Monsters Among Us

Short Story One~Monsters among us.

I used to think of monsters as the kind that had large horns and scary sharp teeth. I thought they were big scary creatures with red eyes and an everlasting thirst for little children's blood, the kind that my sister used to tell me lived under my bed when I was little.

Eventually, I grew up and learned that there was nothing living under my bed but, ironically, monsters became even more terrifying.

Why? Because I realized they didn't have horns--they looked like me.

A monster could be anyone really. It could be that handsome young man that smiled at me from the window of that coffee shop I walked by on my way to my office each morning. Or, it could be that cheery old lady that made baked goods for the kids at the day care centre in my neighborhood.

Call me paranoid but I know what I'm talking about. I'll take the title of a pessimist if that means I see reality, monsters live among us.

As I watched those women on the news channel last night cry in agony, the pictures of their beautiful kids clutched in their wrinkled and weather worn hands, I thought "Which monster was it this time?"

After all, who else would do such?

Who else would take away those mother's happiness and make them weep in mindless pain? Who else would watch on with guiltless minds as they tore their shirts and clawed at the sand, crying over the need to see their kids again?

If the culprit wasn't a monster then I'd be damned.