The Night, Cold

The night, cold.

The blanket, warm.

The bed, comfortable.

The sleep pants, scratchy.

The pillow, soft. No, the pillow, hard.

The ability to sleep, impossible.

The time, 2:43 p.m.

The event, every night.

The event, the same time.

The window, locked.

The glass, reinforced.

The gun next to the bed, loaded.

The monster, outside.

The monsters fangs, enormous and stained.

The monsters eyes, yellow.

The monsters fur, black.

The monsters claws, long.

The fear inside me, in my throat.

The monster, growling softly.

The monsters claws, scratching the window softly.

The window, screaming.

The monster, silent.

The moon, missing.

The monster, calculating.

The victim, me.

The victim, frightened.

The window, suddenly unlocked.

The window, suddenly opened.

The monster, in my room.

The gun, on the other side of the room.

The monster, tall.

The victim, small.

The monster, roaring.

The victim, standing.

The monster, ready to pounce.

The victim, fearless.

The monster, attacks.

***

The morning, arriving.

The time, passed.

The neighbor, worried.

The police, called.

The police, arrived.

The police, investigate.

The victim, dead.

The victim, depressed.

The victim, suicidal.

The pictures on the wall, of a monster.

The monsters fangs, enormous and stained.

The monsters eyes, yellow.

The monsters fur, black.

The monsters claws, long.

The caption on every picture, death.

The victim, tormented by nightmares.

The victim, unable to cope.

The cause of death, suicide.

The case, closed.

The skeptic neighbor, unsure of result.

The neighbor and the victim, friends since childhood.

The single piece of evidence, uncovered at crime scene.

The evidence, fur.

The fur, black.

The victim, no pets.

The monster, real?