Rawrz

Emma stood in her kitchen. Confusion was battling with anger which was battling with frustration. She had just wanted a cup of coffee before starting to make breakfast. The lack of caffeine wasn’t helping her mood, but confusion was winning, for now. Both the stove and the sink were still spotless from her thorough clean the previous evening, a small blessing and in stark contrast to the rest of the kitchen. The freezer door hung open – matching the fridge door next to it – and water dripped into a growing puddle on the beige tiled floor. A collage of vegetables was strewn across what had been a clean floor and granite countertops. There were carrots with chunks gone from one or two bites, a few stems of broccoli missing their heads, several sticks of celery with multiple tooth marks, and half an onion which looked like it had been bitten like an apple. Several pieces of bread had been eaten, which was obvious to Emma by the leftover crusts that adorned the collage of vegetables and the half-empty bread bag in a corner. The peanut butter was on its side; a single large spoon stuck inside what little was left. The jelly had no lid but was at least up right, although it had obviously been used. It had been a new jar yesterday but now bordered on empty. 

“Hey babe—” The warm greeting fell silent as Eddy bore witness to the disaster that Emma stood over. “What happened?” Emma turned to face Eddy as he emerged from the hall behind her. Her dark brown eyes flashed a questioning glare in his direction. Eddy was quick to shake his head. “Nope. This wasn’t me. It is like a bear came through here.”

Emma had to agree. The bear comment startled her out of her shock and she moved hurriedly to the front door, making sure it was still closed and locked. Eddy followed her cue and checked the back door, then they both checked that the windows were secure and whole. With no other options, Eddy had to smile. “Seems like the call is coming from inside the house.”

Emma didn’t respond. She gave the mess one last survey and tightened the sash of her faded blue nightgown around her waist. Eddy knew what was coming before she finished crossing her arms over her chest and shouting, “Sam! I need you to come downstairs!” Eddy tried to match her scowl as he heard the thudding steps of the five-year-old come running down the hall. Sam passed by the first split into the kitchen and rounded the corner to the living room, before sliding to a halt at the island dividing the kitchen and living room. 

There was a bit of fumbling, but Sam managed to scale the bar stool, he liked feeling as tall as his parents. With a big smile of tiny teeth and seemingly oblivious to the chaos before him he greeted each parent, holding his arms out for hugs.

“Before we get distracted saying ‘good morning.’ Can you explain this?” Emma motioned to the disorder all about her.

“Oh, I told Rawrz to put that stuff away and clean up, but he didn’t really listen to me and even after he wasn’t hangry he was still scary.” Eddy and Emma exchanged confused looks but Sam seemed pleased with his response, as though it were a completely rational one.

“Who is Rawrz?” Emma finally asked, having no other real response to her son’s answer.

“He is the monster under my bed.” Sam raised his eyebrows and spoke as though his reply were obvious, feeling like his parents should know that already.

“Okay, well I am going to have to have a talk with Rawrz. For now, you will need to help me clean it up. You know where the broom is.” Sam nodded and jumped down from the bar stool, running back down the hall towards the garage and the small rack where they kept the broom, mop, and dustpan.

“We aren’t going to address the fact that the monster under his bed gets hangry? Or that it doesn’t exist?” Eddy waited for Sam to be out of earshot before he asked his question, keeping an eye on the kid down the hall in case he needed assistance. Emma pointed to the previously unopened jar of jam. Eddy responded with a confused shrug. She put the celery and carrot on the table, motioning to the huge bite marks. 

“Sam’s teeth can’t handle those. At least not those big bites, not to mention the onion. You think he wanted a midnight snack and went for vegetables? I don’t know what else it could be.”

Eddy nodded. She certainly wasn’t wrong, but this opened up so many more questions. He finally settled on one. “Think there is a monster under our bed?”