To a Big Friend Under the Bed
A monster lives under my bed.
He is a big glob of magma with fiery red eyes and a stature second to only to Big Foot. Sometimes we play scrabble.
The first time he was only the tick of the clock, the creak of the wooden floors, the hymn of the fan, and the buzz of the wind.
It's only the wind, it's only the wind, I breathed. He would then breathe back, with that deep, grumble-voice of his: AM NOT!
He always spoke in capitals; MONSTERS ARE TOO SCARY FOR LOWERCASE LETTERS he informed me one day, sputtering through those nonexistent teeth.
He would bother me with questions all night.
WHY DO YOU NOT SCREAM?
You're just annoying!
SCRABBLE?
I'm tired!
But worst of all, he would ask questions I can't answer back. He'd ask me WHY, WHY, WHY.... And my eyelids would stick to cheekbones in desparte hope to sleep. I would stack more pillows over my ears, turn up my Walkman, and crawl further inside my covers. None of that helped.
He sometimes enters my dreams. The grass around us kindles to a black, leaving a trail wherever he trudges. Woodland creatures whimper and scramble in his wake.
"Why do you follow me!?"
WE ARE FRIENDS.
And he is always the reason why my room is messy
ROOM TOO SMALL, he would always reply.
But eventually we got along. He's a good scrabble player; capital letters are his specialty.
WHERES MY HUG
I can't hug you! you're made of lava!
I STILL WANT MY HUG. He holds his warm monster limbs out, with his gooey paws wide open. I hold my breath as I carefully return his embrace. Phew, no burns. just a warm feeling inside.
He knew everything about her. How I would take the long way to school just for the slight possibility of crossing paths. How I would mumble her name in my sleep. How I finally gathered up the courage to say "hi". How I brazenly grabbed her hand one day and forced her to be my girlfriend. How it worked...
He would hide under the bed whenever she was there.
That characteristic-red smoldered to a weak green as he peered and watched every day. He noticed each day we sat closer and closer, until I finally faced her and...
SCRABBLE?
"GET OUT. I DONT NEED YOU ANYMORE"
This time he was the one with lowercase letters:
..sorry.
Those green eyes now burned-out to a weak blue flame. He trudged back under my bed and disappeared.
The tick of the clock, the creak of the wooden floors, the hymn of the fan, and the buzz of the wind..all of that came back as my life went on. Oddly, my room was still messy.
Then it happened. The brightest days turned pitch black. The sweetest foods turned sour. And every step turned into a thousand sprints, as my stomach squirmed inside out. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep.
"hey.." I called from above my bed, "...game of scrabble?"
Only the clock, the floor, the fan, and the winds replied with their usual sounds
"...I'm sorry"
"Come back..please.."
"...I'm cold."
After searching for any type of trace, I finally went back to stare at my usual spot on the ceiling.
I'M WARM
that all-too-familiar voice came from beside me. I flipped around and instantly buckled in his gooey embrace. I told him between the sobbing, absorbing my tears with his green paws, about the way she said goodbye.
I told him I loved him and the lime of his cheeks brightened to a brilliant red and the passion returned to his eyes. He held me tight and close. I LOVE YOU TOO. He grumbled in the prettiest way you’d expect of a monster. I held his cozy paws and let my heart thump against them.
DON’T GROW UP, he’d beg from beneath me, on the hard cool floor amongst candy wrappers and comic books. Never, I’d reply, adopting his toothless grin.
Never.
He is a big glob of magma with fiery red eyes and a stature second to only to Big Foot. Sometimes we play scrabble.
The first time he was only the tick of the clock, the creak of the wooden floors, the hymn of the fan, and the buzz of the wind.
It's only the wind, it's only the wind, I breathed. He would then breathe back, with that deep, grumble-voice of his: AM NOT!
He always spoke in capitals; MONSTERS ARE TOO SCARY FOR LOWERCASE LETTERS he informed me one day, sputtering through those nonexistent teeth.
He would bother me with questions all night.
WHY DO YOU NOT SCREAM?
You're just annoying!
SCRABBLE?
I'm tired!
But worst of all, he would ask questions I can't answer back. He'd ask me WHY, WHY, WHY.... And my eyelids would stick to cheekbones in desparte hope to sleep. I would stack more pillows over my ears, turn up my Walkman, and crawl further inside my covers. None of that helped.
He sometimes enters my dreams. The grass around us kindles to a black, leaving a trail wherever he trudges. Woodland creatures whimper and scramble in his wake.
"Why do you follow me!?"
WE ARE FRIENDS.
And he is always the reason why my room is messy
ROOM TOO SMALL, he would always reply.
But eventually we got along. He's a good scrabble player; capital letters are his specialty.
WHERES MY HUG
I can't hug you! you're made of lava!
I STILL WANT MY HUG. He holds his warm monster limbs out, with his gooey paws wide open. I hold my breath as I carefully return his embrace. Phew, no burns. just a warm feeling inside.
He knew everything about her. How I would take the long way to school just for the slight possibility of crossing paths. How I would mumble her name in my sleep. How I finally gathered up the courage to say "hi". How I brazenly grabbed her hand one day and forced her to be my girlfriend. How it worked...
He would hide under the bed whenever she was there.
That characteristic-red smoldered to a weak green as he peered and watched every day. He noticed each day we sat closer and closer, until I finally faced her and...
SCRABBLE?
"GET OUT. I DONT NEED YOU ANYMORE"
This time he was the one with lowercase letters:
..sorry.
Those green eyes now burned-out to a weak blue flame. He trudged back under my bed and disappeared.
The tick of the clock, the creak of the wooden floors, the hymn of the fan, and the buzz of the wind..all of that came back as my life went on. Oddly, my room was still messy.
Then it happened. The brightest days turned pitch black. The sweetest foods turned sour. And every step turned into a thousand sprints, as my stomach squirmed inside out. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep.
"hey.." I called from above my bed, "...game of scrabble?"
Only the clock, the floor, the fan, and the winds replied with their usual sounds
"...I'm sorry"
"Come back..please.."
"...I'm cold."
After searching for any type of trace, I finally went back to stare at my usual spot on the ceiling.
I'M WARM
that all-too-familiar voice came from beside me. I flipped around and instantly buckled in his gooey embrace. I told him between the sobbing, absorbing my tears with his green paws, about the way she said goodbye.
I told him I loved him and the lime of his cheeks brightened to a brilliant red and the passion returned to his eyes. He held me tight and close. I LOVE YOU TOO. He grumbled in the prettiest way you’d expect of a monster. I held his cozy paws and let my heart thump against them.
DON’T GROW UP, he’d beg from beneath me, on the hard cool floor amongst candy wrappers and comic books. Never, I’d reply, adopting his toothless grin.
Never.
Comments
Post a Comment