Frankenstein

CHAPTER 12: The Monster's Request

"I spent the rest of that night hiding in the woods. The next morning I went back to see if the little family was okay. When I got there, I heard someone say that they had left, fearing for their lives. Just seeing me for that short time made them think I would hurt them. They gave up everything thay had just to get away from me. Imagine how it made me feel, Frankenstein."

"I never would have hurt them," he told me, "I loved them like they were my own family."

"I knew that I needed to find you. You alone had brought me into this world and only you could give me a good life."

"My travels were long. It took me mant months to get to Geneva." The monster looked out of the hut's tiny window at the rain falling outside. "I couldn't stop  thinking about why you had made me if the whole world was just going to hate me."

"I lived in the woods just outside Geneva. Those were the same woods where I know you saw me that rainy night. One morning I saw William. He looked like such a nice boy. I thought that maybe someone so young could ignore my mean appearance. I watched him and his brother for a long time and heard them talking about you. For one short moment I thought I had found a member of my own family. This was the family that you brought me into and they would have to accept me."

"I watched as William hid from Ernest. He stayed hidden until his brother gave up looking for him and left. That's when I came out of the bush. When William saw me, he screamed. I grabbed him so he wouldn't run away, but he wouldn't stop screaming. I held my hand over his mouth so he would be quiet. Soon, his limp body fell into my arms and I knew I had killed him. I saw the locket around his neck and took it. I left William there and ran away. I found the girl in the barn later that night and put the locket in her pocket."

"I knew it was wrong," he sadi. "I knew it was bad, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to hurt you, Frankenstein, for giving me this awful, awful life."

Now, hours later, the monster finally told me what he wanted. "I can't spend any long time alone. You must make another being. You must create a friend for me, a wife - someone just like me. You are the only one who can do it."

The monster sat quietly after he fininshed his story. A lot of time passed as he waited for my answer. Finally I said, "No, I'm sorry, but the answer is no. I will never build another monster like you."

A light burned in the monster's eyes for a minute. We sat in silence. He tried to convince me that it was a good idea. "I am hated by everyone. I promise that I will leave forever if you do this one thing for me. If you do not agree, I will continue to hurt the people you love. You owe me, Frankenstein, do you not see that? All of this is your fault. You are the only person who can make it right."

"Do you really promise to leave forever if I build you a friend?" I asked. "And do you promise to leave my family alone?"

He replied, "I want you to build me a wife. Someone to spend my days with. Someone who is just like me. If you do that, I promise to leave forever. No further harm will come to you or your family, I promise."

I answered slowly. "Then I will do it, but you must know that I don't want to - but I will do it to protect my family."

"Thank you, Frankenstein," he said. "I will keep my word."

He looked at me carefully. "But know that I will be watching you. I will make sure you keep your promise to me."

He got up quickly an dran from the hut, leaving me behind. I took me many hours to find my way back to the mule. She was very hungry by the time I found her. We rode quickly back down the mountain. I spend the night at the inn, and woke up early the next morning after a poor night's sleep.

The long hike back to Bellerive wasa vey hard. By the time I got home, it was the next day. Having walked for so long without resting, I looked wild. My hair stood up all over my head adn my clothes were wrinkled. At first, my family was shocked to see me that way, but then they were glad that I was home. Even though they wanted to know all about my trip, I couldn't tell anything that had happened over the past few days. I had a lot to think about, so I excused myself adn went to bed.