The Monster Who Lived Up In The Mountain

Last night the monster came down the mountain and took another child. The child was unaware that he was being taken by the monster. The child had stopped smiling because his dad had gone on business away from home. Dad, who played with him, hugged him and took
him to fun places. Dad, who fed him, bathed him, told him stories, made him laugh and put him to bed.

Now that Dad was away the child was sad. The monster was nurtured by a child’s sadness. He loved the taste of a child’s tears, it made the monster grow big. The sound of a child’s low heartbeat made the monster grow bigger. The smell of a child’s sobs made the monster grow huge. The miserable look on a child’s face made the monster enormous.

He became so powerful and courageous that he was about to consume the child completely when there was the sound of the key turning in the front door.

The child stopped sobbing, the monster started to deflate. The child’s dad stepped inside, the child’s tears dried. The monster became so small that he was hardly visible. The child’s heartbeat started to race with excitement. Dad picked him up, he felt so tall as if he could
touch the sky.

The monster faded away.

Foqia Hayee


Runner-up
Congratulations, Foqia.
Your story wins you a copy of this great anthology.