Midnight Snack with A Monster
Tremira Mitchell
It was soon to be 2 am and Claire still hadn’t started her essay. It was to be submitted in a few more days and yet Claire decided to slack off instead of starting it last week. She cursed herself for being so lazy; it just wasn’t like her at all. She read over the prompt again from the assignment page before switching back to the still-blank Word document.
Damn it, what the hell am I supposed to write for this? I’ve written critical analysis essays before so…why can’t I now?!
Claire grunted, slamming her fists on the keyboard. Hot tears of frustration began to pool up in her eyes whilst she continued to curse herself out. She hated having burnout, especially when it came to schoolwork. But, she couldn’t afford to just quit now; something had to be done.
She slowly raised her head and stared back at her dreadful expression reflecting on the bright computer screen. Her moment of sulking was soon interrupted by the rumble of her stomach.
I know I told myself to stop doing this. But…just one quick snack couldn’t hurt.
With that, Claire hoisted herself out of her chair and quietly descended downstairs, cautious as to not wake up anyone. Especially him…
“All right, now what’s on today’s midnight menu, Claire?”, she asked herself as she opened the fridge. Wrapped in plastic wrap was a large pretzel. Well, only half of it as her sister stole a section of it. That seemed fine and simple enough, plus a warm cup of milk to wash it down.
While Claire was preparing her snack, she felt an odd shiver crawl up her spine. She just ignored it before setting her snack down on the table. While she pulled the milk carton out of the fridge, Claire’s eyes landed on several containers filled with food. Ramen, buffalo wings, leftover kale salad, cheesecake.
“Well, I suppose more than just a pretzel couldn’t hurt. Besides, I didn’t eat much for lunch anyways,” Claire shrugged as she pulled out a plate from the cupboard.
Several minutes later, Claire finally sat down at the brightly lit dining room table with a plate full of steaming food. Her mouth couldn’t but water as the savory smell waved below her nostrils. Extremely eager, she grabbed her fork and started diving into the plate. Before Claire could get a chance to take a bite, there again was that odd chill. And then that familiar presence.
“Claire, I thought we talked about this,” sounded out a deep, song-like voice. Standing right behind the young woman was a monstrous being beyond anyone’s imagine. It had the long eyes of a ghost crab and teeth of a shark. Protruding from its tall, slender body was four arms with long talons and a forever spinning tornado for legs.
“Klis, please leave me alone,” Claire rumbled, ignoring his comments while she ate her food before it got cold.
Claire can’t exactly recall when Klis first came into her life. She briefly has memories of some vision of him back when she was a child. So, most likely her version of the “monster of the bed”. As she grew older, those dreams faded away for a short while. It wasn’t until Claire started high school and later college that the creature-who eventually bared the name Klis-returned. As he was a figment of Claire’s imagination, no one else could see it but her. People can avoid Claire for always “talking to herself” and her parents even wondered if she needed to see a physiatrist.
She found it annoying at first. But, as time passed, she began to care less about her new monstrous friend. Besides, it was nice to have some company as she didn’t have many friends growing up.
Claire rolled her eyes and continued eating. Before she could bring the next morsel of food to her mouth, Klis used his wind power to blow the fork out of her hand.
“Klis, what the hell?!,” Claire snarled, practically jumping out her seat. A deep sigh slipped through the monster’s lips as he gently set the fork back on the table.
“This has really become a bad habit of yours, you know.”
“You wouldn’t understand. You don’t even need to eat to survive!”
“Of course, I understand. Because I get you, Claire. Whenever you stay up late, you tend to go downstairs to eat something. I’ve overheard your mother’s concerns about you putting on weight and-”
Frustrated, Claire kicked her chair and faced the monster.
“To hell with her concerns! She’s just trying to embarrass me! Why is she so worried about me gaining a couple pounds? If anything, she’s the one who needs to go to the gym! I don’t need her help!”
“Your mother just wants to prevent you from getting overweight, is all. But not only is your eating habit getting out of control, so is your lack of sleep! No wonder you’re always dozing off in class.”
“And this concerns you why? You don’t even go to school! You have no idea what kind of hell I have to go through!”
Visibly not in the mood, Claire began walking out of the dining room before she started crying again. Klis sighed again before quietly putting away the remaining food on the table. He then slowly and quietly followed behind his human companion.
“Do you want to know why I came back? After all of these years?”, the monster questioned after a long uncomfortable silence. Claire rolled her eyes as she walked over to the couch and sat down. She didn’t want to admit it out loud, but the breeze blowing from Klis’ hurricane body calmed her.
“I...I have no idea. I'm stumped. Hit me with the truth,” she replied with a shrug, moving her dark hair out of her face.
“Us imaginary creatures-as you call them-spawn from a young child’s imagination, hence the name. As time passes, children tend to move on from and focus on more important matters in life. It’s saddening, but I know that you all can’t be lost in your own imaginations forever. But you Claire...you’re different.”
“How so? You know, people tend to use the word “different” very loosely nowadays. I just hope you mean what you’re about to say this time around.”, Claire scoffed, Klis chuckled at her sass.
“Trust me, I do. I could sense your longing to have a friend. Someone to talk to. You had so many thoughts, yet you kept yourself closed in. Your loneliness led me to you, Claire; I’ve never been more grateful to be remembered. Many of us don’t get chances like this.”
Claire felt her heart start to sink at her monstrous friend’s words. She herself found it very hard to move on from her childhood. Throughout her childhood, Claire’s family moved around a lot, and she always struggled socially at school. It also didn’t help that she was an only child, so Claire was often very lonely at home.
“I just wish it wasn’t so hard...So hard to find someone out there to connect with. I wish it wasn’t so hard for me to make friends. I just want someone who understands me...”
Klis gasped as Claire practically slammed her head against his chest, tears spilling onto her cheeks. Being careful not to scratch her, he gently wrapped two of his arms around the sobbing girl whilst his free ones gently combed through her hair.
“Shhh, Claire. I hate seeing you in pain like this. I can assure you that I won’t be going anywhere. Not now or ever. I promise you that I will never leave your side again”, the monster quietly whispered, rubbing her back as she whimpered.
A few minutes passed and Claire finally calmed down. Although she wanted to move her head away from Klis’ chest, she didn’t have the energy to. The warmth from her chest made her forget about her worries; perhaps it was also because she was also getting drowsy.
“Tell you what, you go get your rest and I’ll help you tackle this essay business in the morning. But a little warning ahead of time: I have no clue how to write an essay.”
The message from Klis made Claire chuckle as he scooped her up into her arms. Claire’s eyes began to flutter as she was gently rocked like a small child.
Perhaps Claire was right not to have given up on her childhood. Even if people called her strange for her mannerisms, she could care less about it anymore. Because if there’s one thing that her childhood offered her was a wonderful friendship that will last forever.
