Short Stories

Monsters Under the Bed

Everyone has monsters. In their closets, under their beds, somehow everyone has monsters in their lives. I have a monster under my bed, most people do. He was terrifying to me at first, scaring me in the night so that I ran to my parents room in the middle of the night crying. He watched me from under my bed as I would go about my day. I was always aware that he was there. My parents will tell me "Don't worry, Aaron, you will fight that monster one day and it won't scare you any more," I took comfort in those words, thinking that one day I would be brave.

When I was enrolled in school, all the children I met had monsters under their bed. Some of the other boys would play fight them with their swords but most of us were still terrified of the creature that haunted our dreams living under our beds. Our teachers talked about the monsters too. They said that we would all one day fight our monster and it would leave our lives forever. I looked forward to this day, because at the age of six years old, sixteen seemed so far away.

Every night after I started school when I went to bed, my monster would come out and sit on the edge of my bed. He wouldn't talk to me or try to hurt me, he would just sit there and watch me sleep. At first I was terrified, this thing that I feared my whole life was so close and could do anything to me, but over time I began to feel safe as he watched me sleep.

By the time I was 10 years old, I had begun to talk to my monster. His name was Slyx and he liked to listen to me talk about life outside. He was assigned to me when I was barely conceived and he knew I would be strong. I would be able to fight him when I was sixteen. I grew close to Slyx and he became my friend. Many of us were friends with our monsters, but we couldn't be forever. We knew the monsters would have to die, right along with our childhoods.

When I was 12, we started to train for our big day. Our sixteenth birthday was the day we would fight our monster and become grown up. We trained with swords, throwing knifes, and spears. We practiced martial arts, archery, and ballet. Everything to make us strong and nimble on our big day. Everyday I came home and I would tell Slyx of my training. He would hug me with his many arms and say he was proud of me. His smile would stretch all the way across his face revealing his razor sharp teeth and I almost could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes. He was my friend and my protector. Sometimes I almost forgot I he had to die.

On the eve of my sixteenth birthday, I was in tears. Slyx held me close and said to me, "Aaron, your parents promised that you would be brave one day. You have to be brave and fight me your hardest tomorrow. I know you don't want to move on but its part of life. I will miss you and you will miss me, but we will see each other again. In another life perhaps. I am so proud of you Aaron." I was crying like a baby now, holding Slyx close as buried my face in his coat. "I don't want to leave you." I said looking up at him. He just smiled with his razor sharp teeth and then got up and slinked under my bed. I went to bed holding his tail for the last time.

Dawn. I checked under my bed for Slyx but then I remembered it was my birthday. Slyx was gone waiting for me at the arena. I got up and gathered my combat gear. I had chosen archery as the way I would fight. I left all my emotions from the night before in my bedroom and focused on the task at hand. Defeat my monster.

Noon. My friend Lucy was finishing her fight. She came in teary eyed and simply said to me "Good luck" I was the fifth fight of the day out of a total of 10. I waited behind the large metal doors of the arena waiting for the the announcer to say my name. I was gathering my strength. I grasped my bow as the doors open and light flooded onto me. I looked up and saw the crowd. My friends, my family, the Elders, the Council all had their eyes on me. I looked around the arena for Slyx. I saw him on the other side. Suddenly, Slyx charged and instantly became the monster I had feared. I grabbed my bow and and arrow and shot without thinking.

One shot. One shot was all it took. One shot and I was a grown-up. One shot and Slyx crumpled to the floor. My monster was dead. I was grown up. We all have our monsters. I felt so helpless without mine.