|of shadows and a bedazzled Ken doll|
Just a fun little idea I had for father's day. I hope you enjoy it :)
"Daddy," announces Trina, "I'm too old to be tucked into bed anymore." She sticks out her lower lip in a pout and it would have looked so convincing if not for her Scooby Doo pajamas and frizzy hair.
It takes a minute for her dad to take his eyes off the football game currently playing on their TV, crane his neck, and look at his eldest child.
"Mmm?" he grunts. "Alright then. Go on to bed." Because, of course, watching the Superbowl is much more important than tucking in your seven year old daughter. Of course.
Trina smiles really big, her white teeth flashing, and then she rushes off to her bedroom, grabbing her bejeweled Ken doll - cause one day, she's going to be famous, and there's no doubt about it. After leaving her bedroom door open just a crack - in case of a fire, not because the dark reminds her of monsters or anything - Trina slides into her bed and pulls the bright pink covers up over her body, wriggling this way and that to get comfortable. Finally, she flicks off her bedside lamp, and the room falls into darkness.
Silence. The tick-tock-tick-tock of something, and it kind of sounds like the Cheshire Cat. Trina's eyes widen and she looks around for the source of the noise. Did she forget to close Alice in Wonderland again, and magical creatures started to escape? Mommy wouldn't be happy if she found the Mad Hatter slicing all of their teacups in half...not at all.
Tick-tock-tick-tock. It wouldn't hurt to check, Trina thinks, because she doesn't want to make mommy mad. Thrusting her covers off, Trina hurries over to the door, and, pushing it open a little, she walks towards the living room.
Daddy is still there, his eyes glued on the TV, and Trina doesn't see a mad hatter anywhere, but it's always good to double check.
"Trina, why are you out of bed?" Daddy asks, and she gulps. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Trina laughs, "No daddy. I thought I heard the Cheshire Cat, and so I came to make sure that the Mad Hatter wasn't slicing all of our plates in half. That would make mommy very mad." She crosses her hands behind her back and looks up at him with wide, brown eyes.
Daddy doesn't even look at her as he mumbles, "Hmm, oh yeah. That wouldn't be good. Run along to bed now." He clicks a button on the remote, and the voice coming from the TV gets louder.
"Ok," Trina says. She gives him a pouty face as she stumbles back into her room, turns on the light just to make sure the Cheshire cat didn't steal anything, then turns it off again. Sliding back into bed, she pulls up the covers and rests her head on her pillow.
Tick-tock-tick-tock. Trina's hand feels around for Ken, but she can't find the doll. Her lower lip quivers, because she can't see anything in the dark, and there are shadows creeping out from the closet. It's not like she's afraid of monsters in her room or anything, but what if they stole Ken? He's defenseless; his only weapon is his smile. They'll destroy him in a second, the monsters will.
"Ken?" Trina calls out, turning on the light and looking around. She can't see Ken anywhere; the monsters took him, they did. "Ken, where are you?"
Trina stumbles back out into the hallway, and into the living room. Her daddy is still sitting there with the TV remote and through blurry eyes Trina can make out football players smacking into each other. How pointless; it must hurt them, she thinks.
"Daddy, I can't find Ken," Trina wails. "I think the monsters took him to their lair or something."
Her daddy grunts, turns around for a second, and focuses bloodshot eyes on his daughter.
"Did you try looking under your bed?" he asks.
Under the bed. It's the worst place in the entire world, so dark and smelly, and that's where all the monsters hide at night. Her daddy is so stupid, Trina thinks, because whenever little kids go under the bed, they never come out. But, she can't tell her daddy that, because she's not scared of monsters. Only little babies are scared of monsters, and she's seven years old.
"Um, daddy," Trina says, "I don't think I can reach all the way under the bed. My arm is too small."
Her daddy turns with a sigh, "Well, how do you know that if you won't try? Go on now." He waves her away, and Trina heads back towards her room with quivering lips.
She opens the bedroom door and stares at the pink patterned bed, a sick feeling rising in her stomach as the shadows creep out from under the bed. Is it just her, or are there dust beasts climbing in the air? Trina remembers her mommy saying something about 'allergies' and she wouldn't want to make mommy upset by getting sick. So, with that thought, Trina marches back out to the living room.
"Daddy," Trina calls out, "there's dust under my bed and it's going to make me sick. That would make mommy very upset, and you would have to pay money to take me to the doctor." She bats her eyelashes.
Her dad slams down the remote and turns towards his daughter, "Trina, you're being ridiculous. Go to sleep." He points towards her room, then turns up the volume on the TV again with a groan of annoyance.
Trina chokes on air, and the tears fill her eyes. But she's a big girl, and only babies cry; so, tipping her head back and crossing her arms, Trina rushes to her room and slams the door shut, turns off the light, and climbs into bed. A big, fat tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it away, mad at herself for crying. But why did daddy have to be so mean? She was just trying to be helpful, is all.
"I'm sorry, daddy," Trina whimpers into the night, her eyes looking around the room and widening as she sees the shadows under the door and in the closet - didn't she shut both closet doors - and under the bed. They're coming for her, she knows it. Oh where, oh where, is her nightlight when she needs it?
Big girls don't need nightlights, Trina reminds herself as two more tears splash onto the blanket.
"Where's my little starlett?" A quiet voice asks. The door has been cracked open, and there is her daddy standing there. He crosses the room and gathers her into his arms, smoothing back her wavy brown hair. "Were you scared of the dark, is that it?"
Trina shakes her head, clutching him tighter, "No, only babies are scared of the dark. I just couldn't find Ken." But her smile is ruined by a quivering sob.
Her daddy sighs, and lies her back down, scooting until he's lying next to her. He wraps his arms around her and Trina snuggles gladly into his chest; he smells nice, and she feels safe now. No shadows can drag her away when daddy is here to save her.
"Can I stay in here with you for a little while?" he asks quietly.
Trina looks up at his warm brown eyes, "I thought you had the football game to watch."
"I did," her daddy says, kissing her forehead, "but I love you more, my little starlett." He runs a hand over her shoulder and then covers her with her favorite pink blanket.
Trina yawns, her hand reaching under the pillow. Then her fingers brush something familiar: the outline of a tiny hand and shorts and - she nearly giggles as she pulls out Ken in all his bedazzled glory and hugs him to her chest. Another yawn, and her eyes close.
"I love you daddy," she whispers.