Closet — Monster

Connor nodded. “Will you be okay?”

Felix nodded. “The door will open. I’ll walk out into the world, find some other kid who still believes in dark corners. Maybe I’ll be good at it this time.”

Then he was gone, a small gray blur slipping into the brighter dark of the hallway. Closet Monster

A pause. Then, from behind the boxes of old photo albums and tangled Christmas lights, something shifted. Two eyes, amber and slit-pupiled, blinked at him from the shadows.

Felix was watching him with something like sorrow. “That bad, huh?” Connor nodded

“Don’t put it on,” whispered a voice from inside the closet.

Connor lifted the mask to his face. The porcelain was cool against his skin. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the room fell away, and he was six years old again, standing at the top of the stairs while his father’s suitcase clicked shut downstairs. A door closed. A car started. And his mother didn’t come out of the kitchen to say goodbye. I’ll walk out into the world, find some

Felix’s patchy wings buzzed once, twice. “I’ll learn. Maybe I’ll scare a few nightmares of my own.” He glanced back, amber eyes soft. “Hey, kid. The stuff you’re hiding? It doesn’t have to live in a closet forever.”