Janie's A Monster Under My Monster: A Short Story

The monster hadn’t always been there, under the bed. Or maybe it had been. Janie hadn’t noticed its presence immediately. It had only come around at night, when the four year old was fast asleep, protected by the soft embrace of dreamland and the warm wool of her lilac covers. Even if those two forms of safety had failed to do their job, her mother would take their place. Janie knew she would. She always would, Janie’s Mama Bear. Her mother would never have let her Sweetpea be harmed by the beast who had lurked angrily beneath the bed. But when Janie first heard the monster, she never knew of this.
The four year old was roused from her sleep too early, she knew, for it to be school time. The moon was still out, full, and illuminating her bedroom in a soft, near eerie glow. Light pink walls seemed …show more content…
The delectable scent of blueberry pancakes filled Janie’s nose. At the kitchen table her father was sipping his coffee. He took it black. Sunlight filtered through the sheer eggshell curtains, revealing the bloodshot and sunken eyes belonging to her father.
“Mommy! Daddy! There’s a monster under my bed! It was growling and it wanted to hurt me and I was so scared and-”
Her father sighed before speaking,“There are no monsters under your bed.” He stood up to his full height, setting his coffee aside. The white ceramic of the mug clinked softly against the silver spoon laid delicately on the worn table. He straightened his grey silken tie before walking over to Janie and ruffling her curly hair. Janie pouted. “Monsters don’t exist. You’ll realize this when you’re older. Now, I’ll be home at 8 o’clock. Overtime again.”
Janie’s father was making his way to the door when her mother called out softly,“Have a nice day at work. Dinner will be ready when you come home.”
There was a disgruntled mutter before the sound of the front door closing could be heard throughout the home. Just a regular