April was a beautiful little girl. Her long blonde hair spread out on
her pillow like a halo from some fourteenth century fresco. And her eyes, green puddles,
huge liquid emeralds, always wide open, always watching. Watching the monster in the
corner, that hid in the daylight, in the form of a rocking chair and doll. Watching their
shadows on the wall, as they scurried across the lawn every time a car approached. She
knew their games. Her mother had always told her there was nothing to be afraid of:
"There's nothing in the dark that isn't in the light."
But how did she know? She never stayed. She always shut off the light
and left, shut April off from their world, and shut the door. Her mother had never heard
them, scratching at the window trying to get in, or felt them, peering out of the closet.
Hadn't the door been closed before? She'd never smelled them under the bed, that thick,
choking, dusty smell that was fear and death.
April knew she couldn't make it through the night alone. She was already
starting to nod off. She knew if she fell asleep, they would have her. Sometime in her
sleep, they would take her. Sometime, in the dark.
She only had one chance. She had to turn on the light. But how? She knew she couldn't
reach it from her bed. And she didn't dare put her feet on the floor. Maybe she could
jump. Yeah! She could jump from her bed and hit the switch, and when she landed, the light
would be on. She crawled to the foot of her bed, poised herself on the edge, like a cat
ready to pounce, and leaped. She stretched out her hand, she reached for the switch, as
she almost had it. A hand flashed from under the bed, grabbed her by the ankle, and jerked
her to the floor.
Her fingernails dug into the carpet. She tried to scream but it stuck in her throat.
And her beautiful green eyes filled with tears.
It was dark.
© 2003 R K Puma
rk@rkpuma.com
HOME Menu
April
was afraid of the dark, not just afraid, but utterly petrified, beyond tears or screaming,
swallowed up in her own silent dungeon. They were out there. And though she had never seen
them, she knew they were out there-- watching, waiting, somewhere in the dark.