Mom

I reread the letter again to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but the words never changed. It also never showed signs of… explaining things. Pete was staring at me when I looked up. “Well? Is it a treasure map?”

“No. It says there’s a monster coming. And I have to fight it?”

Pete sat up and stretched, making the bones in his fingers and toes snap. “What kind of monster?”

“It doesn’t say. But I don’t think the writer thinks I can win.”

“That makes two of us. Are you going to try?”

“I… guess?” I mean. What else am I supposed to do? Summer vacation isn’t over, and I doubt the monster will target schools right now…

Pete nodded as if there was nothing odd with this situation and asked. “Do you want a weapon? Monsters are tricky buggers. Even carrying a pocket knife can make all the difference.”

“Unless it’s like a ghost or a slime… Besides, my would kill me if I carried a knife. They think getting a fake tattoo is one step away from joining a gang.”

“Suit yourself, kid. But maybe you should ask them if they prefer having you alive or dead.”

I snickered, folded the message, and put it in my pocket while turning the bottle around to admire the light through it. “Yeah, right. How am I supposed to explain I’ve been chosen to fight a monster because I opened a bottle? They’ll never believe me!”

“And I don’t blame them. But you know something even worse than them not believing you?”

“What?”

Pete leaned forward and whispered. “Them grounding you because you stayed out way too long. Try to come up with a good excuse, kid. I’m rooting for ya!”

My jaw dropped as I realized what I’d done. My parents weren’t morning people, but that didn’t mean they didn’t wake up early from time to time. I scrambled away, hearing Pete’s laughter follow as I ran back to my house.

I wish I didn’t have to wait so long for a monster to show up. Anything is better than staring at the same boring corner like a baby. I thought I’d gotten back to my room in time. Climbing through my window isn’t easy since the owners of the house planted a garden around the border.

But it was manageable after I took a running leap and barely grazed the potted soil with my toes as I tumbled inside. My heart pounded as I sat up and carefully set the bottle near the top corner post of my bed… just in time before Mom yanked open the door and glared. “Where have you been, Kenny? Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

I winced, looked at the clock, and tried to play dumb. “It’s only 8:30, Mom”-

“Don’t you dare try to make light of this! Your father and I have told you not to leave the house at night. I don’t care that this is a small town. You don’t know what kind of people you’ll run into around here!”

“But, Mom”-

“Don’t you, but Mom, me. I don’t care it’s summer break. You want to act like the rules don’t matter? Well, you have another thing coming. Get in the living room and pick a corner. Do not move until I say otherwise!”

“But what about breakfast?” As soon as I said that, I immediately wished I didn’t. Mom took a deep breath and pointed to the living room.

“Corner. Now. No talking. I can’t believe I have to treat you like this, Kenny. I’m very disappointed in you.”

I hung my head, glad my new bottle was safe, but the message burned in my pocket as I ran past my mom. I caught a brief glimpse of Dad as he lowered his newspaper and sighed. I didn’t need to turn around to know Mom was behind me. My parents rarely got angry, but when they did, it was always best to obey instead of fight.

My parents didn’t believe in spankings but weren’t afraid of people finding out about their grounding method. I stared at my chosen corner, hoping they didn’t notice the paper peeking out of my pocket while they argued.

“Are we really not giving him breakfast, Cindy? You know Kenny won’t last until lunch.”

“I don’t care right now. He could have died or been kidnapped. How else are we supposed to get it through his head that he needs to be careful?”

I was being careful, Mom… Though I probably shouldn’t mention where I was. Dad’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Where were you, Kenny? What was so important that you had to sneak out of the house without leaving us a note?”

I wanted to roll my eyes and be sarcastic. Mom did tell me not to talk after all, and my parents like having a united front. But if Dad wasn’t as angry as Mom, then… “I… didn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t sleep and went to take a walk. I’m sorry I scared you. It won’t happen again.”

Mom snorted, and I couldn’t blame her. I wouldn’t have believed me either. But Dad chose to ignore Mom as he asked. “Then, why didn’t you leave a note? Or at least stayed close to the house? You didn’t even use the front door when you came back. You know what you did was wrong.”

I knew that. Of course, I knew that. Magic bottles and fighting monsters aside, I knew I had no right to be mad at my parents. But I was. And I was hungry. You can’t fight monsters on an empty stomach, and I still need to figure out what I’m up against. I risked looking over my shoulder, meeting Dad’s concerned gaze and Mom’s glare.

Dad’s words hadn’t calmed Mom down. That wasn’t the point. He wanted me to admit I was wrong and to apologize. But he also knew Mom wasn’t interested in an apology. Not yet. “I thought I’d be back before you woke up. I didn’t mean to take so long.”

“That’s not an excuse, Son.”

“I know, Dad. But it’s the truth. I just wanted to take a walk on the beach. It’s quiet out there when there are no people around.”

Dad sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So, you’re telling me that if I look in your room right now. I’m not going to find any new bottles?”

I winced, looking away as I shrugged. “Well…”

Mom rose, crossing the hall and yanking my door open. “I swear if I find so much as a single piece of glass!”

My eyes widened as I tried to follow, but Dad grabbed my shoulder. “Kenny”-

“Don’t let her throw away my bottle collection. I won’t do it again. I promise!”

Mom marched back into the living room, holding the new bottle aloft as she looked like she wanted to grow eye lasers and fry me to death. “Are you kidding me? You left the house in the middle of the night just to pick up another useless bottle?”

“Mom”-

“Cindy, don’t do anything you’ll regret. It’s a harmless hobby.”

“It’s not harmless when he’s sneaking out at all hours of the night to grab some useless junk.”

“It’s not useless. It’s recycling, Mom.”

Mom slammed the bottle against the floor, causing Dad to pull me back into the kitchen as Mom stared at the mess and panted. Her hands shook as she raked them through her curly hair and shuddered. “There. Recycle that. I’m done with this nonsense. We may as well pack our things and go home.”

I couldn’t believe what I just heard. “But… we can’t.”

How am I supposed to fight a monster at home? Will it even know where to find me or just start destroying things? Dad squeezed my shoulder. “Grab a broom, Kenny.”

“But”- I tried, but Mom cut me off.

“No. Leave it there. That’s what he thinks is more important than his life. So, we’ll just leave it here for the next family to deal with. Maybe their children will understand how hard their parents work and not scare them like Kenny scared me.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t want to scare anyone, and I knew Dad understood. But Mom wasn’t willing to listen to us. I opened my mouth, but another voice interrupted me. “Well… things are off to a good start. Your mother can act like a stand-in while you learn to fight, Hero.”

Dad pulled me close and looked around. “Who said that?! Show yourself right now, or I’m calling the police!”

Mom’s eyes widened, pointing at my pocket. At the same time, the letter scratched my arm, and the voice grunted. “Yes, yes. You do that. Call the police and try to explain what’s going on while I take the Hero away for some… much-needed training.”