𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐒 • 𝘚. 𝘎𝘰𝘫𝘰

XXI

„Mom, there are monsters!" you complained and stopped suddenly. You were standing in front of a changing room at the mall. In every single changing cabin was a little monster that watched over the people in there or hopped on their shoulders.

Even when you can't see them, you could feel their presence which sent shivers down your spine. This presence made the air thick and hard to breathe around you. You heard them gurgling and growling, whispering nonsense. And that smell, that smell of rotting flesh.

„Sweetie, there are no monsters!" your mom answered in a slightly aggressive voice and opened one of the curtains to step into a cabin. „And now come in there!"

Inside the cabin, there was a small -not much bigger than a shoe- but ugly-looking monster. The smell caused you to gag slightly and caused such a burning in your eyes that tears were rolling down your cheeks. It had a high-pitched voice that mumbled some inaudible sounds and words.

You haven't moved yet. You were staring at the monster that was jumping around -up and down, left and right- and then stopped to grin cheekily at your mom and you.

Those ugly, scary monsters.

It has been 4 months since you saw them for the first time. 4 months since that small thing sat on your desk in kindergarten and looked at you. 4 months since you had a major tantrum in kindergarten where you threw a glass at one of the caretakers.

At first, your parents thought it was just a phase like every kid had. The monster in the closet or under your bed.

But for you, it wasn't a phase. You saw them everywhere. At home, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, on the side of the road, at shops, in your kindergarten, even at parks and beautiful places like flower fields. Everywhere.

Tantrum after tantrum has followed your life since you saw those monsters for the first time. Outbursts of anger, fear, and frustration crawled through your family.

„Dad, there's a monster in the kitchen sink," you mumbled quietly with dark circles under your eyes. Sleeping has been difficult for you lately. Those monsters didn't only follow you in bright daylight but also when you closed your eyes, in your head.

„Keep your nonsense to yourself." your dad commented and stabbed his fork into his food.

At first, your parents were quite understanding and tried to support you through this phase -which wasn't a phase- but lately, after a while, they were so fed up with it that they reacted merely aggressively towards you.

You sunk your head and tried as best as you could to ignore the ugly creature that wandered through the room. As best as you could, you tried to ignore its presence and smell, and energy.

Suddenly you heard a loud scratch and it jumped right on top of the dinner table. Making the table shake, causing the water inside your glass to vibrate.

The moment it landed, the monster opened its big eyes, and an ugly grin with pointy teeth formed on its mouth. The bad breath made it hard for you to breathe and your eyes started to water.

„Dad!" you pressed out in a broken forced voice.

„Shut up! I told you I don't want to hear anything from it!" your dad responded.

„But..."

„Shut it!"

Suddenly the monster turned around and jumped on your dad's face, trying to suffocate him.

But somehow you knew exactly what its plan was and you jumped right after the monster over the table. Knocking the hot pot down, causing the burning hot broth to spill all over your mom and yourself. She started to scream in pain, cursing you out but the world around you turned quiet.