1993

Childhood imagination

Chapter One
                            
His tiny hands grabbed for the straps of his backpack while getting out of the back of the car.
His sneakers were dirty and his hair was messily laid on his forehead. His hair was long and looked unkempt. His shirt had food stains on it from the dinner the night before. Tiny little band-aids scattered across his arms. His neck had a red streak across his chest going up to his neck. The seat belt had restrained him just moments before when his father had stopped the car too quickly at a red light. His father said " That's what ya get for not sitting properly. "

Though he had stories about his other friends having these cool seats to sit in with their very own cup holders and everything. His friends had told him about what their parents said about the seats, " They keep me safe," said my mom. " Maybe his father hadn't thought he was deserving of one yet. Or maybe he was supposed to find his own.

His teacher greeted him with a smile. "Good morning Marshall. " Her long blonde hair and green emerald necklace had always caught the attention of the child. The teacher looked down at him and focused her eyes on the mark that seemed to be bruising. "Oh my, what happened here, Marshall?" She said, motioning with her finger at the mark. "I didn't sit properly in the car, Ms. Daisy." He answered, taking off his backpack. Her face looked concerned, "Well then, just be more careful okay?" The boy nodded and went to his seat.

The school day seemed to pass quickly, by the time Ms. Daisy was done putting the colored pencils and paper away, they were already packing up. The boy had a mission today, to convince his father to get him a "Booster Seat." He had asked his friend, Beth, what the magical seats were and that was her answer. The name seemed silly at first but then realizing booster usually meant faster, the idea of it in his head lit up.

He stood outside til he saw his dad's white Honda. He opened the door and saw his dad looking at him through the car's mirror. "Hi Dad." He said as he buckled his seatbelt. "Hey kid, when we get home I need you to get dinner yourself." He replied as he started driving.  "What?" The boy said. "Make noodles or pizza rolls or something. Your mother went somewhere and I don't know when she's getting back." He scoffed. "But I-" he was quickly interrupted. "That's final." His dad snapped.

When the two got home his dad lay drunkenly on the couch. The small child pulled up a chair to his kitchen counter and grabbed the box of cereal from the top shelf. He figured he was too clumsy to pour the milk so he sat down on the chair and ate the dry cereal. It wasn't exactly his ideal meal for the night. He wished his mother was home to make him his favorite dinner, biscuits, and gravy. The thought of the texture and taste of his comfort meal made his cereal in his mind taste a bit better.

In the night his room filled with pitch darkness around him. The only light coming from his room door he always kept open by a bit. He didn't have a nightlight or a window in his room so he reverted to just leaving the hall light on. It worked most nights, til either his mother or his father would turn it off.

                                                         This night was different.

The light in the hallway had turned off but it didn't feel like a familiar presence. Instead, it felt eerie to the boy. Something crept up to the door frame, staring into the slight hole in the door.
It was tall. The features on its face that he was able to make out slightly in the dark were its eyes. The bright white parts of the eyes with a blue tint to them. While the actual iris was a green and brown mixture. That shared a similarity with his.

Its hand slid between the door, creaking it open. Marshall held his breath in fear. Pulling his blanket over his head. As he felt the loud crashes of things hitting the ground in his room. The shattering of what seemed to be glass and the groaning that came from the creature with mixed sobs and words. Every noise that came was followed by shaking as if he felt an earthquake was happening.  The creature growled as it yelled inaudible seeming words at the boy. "ITS" CRASH! "YOUR.."... SLAM "fault.. Marshall.."
The noises had stopped. Marshall's eyes welled up with painful tears. His hands gripped the blanket harder. His breathing felt painful and he shook his head, rocking himself back and forth in his bed. "It's gone." the boy repeated to himself. "It's gone."

This hadn't been the first time this had happened to Marshall. But it was the first time he was able to make out one of Its features. His eyes seemed mean and regretful. He didn't take the cover up from his head till he had woken up the next morning. The creature was gone but smashed toys and scattered pieces of an old snow globe lay on the floor.

His eyes felt heavy as he slowly took a deep breath and got up. It was a Saturday and he knew that the cartoons ran earlier still. He walked into the living room and saw his dad passed out on the floor. His body laid out flat but his chest was slowly still going up and down to indicate he was breathing. "Is he okay?" The boy's mind started to race. He sat down next to his father and started to shake him slightly. "Dad?" He called out. "Oh no." He thought.

"Dad?" He called out once more.

SWOOSH
His father snapped up, his arms going into fight or flight position as his eyes started to focus more on the boy he realized he was his son. "Oh, Marshall... Hey, kiddo." He said with a pitiful smile. "Are you okay?" Marshall asked. "Yeah kid, I'm okay. I'm sorry," he replied, pulling Marshall into a hug. "I'm sorry," he repeated once more.

Marshall didn't understand what he meant by that but he was happy his father was okay. "Can we watch cartoons now?" the boy asked. His father smiled as his eyes softened. "Yeah, okay buddy."