Afraid of the Dark

I am afraid of the dark. I cannot go to bed unless Mommy comes in and turns on all of the lights in my bedroom and checks under my bed, in my closet, behind my dollhouse. She has to open every drawer and check behind the blinds ’cause every night I hear the monsters come out and dance in my bedroom. They usually keep me awake, but sometimes they don’t come until after I’ve gone to sleep. And then they wake me up and I have to sit and hug Bear until they stop. I don’t like the way they dance.

I am afraid of the dark. I don’t know what the monsters look like, but I know they are there ’cause I can squint really hard and see their outlines. And when I close my eyes, my brain colors, in the lines, mostly, and I can see their shapes. I always open my eyes before I can really tell what they look like because I don’t like them and I am afraid of them. They only come out at night.

I am afraid of the dark. Mommy and Daddy say that I will grow out of it, but i don’t know if I ever will. I will take Bear with me when I grow up and go to college or princess school or mommy school and I can hug him whenever I am scared. I don’t think they allow monsters in princess school, but maybe they can sneak in when the lights are all off and dance at the edge of my bed. But Bear will be there to save me.

I hear Mommy talking to Daddy and they talk about how I am too old to be afraid of the dark, but they don’t know what it’s like, to be in the dark. They probably sleep with a light on. Sometimes they give me pills to help me sleep and not be scared, but they are hard to swallow and I don’t like them because when I go to sleep, I don’t dream. And sometimes I dream bout princess school but not when I take the sleeping pills, so I don’t like to take them. I would rather have to watch the monsters dance.

Some days I fall asleep because I am so tired from playing in the yard all day or playing with my Barbies or playing school or playing store that I fall asleep without even hearing the monsters. But most days, they come out of my closet, I think, and they dance and dance. Some nights I wake up crying and begging them to stop their dancing so I can go to sleep.

I am afraid of the dark.