Monster Under the Bed

Sam knew the monster under his bed was real. He always knew. He had always felt it's presence, but for the past two nights, he heard it too. A terrible scratching noise, like a claw, running up and down the underside of his bed frame. It started the night his mom stopped checking under his bed. This scratching terrified poor Sam. For the past two nights, the vibrations on his spine paralyzed him. He couldn't even move his arms to wipe the tears running down the sides of his cheeks. On this third night though, Sam was brave; brave enough to try and speak to it.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sam mumbled softly. As soon as he spoke, the scratching stopped. Sam tightly shut his eyes as he felt a whisper on his ear.

"Because I like you Sam"

"why have you been hiding under my bed?".

"I'm scared." The voice of the creature trembled even more than the little boy's. "The world is very dark for me Sam, but I can see the kindness in people. It looks like light to me. Some people are brighter or darker than others, but you Sam, are one of the brightest ones." After a pause, the creature spoke again, "I don't like the dark... please don't make me go."

Sam wiped away the tears on his face and slowly opened his eyes to look. It was smaller than he imagined it would be, in fact, it was a little bit smaller than him. The thing that had been hiding under Sam's bed all this time looked at the boy and smiled. Innocent little Sam gave a smile back, but his smile faded back to a frown as a thought occurred to him.

"Why have you been scratching at my bed?"

The creature looked troubled. He ignored the boy's question and asked his own.

"Sam where did your dad go?"

"Mommy said he had to go away on business"

"I've been trying to warn you Sam. That's why I've been scratching at your bed", The creature sounded like it could be crying. "Two nights ago your mother's light went out."