The Monster under the Bed

The Monster under the Bed------

Mayu switched on the bulb. She shut her dazzled eyes for a moment as the room filled with the bright white light. Mayu got down the stool and went to bed, hoping no one sees her sleeping with lights on. Laying on her bed she looked at the ceiling. The stars glued there were not glowing anymore. Those dull green stars were making her upset. Mayu loved to watch them shine.   

The light was bothering her eyes. Even when she shut her eyes so tight that it hurt, the light somehow made its way through. She helplessly looked at the light bulb. The slight flicker in it looked like its winking at her. She always slept in dark. In 7 long years of her life, the darkness never bothered her. But also, for seven long years of her life, she didn't know there was a monster under her bed. Her little brain had this term stored somewhere but it was not associated with something that lives under her bed. That comes out in dark. The most frightening thing was that she didn't know what it did after coming out? Bill, her classmate, who passed this news to the whole class, himself seemed to have very limited information. During the lunch break when he revealed this horrifying discovery of his, all of them forgot to eat.  

“Is it under everyone's bed?”   

“Yes.” 

“Is it scary?  

“Very scary. it has long nails. big red eyes and one horn on its head and his teeth are very sharp.”  

“Did you see him?”   

“No.”  

“What does he do?”   

“I don't know. He eats you or drags you under the bed and kills you.” He made some frightening guesses and everyone was traumatized by that conversation that whole day in school.   

Some of them probably forgot it after school. Maybe the dark didn't scare some of them. Or some of them started to sleep with lights on, as she did.    

 She sat up on the bed wondering if she should go to mom. ask to sleep with her again.   

“Mayu! turn off the lights and go to sleep. NOW!” 

she heard her sister's voice. She was standing at her door right in front of Mayu's room. Mayu was not allowed to lock her room after that one time she got locked in and was not able to open the door.  

Her sister had already gone inside her room. Mayu looked at her closed door.   

“I can ask her to sleep with me.” Mayu thought. Sarah was 10 years older than her. which was very old. she was taller than her. smarter than her. Cooler than her. She was allowed to go out alone, and Mayu had heard mom say that Sarah was a grownup. Grownups are not scared of monsters. Mayu walked up to her room, still considering if she should ask her or not.   

“Sarah!”, Finally, she called her name in a very weak voice, knocking on her door.  

“What? come in.” Mayu entered the room, hesitantly.  

“What is it?” Sarah looked at her with questioning eyes, still holding her mobile beside her ear. She was talking to someone. Mayu had interrupted her and she was clearly not happy.  

“I want to talk.” Mayu said apologetically. Sarah looked at her for a second.  

“Hello. Ya. I'll call you in a minute. Bye... speak.” Hanging up the call, she turned to her.   

“Can I sleep here?”   

“Why?”  

“Actually, there is a monster under my bed.”   

“Did you see it?”  

“No. It comes out in the dark and I am scared.”  

“why don't you sleep with mom and dad?”   

“I don't want to ask them. They'll fight again.”  

Sarah didn’t say anything. Her phone was ringing again.  

The day Mayu learned about the monster under her bed, she had gone to her parents to sleep with them. That was the day she learned that they don’t sleep together anymore. Both of them wanted her to sleep in their room. After a huge fight which led from Mayu’s problem to problems of their own, she ended up sleeping in her mom’s room, listening to her sobs beside her.    

 “Why do you think there is a monster under your bed?” Sarah changed the topic. She didn’t know what to tell a seven-year-old who is consciously trying to make her parent not fight for once.   

“Bill told us.” Mayu answered.  

“What if he was lying?”   

“What if he was not?”   

There was silence again. Sarah was searching for appropriate words to continue the conversation.  

“Okay. if there is a monster….” She finally started.  

“There is?” Mayu looked at her sister, more frightened than ever.  

“IF. If there is. Fool.” Sarah smacked her lightly.  

“Let’s assume there is a monster under your bed. Why would he only come out in the dark?”   

“So, it’s ‘he’.” Mayu processed the new information in her head quickly.    

A victorious smile appeared on Sarah's face. Mayu was silent.   

“Maybe light weakens him.” The answer came the next second. Sarah’s smile disappeared.   

“Or dark makes him powerful.”   

Sarah was now annoyed by Mayu's imagination.   

“Just go to your room. Leave the lights on.” irritated, she picked up her mobile again. A signal for Mayu to leave.   

“But I can’t sleep with lights on. And Dad always tells us to not waste electricity.”   

There were more problems. Sarah sighed.   

Mayu was not wrong. For the past few months, their parents had been very tight on budget. Sara herself had been scolded quite a few times for her mobile bills and for keeping the fridge open for too long. Every little thing would ruin their mood nowadays, making them fight.  

“Are we poor?” Mayu’s brain had now jumped to a different rock.  

“No.”  

“Are we rich?”   

“No. we are in the middle.”   

“But we have a big house. Bill says he is rich and his house is smaller than ours.”   

“It’s not our house. It’s grandma’s house.” Her phone started beeping again. Mark was asking her to call. She smiled.   

“Go to your room or mom’s room. I have to study. No more talking.”   

“Okay. but why do we live in grandma’s house?”   

“I don't know. Now shut up and go.”  Sarah pushed her out of the room.

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For the next two days, she couldn’t sleep properly. She was scared her parents would start fighting if she kept the lights on the whole night. But she was scared to turn it off as well. What if the monster came out of the bed? It turned out the fear of seeing her parents fight again was bigger than the monster.   

She started to sleep in the dark again. It was more like an alarmed rest on bed. She laid in the position from where she can see Sarah’s door as well as the shadow of her bed through the corridor light. Any activity around the bed and she can run out of the room or turn the lights on. Laying on one side, Mayu spent two nights waiting for the monster to come out. Many times, she thought of peeking under the bed but didn’t dare to do so.  

“He wouldn’t kill me.” She was very confident about it. She had been sleeping in the dark before she knew about him. “He could have killed me or eaten me by now.” This thought definitely made her less scared of the monster.  

“But what does he do?” She thought, looking at the shadow. Maybe he comes out to eat when everyone is sleeping. Something sparkled in her brain.   

Yes. That’s why som many of my chocolates and candies disappeared from the fridge. He ate my snacks.” Mayu couldn’t decide if she should feel excited about solving the mystery of the missing candies or be angry at the monster for eating her candies.  

She spent two nights waiting for the monster to come out of the bed. But he didn’t.  

"Why doesn’t he come?" Mayu couldn’t understand.   

Is it because she waits for him to come? Is he shy? Mayu was trying hard to understand why the monster is not coming out of the bed.  

"Maybe he does not want me to see him. He waits for everyone to fall asleep." She was reaching a conclusion.   

Why doesn’t he want her to see him? She felt like she was being wronged. After stealing so many of her candies!  

Is he ugly? She looked at the shadow with her sleepy eyes.  

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It had been 3 nights in a row. Her summer vacation had started, now she could sleep till noon after the sleepless nights.  

The monster never came out. She even turned off the corridor lights.  

“Maybe he doesn’t like it.” But turning off the corridor lights didn’t help either. He didn’t come. Mayu was now getting worried for him.  

“How will he eat? Is he not eating anything?”   

That day she kept a candy under her bed. At night she stared at the shadow. Trying to catch some movement. “Is he eating it?” she couldn’t dare to look under the bed. The next day when Mayu woke up, she climbed down the bed, holding up the draping bedsheet to look under the bed. The candy was gone. Her heart filled with happiness.   

He ate it.   

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Mayu had now started to put candy under the bed every day. Usually, he would eat the candy but sometimes she would find the candy untouched under the bed the next day.   

“He doesn’t like this one.” Mayu would store the candy flavor in her brain and would make sure to not put the same flavor there again. He liked coffee, grapes, and banana flavored candies. once Mayu slipped a piece of chocolate under the bed too, from the chocolate bar dad brought for her. Mom and dad were now fighting over every small thing. Their fights were getting bigger and bigger. They would fight at the dinner table every day. Mayu would do anything to avoid eating with them now. She hated it when they yelled at each other. She now started eating alone in her bed. Insisting that she was hungry and she wanted to eat early. No one forced her to eat together. Maybe they didn’t want her to see them fight as well.  

Once she slipped a bite of her pasta under the bed. Thinking that he might be bored of all the desserts now and might want to try some savory. But it stained the carpet and she got scolded by their maid, Mimo.  

“Let's just stick to the candies.” she told the monster slipping his favorite coffee candy under the bed.   

“I’m turning the lights off.” She informed him before switching it off.  

“Good night.” She closed her eyes listening to some distant shouting.   

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“Why do you eat so early now?” It was 11 at night. Mayu was in the kitchen getting some water when Sarah’s voice startled her.   

“I was hungry.” Mayu nervously said.   

Sarah grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and started to gulp it down. Mayu looked at her sister with amazement.  

“I wish I could avoid them too. Avoid all this.” Sarah tossed the bottle in the fridge.  

She looked sad. Mayu didn’t say anything.   

“But you won’t be able to avoid it for long.” She fluttered her finger in the air, warning her.  

“Why?” Mayu looked at her, confused.   

“No no, you won’t need to avoid it. If they don’t live together, they won’t fight.” Sarah giggled.  

“Why won’t they live together?”  

Sarah didn’t answer her. She just left the kitchen. Stumbling.  

“Is she sick?” Mayu wondered.   

She came back to her room, falling on her bed.  

“Why won’t they live together? Are they getting divorced?” Mayu didn’t like this thought.  

“You don’t think they will get divorced, do you?” She asked the monster.   

“I don’t think so too.” She looked at the stars glowing.   

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After the early dinner, Mayu went to the kitchen to put the plates in the sink. She had to get some candies for the monster too. Last night he didn’t eat the melon candy she left for him, so she wanted to treat him with some chocolate today. She suddenly heard dad’s voice coming from the hall. He was calling Mimo to bring some water. "He’s early today." Mayu thought. she wanted to tell him that Mimo didn’t come when she heard mom’s voice.   

“She quit.”  

“Mimo quit?" Mayu was shocked. "that’s why mom didn’t go to work today.” she thought. knowing someone would be coming to the kitchen now, she quickly ran towards her room without getting the chocolates.  

"I’ll get it when they are having dinner." She sat on the bed, waiting.   

At 9, she silently went to the kitchen. She could hear them in the hall. They must be eating now. She grabbed the chocolate bar and stuffed her pocket with some candies. Coming back to her room, she heard someone sobbing. It wasn’t mom. Mayu stopped. Someone was crying in the hall. She reached the door with quiet steps. She could see them sitting at the dinner table. They were not eating. Dad was standing near the table. Mom was sitting beside Sarah consoling her. And Sarah was crying. Mayu stood there in shock. She never saw Sarah cry. She saw some papers, some files on the table, and then her grim-faced parents.   

“Is it happening?” Mayu looked at Sarah. She had covered her face with her palms, trying to control her sobs.  

“Everything will be fine Sarah.” Mom said weakly. Very unconvincingly.  

“Lie.” Mayu whispered.   

“I'll come to take you two in a few days.” Mom was still trying to comfort her.  

“Where is she going? Is she leaving?” Mayu’s head was rushing.   

“I’ll go get Mayu.” She heard her mom say. The next second Mayu was running as fast as she could. She knew what she was coming to tell her. She didn’t want to hear it.   

Mayu switched off the light in her room. She went to lock the door but stopped.  

“They have a key. They'll find me.” terrified, she could hear the footsteps.   

“Mayu!” She heard her voice.  

“I don’t want to listen.” Mayu crawled under the bed. She was now trying to get hold of her heavy breath.  

“Mayu!” Her mom was at the door. Mayu clenched her lips.   

“Mayu! Dear!” She turned on the light. Mayu never hated that light bulb more than now. She could finally understand the monster.   

The draping bedsheet made sure no one could see under the bed. Mayu could hear her mom calling her all over the house. She came back to her room to see if she was there.   

“Where did she go?” She heard her voice, concerned, she was now calling dad and Sarah. Asking them to look for her.  

Mayu released a sigh of relief. Unclenching her muscles, she moved closer to the monster.  

“I brought some chocolate for you.” She smiled.  

“We can share.” She broke the chocolate bar in half and handed him one,   

I have some coffee candies too.” Mayu reached into her pocket to grab a handful of candies.  

She could now hear her whole family searching for her all over the house. She peeped through the corner. The lights were on. Maybe all lights were on. She stopped peeping. It was better under the bed. Mayu was now unwrapping one of the candies as quietly as possible. She then passed the unwrapped candy to him.  

“I won’t bring melon candies anymore. I don’t like them either.” 

She promised the monster, munching on chocolate.   

Mayu could hear the storm outside. Mom was crying. Dad was yelling at someone. She rested her head on the carpet.   

“We will go out when the lights go off.” She told him. It was dark enough under the bed for her to sleep. She closed her eyes.   

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