Monsters Don't Come From Under The Bed

Chapter 1

"She would be so happy to see all of us gathered together in these hard and sad times, comforting each other, and remembering her. From all my heart, thank you all." 

Genesis finished her speech in front of the mirror. Recently, her grandmother had passed away and Genesis had to plan the funeral and give a speech. Genesis's siblings had not volunteered to help at all with the planning or the invitations. Unlike Genesis, they were not close to their grandmother and felt no shame skipping the funeral. Genesis scoffed at her reflection as she recalled the times her siblings made excuses to skip visits to their grandmother when they were little. But not her. Genesis loved visiting her grandmother and listening to all the stories she would tell about monsters, all shapes and sizes. 

"They are real, Gene, one day you will see." Her grandmother explained and called her by her nickname. Her grandmother smelled of new carpets and stood hunched over, always wearing a mint green coat and a dress underneath. Her grey hair tied into a half- up and half-down hairstyle. Genesis was grown now. She had no time for such childish tales, she had a life and a job now. 

After she ran through her speech one last time, she grabbed her keys and coat and headed to her car. She hesitated a moment before she finally started the engine. She pulled out of the driveway and drove onto the streets. Silence flooded the car and it made her very uncomfortable. She never liked silence. She found it rather draining and turned on the radio. A smooth and steady song flew around, filling the silence. After a short time, Genesis arrived at a graveyard. The outside gate was deceiving , for it stood high and stooped over any car that passed. It was covered with pink roses and dark green ferns from head to toe. But as soon as someone stepped inside, the happy vibes from the gate disappeared. The only flowers to be seen were wilting poppies and daisies tied in a bouquet on a few graves here and there. The grass looked as though it hadn't seen the sun in ages. Weeds wiggled their way through the cracks of the cement running through the graveyard. "Of all places, grandmother, you wanted to be buried here?" Genesis muttered to herself as she parked her car. 

        About 30 people had come to Grandmother’s funeral. They listened to Genesis's speech, and then left in a hurry. Soon, Genesis was all alone with her grandmother's casket. "Why would they just leave like that? Have you done something to them, grandma? How could they be so rude? I wonder what you would think. You always looked on the bright side of things. I wonder if you could hear me. If you can, I just wanted to say that I think you would be proud of what I become. I am a lawyer now. I still live alone, but it doesn't bother me, but the silence is always a problem, so I listen to your old records. And remember when you told me not to cut my hair when I was younger? Im sorry, I cut it. It was always in the way, and keeping track of all those rubber bands was such a hassle. It's up to my shoulders now". 

By now, Genesis was bawling and couldn't speak another word. She then felt two taps on her left shoulder. 

"Excuse me? Are you miss Genesis Shall?" Genesis, embarrassed, wiped her tears and shot up like a rocket. 

"Y-yes, sorry." The man was short, and wore a long brown coat that only revealed his hands, head, and jet black dress shoes. He had no hair but a neatly trimmed, dirty blonde beard. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed to Genesis, and walked away. Genesis watched the man go, and opened the envelope. She read over the paper to discover that it was her grandmothers will. It stated that everything in her grandmother's attic now belongs to Genesis. Everything else belonged to Genesis's mother. 

"Everything in her attic? She always told me to stay out. Why would she now allow me to look inside?"