"Oi! Get away from him!"
Rosamond Membrane charged across the park, a storm of fury raging above her and casting her anger our like bolts of lightning against the vicious bullies who dared harm her son.
"Crap, let's beat it!" The group scattered, laughing, jeering, leaving their victim in the dirt with broken glasses and tears surging down his cheeks in a great torrent of pain.
Ros dropped to her knees and opened out her arms. "Oh, baby, come here." Her voice instantly softened and her arms closed around her son, encasing him within the protective barrier of a mother's love. "Ssshh, it's okay, Mommy's here," she cooed, rocking her tiny son in her arms. For a five year old Dib was remarkably small; his limbs thin and spindly and his stature still grasping onto babyhood. With a final look of ugly contempt at her son's tormentors, Ros turned away and stalked back towards the park bench with Dib in arms. Across the park her other child watched the scene unfold, taking in every detail as a lion might eye its prey, but never once did she call to check that her brother was okay.
A little hand tugged on the girl's sleeve and she returned to her game. Ros sighed. At least her Gaz had friends to play with; Dib was such a lonely boy. No wonder he was bullied so much, for how many five year olds still had to play with their mom and baby sister?
"M-M-Mommy, they broked my glasses," choked Dib into his mother's scented skin. One arm was clamped around Ros's neck, clinging for comfort, the other grasped onto the fat arm of a hand-sewn plush toy. "A-and, they put Mr Alien in the m-mud." The tears renewed and flooded down Dib's cheeks. The once green material of his toy was now loitered here and there with dark brown globs of filth.
On the other side of the park Gaz and her friends snorted with mocking laughter. Ros shot Gaz a scolding look and returned her attention to Dib.
"Did they hurt you, baby?" she asked, running her hands up and down Dib's limbs – a soothing gesture, and simultaneously she searched for any signs of abuse.
Dib shook his head, and with it his scythe-like hair shook too. "N-no, they just pushed me and Mr Alien in the mud," he stammered out. "A-and then they said . . ." Dib paused, his eyes filling with tears. "Th-they said th-that . . . that the monster under my bed is gonna k-kill and eat me!" A shiver ran over Dib's thin frame and he tipped back his head and sobbed and wailed to the sky above. Inside her own chest Ros felt her heart contort for the pain her son experienced, and all she could do was to rock him to and fro as if her love alone could ease away the troubles that filled his soul. From her place on the bench she watched her daughter play in the sand-box; demolishing sand-castles, laughing with friends. Gaz had no need to cling onto her mother's warmth, or the comfort of toys or childish visions of monsters under the bed.
"There, there baby, it's okay. Mommy's here." Ros kissed Dib's temple and sighed.
"Stupid Dibby! That monster under your bed is gonna get you!"
"Yeah! It wants to eat you!"
"And your stupid alien! It'll kill and eat you both!"
The echoes of the tormentors howled over and over throughout Dib's head; he shuddered, clutching the now clean Mr Alien to his chest, his gaze never turned away from his bed. The moonlight shone through his bedroom window and bathed Dib's room in the silvery white. Since returning from the park Ros had done nothing but try to assure her son that all was well, and that the monster under his bed did not want to eat him at all. Nor Mr Alien. That the boys at the park were nothing but mean bullies and he shouldn't listen to them, so don't be afraid sweetheart, because Mommy will protect you.
But maybe, Dib had decided, there was some validity to what the tormentors had said to him. Maybe the monster really was just hungry. At the foot of the bed lay a Poop candy bar – one of Dib's personal favorites. Maybe, he thought, if the monster had something to eat it might be nicer to him.
"Um . . . I got you a candy bar," Dib called out, softly, so not to wake Gaz in the room across the hall. His arms tightened around Mr Alien. "It tastes good. D'you want it?"
There was no movement but Dib could hear the monster's heavy breathing. Even from across the room he could feel the creature's hot breath on his skin. Don't be afraid, Dib, he told himself firmly. Be brave like Daddy.
With a trembling step forwards, Dib scooped up the candy bar and removed its wrapper, working hard so to make as little noise as possible. "S-see?" he called out shakily, and dropped the naked chocolate on the floor. "It's good, see? It's chocolate." Dib stepped back again and worked to manufacture a smile to his face. "It isn't poisonous. If you want I'll eat a bit first to pr-"
He never finished. A flash of green and pink ripped across the carpet and tore a silent scream from Dib's mouth but the monster never even noticed. It snatched up the candy in its wickedly sharp claws and broke off huge chunks, cramming them into its mouth, moaning in glorious relief. Its fang-like teeth worked swiftly, grinding up the candy into slightly smaller pieces before bolting them down, and all the while Dib watched on, his mouth stuck agape in utter awe. All too soon the candy was gone. The monster licked up the drops of melted chocolate from its claws. It had a long serpentine tongue, in a pink as deep as its eyes. And what eyes! Giant pools of molten lava, each a small ocean of wondrous beauty.
Dib took a step forwards and held up his plush. "You look like Mr Alien!" he exclaimed.
The monster whipped its head up, locking it divine eyes with that of Dib's. Its skin was green as a sea of grass, and atop its head a pair of bug-like antenna stood to attention, flickering curiously, taking in the world around it. "You . . . You can see me?" said the monster incredulously.
Dib nodded. "Of course!" He took another step forwards and realized, with a jolt, that this creature was no bigger than he was himself. "My name is Dib. What's your name?" Dib held out his small hand to the creature. The monster blinked, clearly taken aback. Smears of chocolate still lingered on its green lips. It licked them away greedily; a delicious gift of friendship from this strange human boy. The monster reached out and took Dib's hand into its own.
"I am Zim."