It was a regular school night for Daisy: brushing her teeth, taking a shower, and getting tucked into bed by her mother. She turned over in her bed after her mother left, and she looked at the picture of her dad sitting on the nightstand. “I miss you, dad”, Daisy whispered. She turned off the lamp that sat next to the picture, then lieed on her back, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Daisy jumped up and yelped. “What was that?”, she thought to herself. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Terrified, Daisy hid under her blanket. She was there all night, awake, never daring to peek out in fear that the monster under her bed might get to her.

The next morning, Daisy ran to her mothers room to tell her about the terrifying scratching sound coming from under her bed. ”Mom! Mom!”, Daisy cried. “There's a monster under my bed!”. She prattled on about the sound under her bed, telling her mother how she was too scared to go to sleep. “Daisy, I’m sure there isn’t a monster under your bed, sweetie.”, Daisy's mother told her.

Reluctantly, Daisy left her mother alone. All day at school, though, she couldn’t stop thinking about the monster under her bed. She even got distracted from her work, which her teacher scolded her for. That evening at dinner, she still rambled on to her mother about the monster. When it was time for Daisy to go to sleep, she draped blankets all around her bed, covering the openings and hoping that her makeshift shield would magically protect her from the monster.

But again, scratch. Scratch,. Scratch. Scratch And again, Daisy could not sleep. This time, however, the monster didn’t just scratch. Daisy heard a low growl, like a cat purring, seeping out from below her bed. The monster's guttural growls filled Daisy’s ears, and again, Daisy hid under her blanket.

The next morning, just like the last, Daisy ran to her mother, crying out once again. ”Mom! Mom! There’s a monster under my bed! I heard it growling at me!”. But, to her dismay, her mother had once again brushed her off, telling her “Sweetie, I promise you, there are no monsters under your bed.”

At school, Daisy was once again distracted, her mind piecing together an image of what the chimera under her bed could possibly look like. She imagined a tall, skinny creature with pure black skin and long, nasty claws. She imagined it had a long, skinny tail, sharp yellow teeth, and glowing red eyes, ready to attack her if she ever let her guard down.

That evening, again, just like the last, Daisy told her mother all about the monster. She described it, telling her mother how terrified she was to enter her room. But again, her mother brushed her off, telling her that the monster under her bed was really just a monster in her imagination.

When Daisy laid in her bed again that night, she stayed awake, waiting for the scratching and the growling. As she waited, she turned to her side, looking at the picture of her dad again, hoping that he’d somehow protect her. What she didn’t know was that he would.

Daisy imagined what her dad would do. She imagined him coming into her room, carrying her in his arms to her bed, and saving her from the evil monster. At that moment, something inside of her clicked. She decided to do something about the monster herself.

After Daisy had a plan all thought out, she got up from her bed and quietly made her way out of her room. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a trash can lid, and she tested it out to make sure it would work for her upcoming battle. She scrounged the kitchen for something to fight with, and she ended up settling on a spatula she found on the counter. She grabbed a strainer from the cabinet above the counter and put it on her head, then she gave herself a light tap with the spatula to make sure it would be a good helmet.

Daisy made her way to her room, standing in front of the door encouraging herself. She closed her eyes and imagined, again, what her dad would do. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath before quietly opening her door. She looked around her room slowly, inspecting every inch to check that the monster hadn’t left from under her bed. She checked her closet and her drawers; Nothing. The monster was definitely under her bed.

Standing at the foot of her bed, Daisy looked down, listening for the monster, and again, Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. She slowly got down on the floor and took a deep breath. She pulled away the blanket that draped over the edge of her bed and squeezed her eyes shut, she got under her bed, ready to fight whenever the monster attacked. But, it didn't.

Daisy looked around, confused as to why she wasn’t being mauled by a hideous creature. To her surprise, what laid in front of her was not a monster; it was her cat. Her cat, Simon, had been laying under her bed, and was looking at her like she was crazy. She set down her monster-fighting supplies and hugged her cat, feeling relieved that the growling that came from under her bed was actually Simon’s purring, and the scratching was just Simon scratching at her carpet for fun.

Daisy was thankful at that moment that her dad had given her the courage to face her problem. If he hadn’t, who knows how long Daisy would have sleepless nights, fearing the monster under her bed. That night, and for many other nights, Daisy slept with Simon in her arms, comfortable knowing that her mother was right after all.