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The Monster in the Closet
A Father-to-be's Fears Go Bump in the Night
By Mark Stackpole
A monster used to live in my closet. When I was a kid, he would make an appearance almost every night. With his ram horns curling around his head and his gaping mouth full of shiny white fangs, he would emerge just as I was about to fall asleep. The talons that extended from his extra-long grey toes would clack against the hardwood floor as he crept slowly toward me.
When I could stand it no longer and when the paralyzing fear finally loosened its grip, I would plunge myself under the safety of my sheets and blankets. As every child knows, this is the only shield that will protect you from the monsters in your closet. Only when the clacking stopped and the shadow sank back into the darkness would I emerge from under the covers. Sure enough, I had fooled him into thinking that I wasn't even there.
The courage that came with this apparent victory was enough to help me get to sleep. I never saw how close he actually got to me, but there were a few times when I was sure that I could actually feel his hot breath on my face through my thin cotton camouflage. During the day, I wondered if it would be during that night that he would take the next step, tear back my covers and do what monsters do to little boys who have been fooling them for so long. That particular night, thankfully, never came.
As a grownup, the scariest things currently residing in my closet are yesterday's socks, and although they might smel
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