Be Home Before Sunset

II: The Threshold

"Krissy," came the familiar voice from downstairs, "breakfast is ready."

She opened her eyes and saw the sharp shadows cast by the oak that rose between the house and the climbing sun. The figures stood motionless in the windless morning, as if painted by a sombre artist in burnt umber across the brown cedar-plank walls.

She rolled out of bed, and groggily pulled on clothes already muddied by her recent daytime adventures. Making her way down the stairs, she found her parents sitting at the table. A bowl of diced potatoes and eggs was ready to be served, steaming, tickling her nose and teasing her stomach.

"Good morning, Krissy," said her mother as she put on that concerned expression. "Did you sleep?"

Krissy shook her head, morose, but with her eyes still fixed on the prize at the centre of the table. Her mother ladled a generous helping of food into a bowl and handed it to her as she sat down.

"The monsters again?" asked her father, though he barely raised his eyes from his book.

"I heard them, I..." she sighed, already knowing what he would say next.

"The monsters won't come out of the woods. You are safe as long as you stay indoors at night."

"But what if they do come out? What if—"

"You are twelve years old now, girl. Don't be silly. How many times have I told you? The monsters never come out of the woods. And they certainly never come into the house."

"There is nothing to worry about," added her mother, "as long you are home by sunset. Only children who stay out after sunset need fear the monsters. They are the ones that never return."

Krissy sighed again as she stared at her bowl of food. It was still full. She raised a spoonful to her mouth, and savoured the flavour of the fluffy egg and the salty potato. Even so, she couldn't clear her mind.

"Where do they go?" she asked, as if she had never asked before. "What happens to them?"

"Who knows?" mumbled her father. "Maybe the monsters eat them."

Nobody knew. That was the worst part of it. They simply vanished. Search parties revealed no trace of any of them. If they were killed, their bodies weren't anywhere to be found. If they were eaten, not even their bones were left to be discovered.

Outside the window, Krissy could see the lawn stretching a hundred yards to the edge of the woods. A hundred yards in all directions, a small circle defending a lone house from the monsters that skulked between the trees after dark. It was true, she had never seen a monster cross the threshold. She had never caught more than glimpses of the shades moving between the trunks of the trees at the edge of the woods.

"Krissy," said her mother, stealing her attention from the window, "are you going to do your chores today?"

"Yes, Mum," she said sulking, "I will do them this evening. I promised I'd go to see Eric today."

"Who's Eric?" asked her father.

"It's the boy she's been playing with lately."

"What boy?"

"I already told you about him, dear."

Krissy tried to ignore her parents as they began to bicker. She scoffed down the remainder of her food, and ran outside, waving to her parents as she skipped out of the door.

"Bye Mum, bye Dad," she called.

"Be home before sunset," yelled her mother behind her.

Krissy sprinted across the soft grass, revelling in the warm sun as her excitement grew. When she neared the edge of woods, she slowed down, a hint of caution and nerves creeping in. The monsters never came out during the day, but the woods were still a scary place.

She stopped as she crossed into the shadow cast at the edge of the woods. The sun had little power there, the foliage was thick, the canopy almost impenetrable. Even during the day, the darkness was nearly as deep as the night. But Krissy wasn't afraid of the dark.