A Friend.

Hi... I'm Thomas.
At night, I heard it: thump... thump... thump... under my bed.
He said he was Mr. Gray, my friend. Big silver hollow eyes. Too many teeth. He copied everything-my words, my smile, even the way I moved. He promised he wouldn't eat me if I turned off the light.
We played in the dark.
But friends don't steal your parents' voices.
Now I'm thirty with a little girl of my own. She asks me to check under her bed for monsters.
I smile, get on my knees, and look.
Because the monster isn't imaginary.
He's still learning.
He's still copying.
And he's getting really good at pretending to be you.