When I was a little girl, my mother would always tuck me under my Winnie the Pooh
covers, turn off my lights, and kiss me good night. Once she left every night, I heard strange moan like noises. The depressing moans got louder and louder each night. One night I decided to be courageous and look under the bed. It was dark and cold, all I could see were piles of old toys that I had lost. Suddenly, I saw mysterious green glowing eyes move towards me. A ball of fur rolled out from under the bed; his name was Jay. We both screamed so loud that my dog started barking. Jay explained how there are good monsters and bad monsters. He also, told me that the ones we should truly be afraid of are the ones that hide in the mirror.
From that night on, we stayed up all hours of the night playing hide and go seek, eating candy, and sometimes even watch scary movies. As the years went on, I started to forget about Jay. I would be more preoccupied with cute messages, funny tweets, or artsy pictures on my phone. However, one night my phone fell under my bed; and when I went to look, there was a note from Jay saying that he wishes me well and that he will come back one day. When reading the note I felt as if a piece of my heart was missing. I went on with my life, but I was not the same. I met other monsters along the journey.
One cold rainy night thirty years later, I was doing the same routine my mother did to me when I was a child, to my own children. I tucked them into bed, kissed them goodnight, and turned out the lights. When I walked into to my room, I collapsed onto my bed and the same ball of fur that greeted me as child, appeared. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Jay was sitting right in front of me on cherry wood floor. The empty piece of my heart was filled instantly when I saw him. He asked why I was so shocked to see him. I told him it had been years since we had last seen each other. He told me that he had been keeping a close eye on me throughout my life. He said that watching me grow up was probably one of the hardest things he has ever done. I wanted to tell him everything about my new life as an adult, but then I came back to reality and realized that he had to leave. I thought of what my husband would think or if the kids ever saw, they would all think I am crazy. I told him he had to leave; but he said before he left, he had to give me a message. Jay told me the scary truth. He told me to look in the mirror, and then said that the monsters that hide in the mirror are the ones we should be afraid of. I never understood that when I was younger, but now I understand. We care more about appearance and others’ judgments, rather than being true to ourselves. We stop checking under the bed for monsters once we realize that they are inside of us.