Sammie stared out the window—he sat as still as a statue. Thoughts of the dark wall creatures oozing out of the cracks were unbearable. The rocking horse glared at him, and the teddy bear waited to crawl toward him. Toys that once gave him joy and happiness threatened to destroy him if he didn’t allow them to access the rest of the house.

Fear for his parents’ safety weighed on his eight-year-old soul. What about his baby sister who slept in the next room—how can he protect her? Sammie’s parents didn’t believe him when he told them of the wall creatures.

“It’s just a bad dream,” his mom told him. She never believed in ghosts or monsters. She called it hogwash and silliness. His dad couldn’t be bothered with the “nonsense.”

They’re going to be sorry they didn’t believe me, he thought. Every time he threw out the bear and the horse, his parents scolded him and brought them back.

Sammie always protested. “But, the wall creatures are inside them.”

“There’s no such thing as wall creatures,” his mom would scream.

“You will believe me when they do something bad to you,” he yelled back to her. Sammie often wished that the wall creatures would show themselves to his parents. He wondered why they hadn’t done so.

Tonight’s full moon illuminated his room. He breathed deep, inhaling thick stale air. With a horrific event brewing in the night air, Sammie watched the hair on his arms stand straight—goosebumps formed on his forearms. It’s happening tonight.

A grayish-black shadow seeped out a crack in the wall; the bedroom door opened. The figure slunk down the hallway—and the teddy bear followed with a growl. Sammie jumped up and started to run toward the door, but it slammed shut. He tried to open it—it wouldn’t open.

He heard his mother’s screams and his father’s yells of terror. Then all went silent.

Sammie opened the door and tiptoed to his parent’s room. Then, standing in the doorway, he whispered, “Believe me now?”

Featured image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixaby.