A Collection of Short Works

Night Light

Tried writing from a child's perspective.

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A girl squirms under her covers. Whimpering, she peeks over the edge of her blanket and shoots back under with a ruffle of cloth. She holds herself cocooned in the sheets in the fetal position, breathing heavily. A distant bump, a tiny scritch-scratch from the dark corner of her room. Tears spill sidelong on her face, daring not to weep too loudly, in case the monster in the dark gets her and eats her up for a midnight snack. Just thinking about the monster's sharp teeth, big horns, and slimy scales made her shudder. Her fear of being heard kept her from calling her mommy to comfort her and melt the creature in the light, and her forgotten night light lay on her dresser across the room.

Shaking so hard her bed squeaked, she cuddled her stuffed turtle close to her and stayed under the gradually warming bedsheets. She could barely stay awake after a long, fun day in Miss Daley's first grade class, but she could barely sleep at the same time.

Something whispered in her room. She froze. That slimy, horned monster was finally here to gobble her up. Tense and hot under the blankets, she wished she told her mommy and daddy she loved them a lot. She wished she would have told her friends she loved them too. A footstep came from just beyond the end of her bed. Sharp teeth were not far away, and she could almost smell the potent breath of the nightmare that was soon to eat her.

A vivid electric blue vaguely issued through the blanket, and the girl was confused. The monster didn't glow blue. Trembling, she peered over the covers to see an odd sight. A person, a lady, was standing there, entire body shining the color. Her black hair glittered in the night, eyes a solid blue, and all she did was stand at the end of her bed.

"Hello, dear girl," the lady spoke in a soothing voice, "Did you need a night light?"

The girl blinked. How could she know light gets rid of the monster?

"M-my night light--" the girl stuttered, pointing to her dresser, where her ballerina plugin lay. The glowing lady turned and walked to retrieve the object.

"Where do you want it?" the lady said again. The girl pointed to an outlet close by her bed, and the lady again walked to it, plugging the night light in, producing a feeble white glint compared to the bright blue filling the room. "I can make this glow blue for tonight, but I have to go now. I'm watching over you, don't you worry."

The lady soon disappeared, but a softer blue glow lit the room in a pleasing way. The girl smiled, then curled up comfortably and went to sleep. Mommy had always told her about guardian angels, and she believed she had just met hers.