Finding Monsters (3 page)

I hear the disapproving voice of my f
a
ther. I cling to my mother’s hand in an a
t
tempt to get her to stay. She kisses me again and pats my arm for reassurance before she obeys my father and leaves the room, clo
s
ing the door behind her.

My father is slow in his approach to my bedside. His fe
a
tures remain hidden in the dimness of the room so I am unable to read his face. “You should have come to us, son. You broke the rules.” He is pacing at the foot of the bed now. His hands wring the end of his tunic in a nervous gesture I’ve seen dozens of times.

“I know, father. I’m sorry.” Something in his voice tells me he is not as angry as he should be. I try to push myself into a sitting position. My muscles protest and strain against my e
f
forts. Father rushes in and stops me.

“No, you are not well enough. Don’t try to sit up.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. He rocks me like a child and strokes my back.

“Why am I not dead?” I ask, my voice muffled against his strong shoulder, for I should be dead. F
a
ther is silent for several minutes before he speaks, his voice barely a whisper.

“If your mother and I had not found you in time you would be dead. You broke the rules, son. You should have let the h
u
man child die. Why didn’t you come to us for help?”

My father’s words seep through the fog in my brain. They are like a faint flutter that keeps getting louder and louder. F
i
nally, the meaning rings clear but they can’t be true. “Father, Missy is dead. My human is dead.”

“Your human lives because you live, son.”

I pull back from him and stare. “F
a
ther, I watched her die. I held her for two days in the cemetery until her human body arrived. I carried her  … ” I break off in a choked sob. The pain of losing her is heavy, r
e
stricting my breath. I gulp air as if I’m drowning. Father tries to calm me. He lays me back on my pi
l
low and wipes the hair and tears from my eyes.

“Listen to me, son. When you touched the human child, she became bound to you forever. In the human realm she was stronger because of your strength. Now, because you are back in our world, your power and strength are limited. You are only as strong as she is.”

“Father, I need to see her! She’ll be scared! I need to tell her it’s ok.”

“She is being kept in sleep for now. Once you are rested and feeling stronger, I will take you to her. Please rest now and we’ll talk later.” Father takes a cup from the side table and helps me drink its contents. The thick liquid taste bitter and is pro
b
ably medicinal. I finish the contents without complaint and drift off to sleep even before father lays me back down. I feel his hand squeeze mine before I tumble down into sleep.

I
lie awake in bed remembering her. I go to sleep and I dream about her. I drive my parents nuts every day asking about her. They seem relieved when I am able to get out of bed but are reluctant to let me ve
n
ture out of my room to see her. I sit on my bed as mother grooms my matted hair. She cuts out the ta
n
gles and brushes me until the hair is smooth again.

“Mother, when can I see her?” I am a
n
xious to see Missy. She will be so happy once she wakes up.

“Soon enough. Now, let me trim your horns.” She conti
n
ues to groom as I conti
n
ue my excited chatter. I want to know all that has happened since I went on my first assignment under Missy’s bed. Time stops for me when I’m in the human realm. I’d been with Missy most of her life but to my parents, it seems but an i
n
stant. Mother fields my questions as best she can then quickly finishes up, kissing my temple before leaving the room instructing me to stay. I pace, knowing father will arrive soon and explain matters to me. I don’t have to wait long. He enters my room a few minutes later and motions for me to sit. He takes up my pacing as I watch in silence until he is ready to speak.

“Did your human give you a name?” he asks first.

“Yes, she named me Charlie.” I am proud of my new name. I wonder if father will approve.

“She was never afraid of you, was she? She named you as she would a friend and not like a monster at all.”

“I think she was afraid when she was very young, but not for long. She needed a companion and I was it.” I think back through the years to our brief e
x
changes and how much they must have meant to both of us. How I cherished the sound of her voice and her usual response. I remember the feelings when she didn’t respond. A lump rises in my throat and an unco
n
trolled
shudder
ripples through my body.

“Charlie, the penalty for breaking the rules is why you are weak. Once you touched the human girl, you were bound to her for life. Your strength is now tied to her strength. Bound to a human, you are now as weak as one and limited in abilities. If you were bound to another monster, your strength would have doubled. There is, however, a way for you to regain your strength but it is up to her now. Go to her, Charlie, and wake her. Your energy may i
n
crease once she is awake. We can then make plans to return you to no
r
mal. Your mother will explain the tasks to the girl.”

I nod my understanding, although v
a
gue. Father leads me to the door and opens it for me. As I take a step into the hal
l
way, I feel the sluggishness in my muscles again. Father aids me to a room two doors down from mine. Before I enter, I turn back to him.

“How do I wake her?”

“She will awaken with your presence. Do not try to co
n
ceal your true form from her, you are too weak for that, and she needs to see you for what you truly are,” he says.

I nod. I feel nervous now and scared she may reject me for what I am, a monster. My father reads my hesitance and offers me a pat on the shoulder.

“Trust your friendship, Charlie. Go on.”

My shaking hand has trouble gripping the handle, but I finally manage to get i
n
side. There is a chair by the door and I sit as I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Missy’s room is similar to my own. The stone walls keep the room quiet. Ta
p
estries hang b
e
hind her bed and near the window. Over her bed hangs a sheer white canopy and the heavy drapes on the wi
n
dow keep out light. Then I hear the light rustle of her be
d
ding. Missy stirs fitfully as she becomes more awake at my presence. I feel her apprehe
n
sion before she voices it.

“Don’t be afraid, Missy, you’re safe.”

She is motionless for a second then she says, “Charlie!” through a sigh of extreme relief. “Where are we, are we dead now?”

“We are alive, Missy.”

“How?”

“My parents found us and brought us back to my world. I woke up a few days ago, but I was as shocked as you are.”

“Come to me, Charlie.”

Her plea increases my fear. “I’m a monster, Missy. I don’t want to frighten you. I’m not a butterfly or a human; I’m  …  I’m ugly.”

“Please come to me.” She reaches out her hand to me, and I have to go to her. Leaving my chair, I slowly make my way to her bedside. She pats the bed and I sit, still hidden in the dar
k
ness of the room. She reaches for me again and I give her my hand. She holds my hand with both of hers, caressing it tende
r
ly. “I’m not afraid of you,” she says as her hands roam up my arms and over my tunic. Her hands find the hair surroun
d
ing my face and she runs her fingers through it.

“Your hair is thick and course but not matted or tangled.”

“Thank my mother for that. She brushed me for an hour this morning.”

Missy laughs at this. She then pulls her hands away from my chest and tries to push herself up into a sitting position. I imm
e
diately stop her.

“No, don’t try to move much. You will need more rest.” I cover her again with the blankets, much as my father did to me.

Her hands search out for me again. Now that I am closer, they seek out my face. I close my eyes and lead her hands to my hairy cheeks. Her small fingers tickle as they brush over my snout. She pulls my face closer and continues to probe. She touches my brow and runs her fingers lightly across my lips. She tugs lightly on the hairs on my chin and chuckles. Missy’s little fingers then find their way to my ears and horns. She rubs my lobes between two fingers and I make a small snort of d
e
light.

“I guess you like that,” she says with a smile in her voice. “Pull the curtains, Cha
r
lie, I want to see you.” I pull her hands from my ears and kiss her as tenderly as I can. Reluctance again slows my movements but I cannot deny her. I move toward the curtains and with my back to her, I pull them apart to let in the daylight. I stare out at nothing in particular for several minutes. Her patient silence encourages me to turn around. I lower my head and slowly turn to face her. She doesn’t gasp or make any sound at all. I raise my head to meet her gaze. Her perfect smile is waiting for me, and her arms are outstretched toward me. I walk back to her and sit on the bed again. She wordlessly moves her hands to my face and runs her fingers through the hair su
r
rounding it.

“Hold me, Charlie,” she whispers. I pull her to my chest with great care and hold my human. I stroke her back and run my fingers through her hair. She starts to cry softly, making me damp with her tears.

“You are not a monster, Charlie, and you will never be u
g
ly to me. I will always love you.” I nuzzle her softly with my nose and inhale the scent of her. “Besides,” she continues, “I always thought yaks were cute.”

I pull back from her and frown. “I’m a bull,” I say as I see the smile in her eyes spread across her face.

“I know,” she laughs.

I lay her back down and tuck her in again. “You need to rest now, my love.” I get up from the bed and pull the drapes closed again.

“Stay with me, Charlie.” I hear her soft voice from across the room. I retrieve the chair and sit beside her bed. I hold her hand, and within minutes, she is asleep again. I smile as I watch my human sleep. I watch for hours. I will watch her forever.

M
other finds me asleep in Missy’s room close to midnight. I am still holding her hand when Mother wakes me and sends me away to rest. I protest in hushed tones until I find myself in the hallway. Our living qua
r
ters are dark. I make my way to my room and lie down. My mind cannot shut off as I remember my human’s touch, smell, and smile. So many que
s
tions cloud my brain until I cannot contain them all. Breaking into laughter, I jump from my bed, and whirl around my room with nervous energy. I cannot sleep now. I creep from my room and down toward the cooking fires. The room is warm and filled with the scent of roasting game. A young, mouse-like servant sees me enter and points to an empty table near the fire. He quickly cuts large slabs of meat from the ca
r
cass and sets it before me with a large loaf of warm bread and a drink. The rest of the room’s occupants are obviously hunters. I watch as they skin their kill and present them to the head cook. The old bull exa
m
ines each and instructs the younger ones what should be done with them. Salt this one, roast that one, the sorting co
n
tinues. I eat in silence, watching the exchanges. Once my belly is full, I find that I am tired. I thank the servant and make my way back to my room. Before getting into bed, I walk toward the drapes and pull them open. The sky outside is clou
d
less and each star rivals their neighbor for attention. Many twinkle and blink while a few streak across the sky in a showy display of brilliance. I look at their loc
a
tion and realize it will be morning in a few hours. I want to wake early to visit my human again. I pull the drapes and make my way to my bed. I crawl in, smiling as I drift off.

My days with Missy are wonderful. I wake early and we have breakfast in her room. She is fond of our fruits, and I make it a point to bring her fresh berries each morning. I laugh when she has to hold one with both hands to take a bite. Smi
l
ing as the juices drip down her chin, she tells me their flavor reminds her of grapes even though they are the size of som
e
thing called a football. The football didn’t sound too a
p
pealing to eat when she described it to me, so I’m glad they don’t grow in our world.