This is a short story I wrote last year for a writing competition. It wasn't chosen in the competition, but I thought I would share it with you:
The Mother, hunched over a stack of papers, sighed. She had been trying to sort through the bills for hours and the numbers were blending together. Additionally, she had just been laid off work. She lowered her head onto folded arms, weary of the hard world, then sat up suddenly, startled by a cry from The Child's bedroom. She rose and padded through the hallway into his room.
There sat The Child, sheets tangled around his small form, hair tussled with sleep. He blinked tearfully at The Mother.
“There is a horrible beast under my bed. I'm frightened,” whimpered The Child.
The Mother was silent for a moment, tempted to tell the child that it was nonsense, that there was no such thing as a beast under the bed. She opened her mouth to say so, but the words that came out surprised her.
“I once knew a little girl who also saw a terrifying creature living under her bed. She, too, told her mother, but her mother didn't believe her. So the girl had to seek out the Faery King for help.” The Mother stopped there, surprised at herself. The words she had spoken were not her own.
The Child looked up, eyes bright with wonder. “The Faery King?”
The Mother hesitated, then, warming to the tale, continued.
“Yes, child. The Faery King lives far away in an old hollow oak tree. Only young children can see him, for they are the only ones who know his magic is real.”
“His magic?” breathed The Child in awe.
The Mother smiled at The Child and shifted her weight, folding her legs underneath her and nestling into the soft bedding beside him.
“The Faery King banishes frightening beasts from the human world. His tree is magic – anyone who enters will be taken down a long, sloping stairway leading into his kingdom. Now, the little girl knew just where the Faery King's oak was, for he had shown her in a dream. She traveled four days and four nights before she arrived. Once there, she stepped into the hollow of the oak and rapped on the wood. On the fourth knock, the wooden floor opened beneath her and a long staircase was revealed. She gathered her courage around her, pulling it tight across her shoulders, and started to walk. Once down the steps, the girl passed through a dark forest. She walked through the forest and, on the fifth morning of walking, saw the Faery King seated on his thrown. She curtseyed before him, then stepped forward and whispered in his ear of her plight. The King nodded, then whispered to her in return. The girl considered his words, nodded, then turned and walked back through the forest, up the steps, out of the hollow oak tree, and back to her bedroom. She stood in the doorway for a moment, once again gathering her courage close. Then, she dropped to her knees, pushed her face under the bed, opened her mouth wide, and screamed for minutes on end, eyes screwed shut. Once her voice was spent, she opened her eyes. There was nothing under the bed. With the Faery King's help, she had banished the monster. The Faery King was wise, you see, and he knew that the only way to be rid of the beast forever was to frighten it more than it frightened the girl.”
The Child sat for a moment, deep in thought, then turned to The Mother.
“Will you help me?”
The Mother smiled down at The Child and nodded.
Together the two knelt onto bent knees, forced their heads under the bed, opened their mouths, and released their most ghastly screams. The Mother felt The Child's hand grip hers as he opened his eyes, then heard his delighted gasp.
“The Faery King was right!” cried The Child. “The beast has gone!”
The Child stood and hugged The Mother. She tucked him snugly back under the covers, whispered a good night, and slowly shut the door.
As she walked back to the files awaiting her on the desk, The Mother realized that the desperation she had felt minutes before was gone, replaced with a sense of purpose and strength. She felt rejuvenated. She sat back at the table, wondering where the story she had told had come from. She had never been one for magic, never told her child any such nonsense before. Why, she wondered, was she so affected by it? Could it be that there really was such a thing as magic? She shook her head, silently chastising herself, and resumed working.
She never noticed the pair of eyes watching her, bright with mischief and merriment, from outside the kitchen window. She never saw the Faery King, pleased with his night's work, climb down from her balcony and disappear into the night.
