The Monster

This is a short story I wrote a little while ago on a field trip.

The monster showed itself to me today. I have heard it call to me in dreams before, but today was different. He came in the middle of night. I guess that is just when monsters come. I was supposed to be asleep right then, but I was up late reading a book. I knew that one day that would come back to bite me. I was right in the middle of a chapter when it came. It slithered into my room from my windows and crawled towards me. It was a small creature, not so scary.

”Go away, ” I yelled at the monster. It paused for a moment and then spoke to me. ”Why should I?” It's mouth creaked as he spoke, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth. His face contorted, as if he was not used to talking. Nevertheless, his English was perfect. This only added to the creepiness of the creature. I had no reply for him, so I said nothing. ”No answer. I will fix that! I will come back tomorrow, and you must have an answer for me.”

This was not what I was expecting. Why would he say something like that? Do not monsters just kill and eat, blinded by unrivaled hatred? This monster comes to me and wants me to answer a question. He must be harmless then. He is small; I could take him in a fight if I had to. But then again, those teeth could cut through metal if needed. Why then would he not simply kill me? It would be easy enough.

I do not get much sleep the rest of the night. The question haunts me the whole day, and I am stumped. Why should not the monster kill me? Then, I look at everything I have done for this world. I must be kept alive for that! No one could miss all of the achievements and awards I have. My works will save me from this monster.

The monster comes back. I am prepared for it this time. But even still, I am scared as the body comes crawling though the window. Was it just me, or did it seem bigger than before? ”Do you have an answer?” it croaked at me. ”Yes. I do. Look at all these trophies I earned. Why should I deserve to die? I have done so many good things in this world, and I am sure to do many more if I don’t die right now.”

The monster only laughed. ”Do you know how many people I have killed who were great men? Men that were smart mathematicians and scholars who were famous world-wide were killed by me. Do you think that little trophies would stop me from killing you? I expected more from you. I am giving you the chance to save your life, and this is the best I get? Do you know how many dead people wished for this chance? You are lucky, but you can not understand it. I will give you two more days to come up with an answer, or I will come for you without a question. We both do not want that.”

Just like that he disappeared into thin air. I was lost. I thought that that was the answer. I could earn my freedom and save myself. What else was there? If I can not save myself, what can I do? But then I think of all the people I know. They would all be so sad that I was gone. That is my answer. For all of my friends and family that will miss me if I am dead. Who could willingly kill someone that everyone likes? No one would do that.

But when the monster came again, bigger than before, his reply worried me even more. “Do you think that I have a heart? It was taken out a long time ago, and know I can not feel others pain. They will get over their tears and in a year or two they will move on. What is the point of not killing you. I would just postpone the inevitable pain that comes with death. I am just speeding up the process. You have one more night. What are you going to do?”

I was worried the whole day. My reasons were not good enough. I was not good enough. I had no reason not to let him kill me besides selfish pride in life. The monster has gotten bigger and bigger. Why? Does he feed off of my fear? That would make sense, but I know that this is not right. He feeds off of my self image. Any time I feel worse, he feels better. Day after day I have gotten more scared and hopeless. He has gotten bigger and bigger.

The night comes before I am ready. I wait for the monster. I wait. I wait. But it did not come. That is not how it is supposed to work. He would come tonight, and I would die. That is what would happen. I am ready. But now he is not even here. I was not ready for this. Am I free? He is gone. He did not come to murder me. I do not need an excuse anymore, do I? It is finally all over.

I slept for the first time in a while that day. I had no dreams, only the dark void of nothingness. When I woke up I resumed life as normal; why should I not? I ate a breakfast and continue to persevere through the day. It was a normal day. No monsters, no worries, and no threat of my life. It seemed almost bliss to live my normal mundane life. As long as I was living it, life was good. Maybe this is what the monster was trying to teach me through this encounter. Maybe he just disappeared because I was no longer fearing of him. Maybe he knew that to learn why I was here I needed a break from stress of him. A break to look around in the world and realize the reason I should not die is because I am me. I m a human being who experiences beauty and shares it with the people around him. I understand the monster has killed many before me who have done this too, and in reality, everyone does this. Why should we have to die at some monster’s hand? That is my reason, if you are listening, Monster. Thank you for teaching that to me. Thank y�"

Wait. My room is going dark. It is the middle of the afternoon. What is going on? I hear something outside. I hear my window latch unlock and the window slowing being opened from the outside. Oh no. It is the monster. The massive beast comes into my room. He looks scared. I look up at him and ask, ”What is wrong?”


”There is a darkness worse than me. A darkness with no mercy for anyone. Even monsters like me have to face the music sometimes. The truth is, I have never killed anyone before. You were going to be my first. But when I saw you, I loved you. You were a small helpless human being who could not answer a simple question. You are here because someone loves you, and you are alive because I love you. The more and more I love you the stronger I grew. This darkness did not like what I was doing. I tried to hide you from him, but he found you. I did not come last night for fear of him following me. But now, that is already accomplished no matter what. He is going to kill you and me. I am sorry it came to this.

The real monster did come that night. So was the way of the world. The world wants no light to shine and share beauty with others. But something happened that night. As it approached the house’s window, there was a dome. Inside was a monster and human loving each other. This could not be. This was not right. How could they love each other that much. The darkness knew of the love before, but seeing it here as too much for it. The dome protected the boy and the monster, and they were safe from any harm. The darkness could not pass through. The monster’s strength dulled in comparison to the light that kindness can share. The darkness is not gone. He comes around looking for prey to kill, but as long as there is kindness and love, he has no place there. So spread love to all. No one deserves death. The boy learned that here, and look what happened. All it takes to fight the darkness is love. And yet the world is so dark. We never see how horrific the dark is. We think that it does not affect us, so why bother? The monster will never die. This is known. But if we keep fighting for the light then maybe we can turn the tide. The boy did. He was asked a question that changed his life.

So I ask you. Why should we not let the dark overcome us?

Reviews

[M. A.]

Good story. I think you greatly captured a sense of fear from the character's perspective and it's an interesting relationship that is shared between the character and the monster. One thing I would change would be to include more descriptions. I want to know what this monster looks like, maybe what the room looks like as well. Keep up the good work.

[Nathan Cavaliere]

Amazingly well done story you have here! It reads to me like some sort of ancient fable, understandable to kids but still meaningful to adults. The plotline is interesting, the characters are nuanced, it reads clearly, and the theme is well presented. The language was more than a little simplistic, but for a story of this length it works. I could easily see this being published in a literary magazine.

[KimberlySeben]

The author wrote a great short story. I liked what the monster turned out to be. I loved how the monster and boy really loved each other. The author’s message in the end was very strong and I loved that.