the time I finish though, I can see tears in her eyes. She always pulls me close, telling me how brave I am and how she hopes thing will somehow end well. I don't really understand all she seems to be worrying about, but I'm happy I at least have her to talk to.

Unfortunately though, there was one night that even she could make me forget about. One time, when Mom somehow forgot to lock my door and I've finally got a glimpse of the monster. She had told me many times not to come out during the night, but I still did. I don't regret it though, as at least I now know just how hard Mom and Dad are trying to shield me from the evil creature.

That evening, Mom told me the usual story about the knight who saved the princess from the Dragon King, kissing me goodnight once she was done. The phone started ringing in the hall though and she rushed out, closing the door behind herself, without locking it. I thought of calling after her, but in the end, I decided not to. No matter how scared I was, I wanted to see what this monster was. Maybe I could then tell my teacher and together we'd look up some book in the library about how to get rid of that particular creature.

Just before I might have fallen asleep, the door slammed shut outside. My heart jumped a little, knowing the monster had arrived. The usual things happened from that point on. Faint and loud thuds, Mom trying to calm it down and it ignoring her. I could hear them move into the dining room and knew this was my only chance to uncover the mystery. I had to know what this monster was.

I slowly slid the covers off me and hopped off the bed. Even though I like the way the floor in my room creaks, this time it just scared me even more. Shaking terribly, I slowly went towards the door, to open it. Mom never left my room without the heating turned on, but I felt really cold right now. I would have called for Mom and Dad, if I weren't so afraid the monster would eat me.

Reaching up, I pulled slightly on the door handle, the lock letting go right there. It was like the monster actually wanted me to try and peek on him. Nevertheless, I stepped out of my room, though topping right there. I could follow it even without seeing where it went. I knew from the stories that all monsters were very smelly and this one was no exception. The heavy smell was making my head hurt and my eyes sting. I didn't like it at all, but I continued nevertheless.

Though I could hear the monster muttering something lowly and Mom sniffling, I still managed to get a grip on myself and go forwards. Almost the entire house was dark, except for the dining room where they were right now. I knew it was in there, but I kept feeling like it would suddenly jump out of some corner, to rip me to shreds. One of the windows slammed into the frame from the wind outside, nearly making me cry out from the sudden noise.

I got more and more afraid as I got to the light seeping out from the dining room, somehow feeling I would not like what I'd see. I had to though, if I wanted to sleep tonight. The monster didn't seem to notice me yet, as it continued to groan and growl every now and then, like it couldn't even decide on either.

I stopped next to the door frame, thinking about whether I should peek inside. Part of me didn't want to see the horror that this monster was, while my adventurous side wanted the other. My heart was beating in my throat, as I knew I had to decide soon. The more I stood around waiting, the bigger the risk was that the monster might find out I'm there. Finally, after a few more minutes, I took a deep breath and stepped aside, peeking into the dining room.

I froze right there, feeling like this monster was the mythical creature my teacher told about once: the one so horrible, the sight of it turned people to stone. I took a step back, unable to believe what I saw there. I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't happen, it was just plain impossible!

Mom noticed me first from the chair she was sitting in, gasping loudly. The monster turned his head sharply noticing me right away. Its look was blurry, but not enough so that it wouldn't notice me. Hungry for me all along, he slowly stumbled to his feet, grinning in a way that scared me like nothing before.

“Come on 'ere!” it called, the voice so familiar, so sweet, but tainted and evil now.

The moment it took a step towards me, I ran for it. I just couldn't stand there, knowing it'd catch me in just a second. I could hear someone quickly following me, too quick to be the monster. As I reached my room, I turned back to see who it was, despite knowing I should just close the door quickly. It was Mom, looking just as scared as I was. She seemed to have fought the monster already, as the side of her face seemed almost purple, though maybe just because I was very tired.

Mom didn't say a single word, but gazed at me in pure horror. I could hear my door getting locked just a few second after she quickly closed it, the key sliding to my feet through the crack at the bottom. I could hear the monster reaching her soon enough as well, making me jump back into my bed in fear.

“Where is he?” it asked, it's voice still all slurred and barely understandable.

“Please James, don't do this...” Mom seemed to downright beg the monster for my life.

I started sobbing right then, already knowing this wasn't going to end well. By the third bang on the door, I couldn't seem to stop anymore, either. Mom was crying too, but I think that was because the monster was hurting her. It started shouting loudly, using such words I've never even heard before. Mom continued to try and reason with it, but she had no chance anymore. It knew no mercy.

Months had passed since that night. The monster is still here to stay, though it still hadn't been able to get into my room. I no longer cared about that though. All that mattered was the terrible thing I've seen back then. Though I've forgotten a lot since then, I still remembered the creature's face. It had no fangs, no huge teeth, not even a slimy tongue...no...it just had the face of my Dad.

All this time, my parents fought so hard to keep me safe and sound from the monster, keeping it at bay. It possessed my Dad like ghosts do, using him to do normally unthinkable things to my Mom, or maybe even me. Anytime I think about him, I feel like crying. I love my Dad so much, it hurts me to see him like this. I'll help him though. In just a bit, I'll be older and maybe then, I'll be able to destroy the monster. I'll free my parents and we'll be a happy family once again...

...somehow...