Monstrous Whispers

“Have you seen it?” a woman asked. They were having this conversation huddled in the corner of a small restaurant of a quaint town. This was their normal meeting spot where they would sit all day and talk of all there was to talk about. They would discuss their loud and sometimes rather obnoxious neighbors and their nosy coworkers because they thought themselves the only ones who were allowed to barge into another’s business, a new and rather quickly ending relationship, or even the owner of the restaurant itself!

            “What?” another woman responded, already leaning in to hear the other’s hushed words.

            “The monster!”

            “Do you believe it exists?”

            “Patricia said she saw it one night,” she responded.

            “And just what was Patricia doing up at that time? You know as well as I that she goes to bed early. Her lights all always off before the sun goes down! How would she have seen it?”

            “Everyone’s talked of it and even more have spotted it,” she said. “If I see that thing I’m moving from this town, whether my family’s coming with me or not!”

            “You’d leave your family?” she asked, already filing that piece of information away in her head for a later time. 

            “I’ve heard that it has teeth as big as fingers and eyes that are redder than blood! It has long claws that can cut through a person in an instant and a scar running along its face given to it by one of its previous kills!” she said, ignoring the previous question. “That thing better be made up or we’re all done for!”

            “People say that it resides in the forest. Just stay away from there and this monster won’t touch you.”

***

            The monster looked down at her meager supplies and sighed. She ran a clawed hand along her face, tracing her scar in the process. She’d seen her reflection in the water, and it made her look even more monstrous.  The whole thing had been an accident, she’d been running in the forest when she had tripped and fallen, her face scraping against a fallen branch in the process. It had been rather annoying, having to find a way to clean her face to prevent it from getting infected. She focused her attention on her belongings. She was running out of food and her clothes were quickly turning into old rags. Living in a forest could do that to clean clothes. She was able to get water from a stream nearby if she only didn’t look too closely at the water’s contents. And how she longed for someone to talk to! Long ago, when she was much younger, she’d had a companion to talk with. She remembered the person as being much older and because of that, the man was nearly blind. He’d sit out on his porch at all times of day and night. That was how she first met him. 

            She ran through the backyard of a person’s house, trying her best to stay in the shadows. The lights were off but even so, she couldn’t risk being seen. She’d left her safe space in the forest to try and find food and other necessities. She didn’t spend time at this house for the people living there never left anything outside. Trying to silence her footsteps as much as possible, she ran and jumped over the fence and onto the sidewalk. From there, she ran to the house across the street. She made her way up the person’s driveway and to their garbage bins. She opened it quickly and looked inside. It was usually only trash but sometimes she would find bags of food that had recently expired and empty bottles that she could store water in. This time she found it to be almost completely empty, which was normal since the trash was picked up only yesterday, but still aggravating. 

            She slowly closed the bin and made her way into the person’s backyard. There, sitting on a chain on a porch was an old man even though it was nearly midnight. She noticed that he wasn’t moving and thought of the worst. Was he dead? She crept over to him and tried to see if he was breathing but in the dark it was hard to tell. She crouched down next to him, not knowing what to do. She closed her eyes, deep in thought and when she opened them, he was looking at her. She jumped back in shock and waited for him to yell at her, to hit her and call her a monster. But he didn’t.

            “What are you doing out so late?” he asked her. She peered behind her, trying to decide if it would be easier to run away. She’d probably have to leave this town and find somewhere else to live. She slowly began to inch away from the old man. She stepped back further and further until there was only air under her feet, and she fell from the porch to the ground.

             “Are you alright?” he asked and got up from the chair. He reached out an arm to her. She looked at it, wondering what he was trying to do. Would he attack her? She doubted it because of his age but she couldn’t be certain. “Can you stand?” He retreated his arm when she didn’t move. 

            “I’m fine,” she said, her voice hoarse from disuse. She never talked to herself and because of that, had forgotten what she sounded like. She hated the sound of her voice. It sounded like it belonged to a monster. Now she was thankful that she even knew how to speak. She could remember someone long ago teaching her, but she couldn’t remember who. It had been much too long ago. 

            “Do you need water or anything else for that matter?”

            “Aren’t you scared?” she asked, not even realizing she’d been thinking that until she asked it. 

            “Scared of what?” he asked. “The dark? It doesn’t bother me; I can’t see that well anyway.” So that was why he wasn’t scared of her. He couldn’t even see her. 

            “Never mind,” she said. “I’m sorry for waking you.” She picked herself off the ground and checked for any injuries. When she found that she was fine, albeit a bit dirty, she turned away from him and began to walk away.

            “Please wait,” he said. “I’m usually out here late at night. If you ever wanted to stop by again, you could.” She wasn’t able to respond. He was only being kind to her because he couldn’t see her. If he did, he’d realize that she was a monster and nothing more. So with nothing left to say, she ran.

            After that, for some reason that even she didn’t know, she came back. Not once, but many times. Almost every night she came back to his porch. Some nights he wasn’t there and other times, she didn’t disturb his sleep. But when he was awake, they’d talk. They’d talk about everything and nothing all at once. He’d talk about the books he’d read, and she’d nod along, pretending she even knew how to read. He would never ask about what she was doing out so late or pry deeply into her life. They would talk about the stars in the sky and nature. He would sometimes have food and water for her when she came, and it was the best she’d ever had. For the first time in her life, she’d found a true home. 

            But of course it couldn’t stay the same. At first she could barely notice the changes. They crept up on her. But she saw them, nonetheless. He would sometimes forget things she’d said, and he began to sleep more, sometimes in the middle of a conversation. His breathing had also become much more irregular. She didn’t know what to do to help him. There wasn’t anything she could even do to help. She could only see him at night in the darkness or he would see who she truly was. So she tried her best to ignore the signs and pretend everything was normal. Until the day that everything changed.

            She ran as fast as she could to the man’s house. She always loved their conversations and spent the whole day urging the sun to move quicker across the sky. She burst into his backyard and practically jumped onto his porch. Normally, when he was awake, he’d smile and offer a greeting. Tonight when she came, he flinched. She stepped back, wounded. Had his eyesight gotten better? Had he seen what she truly looked like. She balled her hands into fists, her claws digging deep into her skin. 

            “What is it?” she asked, when he didn’t speak.

            “I’m sorry,” he said, before pausing and taking a long breath. “I’m being moved to a nursing home. My daughter was the one who arranged everything and she’s making me go. I’ve been getting weaker every day and I’m having more trouble taking care of myself.”

            “A nursing home?”

            “It’s a place where people go when they grow old,” he answered. “There will be people to help take care of our daily needs."

            "When do you leave?” she dared to ask.

            “Tomorrow,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation. She felt as if she’d been slapped. No, it was worse than that. It was worse than getting called a monster and it was worse than being chased and beaten. 

            “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

            “I didn’t want you to worry yourself about me,” he said. “And I selfishly wished for our nights to continue on as normal for as long as possible.” She didn’t know how to feel. She felt lost and oh so angry, but it wasn’t really his fault. He was growing older and couldn’t take care of himself anymore, but she wished for life to stay the same. 

            “Okay,” she said softly. “Goodbye.”

            “Wait,” he exclaimed. “You could come and visit if you wanted to.”

            “I can’t,” she spit out and turned away.

            “You could always wear gloves and something to cover your face like a hat and glasses.” 

            She spun around to face him and whispered, “What did you say?”

            “Your appearance,” he said, and gestured to her. “If you didn’t want anyone to know.”

            “You can see me?” she asked. “And you’re not afraid?”

            “No,” he replied. 

            “I’m sorry,” she said, and ran. She knew that it was too dangerous to try and visit him, this was the last time she’d ever see him. She couldn’t stay there, not when somebody had finally accepted her and was leaving her behind. She ran away from the old man, away from the porch they would sit on, and away from the only friend she ever had. 

            She sat on the forest ground with only her memories as her companions. Sometimes it almost seemed like the voices were real. She could almost swear that they were real.

***

            “It’s supposed to be here,” a young boy said. “That’s what dad said.”

            “I’m going to find it and stab it,” another said, holding a large stick and waving it around. 

            “No, I will.”

            “We should split up and look for it,” one suggested. The others gave cheers of agreement and ran in different directions. Inside the forest, the monster lurked. It peered out from behind a tree and watched the children go their separate ways, her darkened eyes tracking their retreating figures.

***

            She pulled an old, tattered hoodie over her head and ran. She hurried out of the forest as quickly as she could. Every few seconds she expected a child’s scream or the poke of a stick at her back, but it never came. Out she ran into the crowded town, tugging at the hoodie to make sure her head was covered. But she had made a rash decision, spurred by fear. Because, of course, a small town would notice when someone new appeared, in clothes like hers especially. Eyes followed her as she walked down the streets as quickly as possible. She practically ran into a crowd to try and escape their gazes. 

            “I’ve heard that the monster’s killed a person,” a voice said as she passed.

            “It’s supposed to have scales and a long tail.”

            “I saw it before, and I swear that it had wings.”

            “It’s evil.”

            “It needs to die.”

            “I’ll kill it.”

            She tried to block out the voices, she really did but it was impossible. Their words echoed over and over again in her mind. Why did they hate her so? She’d never done a thing to hurt them before. She passed by the people as quickly as she could, trying her best not to touch anyone. But then, a body collided with hers, pushing her down.

            “I’m so…” a voice started. “It’s the monster!” At her shriek, everyone turned and looked at the girl lying on the ground. 

            “Look at it’s eyes.”

            “What should we do?”

            “Will it kill us?”

            She let out a cry and leapt from the ground. The people jumped back in fear, and she took that opportunity to run. Her hoodie no longer covered her face and instead flew behind her as her feet hit the pavement. She couldn’t go back to the forest, not even to get her belongings. She would have to leave now while she had the chance. So she ran, knowing that those behind her had started to shout and give chase. She ran, leaving the town behind, realizing that it hadn’t been a home to her at all. When she had raced past all the houses and buildings that made up the town, she turned and looked behind her. The people had stopped running and instead watched as she fled. Even so, she could hear the curses they shouted at her, searing into her heart, never to be forgotten.

***

            “I’ve heard that it’s left town,” the woman said, at their usual table.

            “I was in the crowd that day and I saw that hideous thing!” the other almost shouted. “I only hope it didn’t curse me!”

            “It really isn’t fair; everyone I know is saying that they got to see it while I was stuck at home watching the children.”

            “You should be glad you weren’t there!” she said, and they both lapsed into silence.

            “I’m only glad that there’s no longer a monster living in this town.”

            “Well, I’ve heard some gossip about Patricia recently..."