old children's story I wrote years ago

I never got around to making pictures I liked to go with it, so here it is.

 

Whump!

 

Deep, deep under the bed does there lurk a monster?

Are the stories true about what lies in the dark?

Is there much to fear from what can not be seen?

 

Here I lie in bed.  My blankets are all around me.

The shadows are cast from the hallway lights.

I can hardly see them through the darkness.

 

Nighttime is a very scary time for me.  I don't like the dark.

I cannot say that I fear it.  I just don't like not seeing.

I wait here, trying to be tired enough to sleep.

 

Why would the people who love me leave me here?

Don't they know what happens when the lights go off?

Do they sleep with their lights on?

 

Maybe I should sneak out and ask to sleep with them.

As I remove the covers I hear a noise.  Is it real?

I wait to hear it again.

 

I wait and wait more.  The sound does not come back.

Wanting more and more to leave the dark, I move again.

The noise comes back.

Whump!

 

Oh, what a bad noise; so loud and so clear.

Oh, what if a monster is here.  Does it hear me?

Does it know where I am?  I look at the closet.

It is closed.  The sound returns.

Whump!

 

Scared now, I look left and right.

Will I make it through the night?  The curtains are closed.

The closet is too.  There is just one thing to do.

I… must… look under… my… bed.

 

Slowly I lean over the side, holding tightly to the edge.

My heavy breathing is sure to wake it, but I can't help it.

I lean farther downward.  My hair hangs down.

 

My head is heavy.  My hair is touching the ground.

I grit my teeth.  My eyes are tightly closed.

I take a deep breath and open my eyes.

 

Whump!

Whump!  Whump!  Whump!  Whump!  Whump!  Whump!  Whump!  Whump!

 

I fall off the bed making a terrible noise myself.

Thump!

I see eyes.  I hear it breathe.  I scurry away.

 

The monster leaps out from under the bed.

Oh, how can it be that I am here like this?

The monster pounces on me.  I can smell it now.

I know this monster.   I know what it wants.

 

My puppy lies on top of me and kisses me.

His tail is wagging so fast I nearly rock back and forth.

The "whump" happens again.  His tail is hitting the door.

How foolish I feel.  Thankfully nobody knows.

 

My puppy doesn't care.  He's happy with me.

Perhaps the night isn't so scary.

Maybe noises aren't always what they seem to be.

 

I hop into bed and my puppy jumps in too.

Although he isn't supposed to be there, I don't mind.

We cuddle together and quickly fall asleep.

 

The only noise that I can hear, I can also feel.

My puppy's happy heart beats to his dreams.

My heart thumps too, holding my puppy; my friend.