Where the Monsters Lived

Of nightmares and terrible realities

Photo by Arno Senoner on Unsplash

A recurring dream from my childhood was the one where I could hear a large presence in the hallway.

Then, it would be at the door — tall, with scales, yellow-fire eyes.

I’d stand in bed and watch it slowly walk toward me — then pick me up.

I’d usually wake up before I saw much else. Sometimes, I’d get out of bed and try to sneak to my parents’ bedroom. Most times, I just laid there — still as possible.

The thing is, the daytime wasn’t much better.

There were very real things to be afraid of —

While being locked out of my house repeatedly was unfortunate, it was probably better than being present for whatever was happening inside while my sister and I were gone.

I Was Sent Outside to Water the House

We weren’t sure exactly what Mom was doing in the house, but she made it clear we were to leave after breakfast and not be home until dinner time and we had to figure out lunch on our own.

One thing we knew for sure was…