The Monsters at Night
View passage image
I was never a good sleeper. Sleep was something my body naturally battled. Even tucked into the covers late at night after a long day, sleep would not come. I would stay there staring at the ceiling, my eyes wide open. It was not that I wanted to stay awake. It just happened.
Sleepless Frights
When you cannot sleep, weird things happen in the bedroom. The room is a terrifying place to a child. Every little sound, every phantom light, every gust of air means something sinister. To the seven-year-old me, awake in my bed, everything I could sense was an evil monster determined to cause me harm.
One monster I particularly remember. It would come just before dawn every Friday. By that hour, I would usually be asleep. But the monster would wake me up with a crashing sound and a bright light shining in my room. I was terrified, but the monster never harmed me. Instead, the light would stand still before dancing across the room. Then, I would hear a more distant crash, and it would be gone.
I told my parents about it, but they told me I was imagining things. My brothers just laughed at me. Needless to say, neither response helped me out. Sleeping on Thursday nights and Friday mornings became even harder. I was convinced that the next time I saw the monster would be my last. At some point, it had to attack me, right?
Protecting Myself
So, one Thursday, I decided to stay awake and document it. This was not as easy as I thought it was. Strangely, when I wanted to stay awake, I could not. I passed out quickly but managed to wake up just a bit before the monster usually came.
I got my camera ready and sat up, waiting for it. Then I heard the familiar crash, only softer, farther away. I worked up the courage to look out my window, to see if the monster was out there.
What I saw was the garbage truck. The crash was the sound the truck made when it stopped on my corner; the light was the “monster’s” headlights.
From that day forward, I was no longer afraid of any sound in the night. I knew that the sounds existed but were not anything eerie. Sleep was still difficult (and still is, even all these years later), but at least I was no longer afraid of being awake.
The Monsters at NightView passage imageI was never a good sleeper. Sleep was something my body naturally battled. Even tucked into the covers late at night after a long day, sleep would not come. I would stay there staring at the ceiling, my eyes wide open. It was not that I wanted to stay awake. It just happened. Sleepless FrightsWhen you cannot sleep, weird things happen in the bedroom. The room is a terrifying place to a child. Every little sound, every phantom light, every gust of air means something sinister. To the seven-year-old me, awake in my bed, everything I could sense was an evil monster determined to cause me harm.One monster I particularly remember. It would come just before dawn every Friday. By that hour, I would usually be asleep. But the monster would wake me up with a crashing sound and a bright light shining in my room. I was terrified, but the monster never harmed me. Instead, the light would stand still before dancing across the room. Then, I would hear a more distant crash, and it would be gone.I told my parents about it, but they told me I was imagining things. My brothers just laughed at me. Needless to say, neither response helped me out. Sleeping on Thursday nights and Friday mornings became even harder. I was convinced that the next time I saw the monster would be my last. At some point, it had to attack me, right? Protecting Myselfดังนั้น พฤหัสบดีหนึ่ง ฉันตัดสินใจที่จะยังคงทำงานอยู่ และเอกสารนั้น นี้ไม่ง่ายอย่างที่คิดก็ แพงกว่า เมื่อฉันต้องยังคงทำงานอยู่ ฉันไม่ ส่งออกอย่างรวดเร็ว แต่ได้ตื่นขึ้นมาเพียงเล็กน้อยก่อนมอนสเตอร์ปกติมาผมมีกล้องพร้อม และเสาร์ รอ แล้ว ฉันได้ยินคุ้นเคยความล้มเหลว นุ่มเท่านั้น อยู่ห่างจาก ฉันทำงานค่าความกล้าที่จะมองออกหน้าต่างของฉัน เพื่อดูถ้ามอนสเตอร์ออกมีสิ่งที่ผมเห็นมีรถบรรทุกขยะ ความล้มเหลวถูกเสียงรถบรรทุกที่ทำเมื่อมันหยุดในมุมของฉัน แสงเจิด "มอนสเตอร์ของ"จากนั้นวันไป กลัวไม่เสียงในยามค่ำคืน ฉันรู้ว่า เสียงอยู่ แต่ไม่มีอะไรประหลาด นอนได้ยังยาก (และยังคง อยู่ แม้ทั้งหมดเหล่านี้ปีต่อมา), ได้น้อย กลัวไม่มีการตื่นตัว
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
