RAIN

The heavy raindrops kept on falling nonstop.

They would hammer the neighbourhood´s many roofs ceaselessly, with an eerie stubborness that only Mother Nature herself could be proud of.

The rain had in fact become so bad that Layla could not see anything when she tried to look through the window. Not that the streets of the small suburb offered an engaging view, since no group of kids would come down the block riding their bikes at this late hour (especially not in the middle of that storm). The foggy windows didn´t bother the girl so much, but the loud thunderbolts kept scaring her through the night.

It wasn´t fair for a young girl to be home alone in a rainy night such as this. Her parents had picked the worst night possible to go on a dinner date, and there was no nanny available. Well, to be fair, Layla was the one who had insisted she didn´t need someone to keep her company. She wasn´t a kid anymore (she was almost 13, mind you!), but dark nights like this one had a bizarre way to make her feel like she was 6 again. The girl was living through a weird phase where she still liked to climb on trees and play hide and seek, but boys had stopped being annoying and disgusting. Some even made her laugh and blush, it was so weird.

Layla had put up her light brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing the light blue pajamas her mother had picked for her last month. She had yet to develop a sense for fashion, but she thought it was cute and liked to wear it on cold nights. The raging sound of thunder made she get away from the window at once, as she got back to her bed and embraced the old, plain-looking teddy bear on top of it.

"Looks like we´re alone for a few more hours, Sir Teddy. I´m counting on you to protect me.", she spoke out loud, while her voice was almost drowned out by the heavy rain.

The girl looked at the stuffed toy for a moment and smiled.

"Leave it to me, Princess. I´ll protect you with my life.", she heard herself answering with a heavy accent while making the small bear´s head move with her own hands.

She rarely did this anymore (and she wouldn´t be caught dead doing it in front of other people, especially boys), but talking to Sir Teddy like this had a calming effect that she had enjoyed for as long as she could remember. When she was younger, she did it all the time, whenever she was sad or scared. Her Dad thought it was silly, but her Mom would almost always join in and talk to Sir Teddy, as Layla would gladly role play as the brave little knight with no hesitation.

"Have you been lonely? I´m sorry I don´t play with you as much anymore, it´s just…", she looked at her old friend with eyes filled with nostalgia, but couldn´t really complete the sentence.

[Maybe I´m just getting too old for this silly bullshit.]

[I should just put him into a box already. I´m almost 13!]

Her own face twitched at the thought.

It´s not that it was wrong… but somehow facing that harsh reality head on bothered her.

She felt uncomfortable.

As if this present version of her was mocking the Layla from one or two years ago, who would fight tooth and nail against such a cruel idea and scream that she would never get rid of her dear friend in such a way.

"I was really attached to you, you know?", she let out a little smile, embracing the teddy bear. "You´re still the best toy I´ve ever had."

It was true. Even if she was outgrowing toys in general, it was still weird to imagine herself sleeping without Sir Teddy by her side (especially after watching some horror movie on cable TV).

"Want to come to the kitchen with me?", Layla asked.

"Wherever you go, I´ll follow, Princess.", her own voice answered.

Geez, she was enjoying this more than she should!

With the stuffed animal in her arms, she climbed down the stairs outside her room slowly and got to the kitchen after hurrying through the living room. It took more time than expected to find the light switch, and the thought of being home alone in the dark made her shudder. Every small noise was like an unknown creature lurking in the empty, vast kitchen that seemed so cozy and inviting when bathed by the morning sunlight. She held Sir Teddy tightly.

"I know. You´re here with me."

After a few more tries, she finally turned on the lights, almost sighing with relief. After going to the fridge and drinking some cold water, she decided to go back to her room without turning off the lights on the way back. If her parents dared to complain about it, she would just tell them it was their own fault for taking so long to come back.

What was so special about having dinner without her, to begin with? Would they talk about adult stuff all the time? That sounded very boring.

Layla climbed up the stairs quickly, thinking about what funny videos she could watch on her phone to forget about the fear, but when she entered her bedroom, her whole body shivered. Maybe she screamed, it was hard to know. A girl was undoubtedly screaming, but she could not recognize her own voice or feel the muscles in her face moving.

She felt paralyzed.

The thing in front of her was like a shadow, but not really. It was big and bulky and animal-like. Its eyes were too big for its head and its face was really weird. Was that a long nose or a bird-like beak?

[It´s a monster!]

That childlike thought was, ironically, undeniable and absolute. It was a monster, indeed. It was crawling out of her bed like a living shadow, and it reeked an awful smell like she had never experienced before. The closest thing would be the dead dog she saw on her way to school last year. It had been run over by a car and it smelled so bad it had been engulfed by flies, but it was still nothing compared to this.

This thing had a smell too rotten to be alive and moving.

As this weird creature kept creeping closer and closer, Layla´s whole body began to tremble. There was a primal urge inside her to run like mad, and her lower abdomen was clenching so hard she thought she would piss herself right then and there, standing on the doorway… but even so, her feet could not leave the floor. They were stuck and grounded like trees. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was too much horror movies.

[I can´t outrun it. I just know so.]

[The moment I turn my back to this thing, it´s over.]

[It will catch me...!]

The creature stood on what seemed to be two legs.

Although it was hard to call them legs, since most of its body was covered by a large and dark cloak that kept swaying around as if this menace had no bones or spine to worry about.

Large claws sprung directly from its hands, and Layla could see now that she was staring at a bird mask that uselessly concealed empty and dark spheres that could hardly be described as eyes.

It made a sound.

A deep, viscous inhuman breath.

Layla gasped in response.

Her eyes were already wet with tears by the time she felt her arms lose strength. Sir Teddy fell to the ground, but she couldn´t even look at him. The shadowy monster was so close to her now that her voice had started to come off in small hiccups, and Layla wasn´t sure if she was trying to talk or just breath.

[Mom, please come back.]

[Dad, please come back.]

[I´M SO SCARED…!]

[HELP!]

[SOMEONE HELP ME!]

The creature moved suddenly, but instead of lunging at her, it retreated a few steps, alarmed. Such an unexpected action made Layla fall out of her trance for a moment, as she looked down to see what made the creature so wary.

"Eh…?!"

Sir Teddy had gotten up by himself.

He was moving, brimming with life, something no mere stuffed toy could ever do.

The little bear was standing fiercely, without needing any support, and had clearly positioned himself between Layla and the monster.

"Leave it to me, Princess.", he said.

[That´s not my voice], Layla could not stop herself from thinking, while her eyes widened as much as humanly possible.

The voice that came out from the teddy bear´s mouth was the one she had always imagined in her head, and always tried to imitate when roleplaying.

She had uttered those words so many times!

And that´s exactly the reason she was able to tell what he would say next. With no hesitation or any hint of fear, Sir Teddy declared:

"I will protect you with my life."