Indonesia
The Monster Under My Bed
Brian is having hard times to sleep lately. Mom says he’s a big boy now and the bed in their room is too small for three; Mom, Dad and Brian. “So you should have your own bed, Big Boy,” said Mom last Wednesday. Mom also convinced him that to have own bed is more fun for a brave kid like him. Brian must be a brave one because there’s really nothing to be afraid of. But actually Brian doesn’t want to be a big and brave boy – if that means he must sleep alone every night until he has a wife.
The first night in his bedroom, Brian feels really alone. Mom and Dad are only two meters away, but there’s something makes him uneasy. It seems like he’s being watched by God knows who, waiting for him to fall asleep. And when he does, something weird will happen. Mom always tells him that there’s no such things as ghost, and monsters exist in fairy tales only. But what if Joe Peragino is right? Joe is his classmate who claims to have caught a monster in act. What if monsters really appear at night, when there’s nobody around, like Joe says?
The first night, Brian sleeps after counting sheep in his head to 560 sheep. The second night, he tries to count the sheep again. But on 113, the sheep turn into something horrible. Their fur turns blue and their eyes pop out and become glowing red like flames, with their tongues sweeping to their legs. Brian assumes that he is having a nightmare. But no matter how hard he tries to wake up, he can’t move his body. Brian wants to scream but he can’t move his mouth too.
Eventually he can’t do anything, watching the sheep turns into monsters and wandering around looking for something, or someone. Brian is scared to the bone, thinking the monster must be looking for him to eat. He is struggling to get deeper under the blanket, when it suddenly opens with a very familiar voice. “Wake up! It’s not Sunday. Wake up now or you’ll be late to school again!” said Mom. Brian jumps on his feet, very relieved that he can move again. But he get cold feet when spotting some blue fur scatter around his bed…
HAFIDA INDRAWATI
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTOS
