A Monster in the Room

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NEW PROMPT:
Write a story or a poem about a monster. Be as literal or as figurative in your interpretation of "monster" as you like.
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When the monster first came into her room a few nights earlier, five-year-old Clara had tried the next morning at the breakfast table to tell her parents about that late night visit. All she got from her mother was a fierce slap across her face followed by her father’s angry words about lying. The twins, 10-year-old Timothy and Teresa, just lowered their heads and kept eating. Their older brother ignored all of them, grabbed a slice of toast, and quickly left for school. Robby was a high school freshman and felt himself too mature to stay for breakfast with his family.

After that painful experience, Clara no longer mentioned the monster. The childish and trusting belief her parents would be there to protect her was gone forever. Clara realized she would have to fight the monster by herself.

The next couple nights, Clara forced herself to stay awake as long as possible. Only when she heard the grandfather clock downstairs chime midnight did Clara finally relax. Maybe the monster won’t ever come back again, was her last thought before exhausted sleep took over.

* * *

A few hours before dawn, the bedroom door slowly opened to let in a sliver of light from the hallway. The further the door opened, the deeper into the dark room went the light. The monster crept silently from the doorway across the hardwood floor. Standing next to the bed, it looked down on the shape of the little girl outlined under the bed covers. Hunger filled the monster’s body; hunger for the tender flesh now only inches away.

A keening sound, low at first and gradually increasing in volume, filled the room. The monster’s body swayed back and forth, fighting the almost overpowering hunger. Faster, ever faster the monster rocked, crying out from the sharp pain caused by denying what the body craved, what it needed to exist.

This cry startled Clara awake, but she squeezed her eyes tight, trying her best to pretend she was still asleep. The child knew the monster was in her bedroom as he had been before. He’s not here, he’s not here, was the terrified refrain racing through her mind, even as she felt the monster coming even closer to her.

She couldn’t help herself and eventually looked up in horror at the monster. The hallway light from across the room revealed only the dark shape of the monster standing next to her bed. She could feel the heat from the closeness of its body and scuttled away, back flush against the headboard. Even from this distance, she knew the heat would scald her skin if the monster came any closer.

Clara shrieked in unbridled terror when the monster took a step forward with long arms outstretched toward her cringing body. By the time she heard running footsteps coming down the long hallway, the monster had disappeared back out the bedroom door.

“Did you see it? The monster was just here,” cried Clara when her parents came into the room. Her mother turned on the overhead light, shaking her head in disgust while her father walked barefoot toward his daughter.

“The damn kid had another nightmare,” he said, anger filling his voice. “Waking me out of a sound sleep like that, and me needing to get up in a couple hours for work.” He looked down at the crying girl. “There ain’t no monster, you just dreamed it. Now go back to sleep, and I don’t want to hear nothing from you again about no monster.” With that, Clara’s parents left her in the once-again dark room.

Across the hall, 14-year-old Davy leaned back unsteadily against his bedroom’s closed door. Tears of frustration flowed down his flushed cheeks. He knew the monster that lived within him would have to wait a bit longer. There would be another time to satisfy that overwhelming hunger for his little sister, very soon, maybe even tomorrow.

In the darkness of his room, Davy smiled and licked his lips in anticipation of the following night’s sensual feast.

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Microsoft Word count = 675

"The Writer's Cramp"  daily entry for 10/20/08
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