The Horrible Happenings At Heather's

The Horrible Happenings at Heather’s House

Horrible things happened at Heather's house. They happened because Heather's house had a monster. The monster wasn't there all the time. It didn't always come at the same hour or for the same reason, but every single day the monster would appear and something terrible would happen. At first, Heather had tried to figure out what caused the monster to appear, but nothing she did made any difference, and she gave up.

Each day it started the same way. Screams echoed through the house; hoarse, garbled and terrifying bellows that made her heart pound in her throat and frightened tears well up in her eyes. Sometimes she hid under her bed or in her closet with her hands pressed over her ears. No matter how hard she tried to block out the voice that sounded like rocks grinding glass, she just kept hearing it scream her name over and over.

After the screams came the footsteps. Loud, booming footsteps made the light on her ceiling shake. The stairs thundered and let out sharp cracks like lightning as the monster stormed downstairs. When it reached the bottom of the stairs, the house went silent. Heather held her breath, straining to hear any tiny sound that would let her know where the monster was.

The shelves of her dolls and plastic horses, their faces criss crossed by seams of glue, told the story of what came next. Toys and clothes flew around the room as the door burst open, slamming back against the wall. From inside her closet, Heather could hear her precious toys and treasures shattering against the walls and floor. She clapped her hands over her ears, pressed her eyes closed and prayed. “Please Baby Jesus, I promise to be a good girl. I won’t lie, and I promise to keep my room clean this time if you could just make it go away. Please make it go away.”

When she did not get an answer to her prayers, Heather told herself that prayers must go to heaven on lines like the telephone. The Baby Jesus was busy on another line when she prayed, but someday she would get through. Over and over she prayed that this time the monster would not find her hiding place, but it never made any difference. It always found her--it knew all her hiding places--and when the monster found her, all she could do was curl up in a ball and wait for it to stop.

Heather told her mother about the monster, but her mother didn't believe her. Mom worked shift work and was never home when the monster came stomping through the house screaming and breaking things. Heather's mother just told her to stop making up stories and to go downstairs to clean her room or do her homework.

When her mother didn’t listen, Heather told her teacher, but her teacher just scolded her for telling lies. "Monsters do not exist," he told her. "Monsters live in story books, not little girl’s houses."

In fact, the only person who believed Heather was Lilly, the girl who lived across the street. Even though Lilly had never been inside Heather's house to see the monster for herself, she knew that Heather was telling the truth. After all, they were best friends, and best friends believed one another.

“Maybe if I came over and saw the monster your Mom might believe you,” Lilly suggested.

Heather was not sure that Lilly’s idea was a very good one. “But what happens if the monster hurts you?”

“When the monster comes we'll both run away. Don’t worry. It will be okay.”

Heather was happy that Lilly would be with her, and she was very proud of how brave her friend was. Heather asked her mom to call Lilly’s house, and soon all the arrangements were made. Friday night Lilly would come home from school with Heather and stay overnight.

Friday after school, the two girls ran downstairs to play until Heather’s mom came home. There was no sign of the monster by the time supper was ready, but Heather knew that it would come. It came every day. After supper, they helped her mom with the dishes then went down to the rec room to watch a video.

"Heather!" her mom called down the stairs. "I'm going next door for a few minutes. Mrs. Faber fell down her stairs and needs some help getting her supper. If you need anything, just come over. I won't be long."

"Okay," Heather called back. When the back door closed, she looked into Lilly's eyes and let out a shaky little sigh. "It'll come soon," she whispered.

Half way through The Little Mermaid, the screaming started. Heather grabbed Lilly’s sleeve and dragged her friend into her room. She shut the door and put her finger to her lips to keep Lilly from talking.

“You have to go out the window,” Heather whispered. She looked up at the ceiling as the screaming was joined by the footsteps. She let out a little whimper and dragged Lilly to the window. “Come on, climb out.” The window lock stuck. She had to yank at it a couple of times before it came loose.

“Drag the night table under the window quick!”

The footsteps were louder, they were moving towards the stairs. Thump. Thump.

Lilly dragged the nightstand under the window, climbed up on top and grabbed Heather’s sleeve. “Come with me.”

Thump. The top stair let out a heavy groan. Thump. THUMP!

“Come on Heather. Hurry! We have to run!”

The footsteps reached the landing. THUMP! The screaming got louder and more shrill. Heather clapped her hands over her ears then remembered Lilly.

“I can’t. What if Mom comes home? Go! Hurry!” She climbed up on the table and grabbed Lilly around the waist, lifting her friend toward the open window.

Thump. Thump. Then silence. It was downstairs.

Lilly reached back through the window. “Please come.”

“I can’t.” Heather shut the window and pushed the table back in its place. She knelt beside the bed, steepled her hands, and closed her eyes as hard as she could. “Please Baby Jesus, hear me this time. Please help me. I will do whatever you want, just please make the monster go away.”

Heather held her breath, listening for any sign of the monster’s approach. Around her, the house felt as though it was holding its breath along with her.

“Baby Jesus,” she whispered between clenched teeth. “Please save me.” She reached up on her bed, snatched her teddy from beside her pillow and hugged it tight against her. “Please save me.”

The doorknob rattled, and she let out a little squeal. It was here. She stood and backed away from the bed, putting as much distance as she could between her and the door. The knob began to turn. Tears squeezed out of her eyes as she pressed them shut and prayed again. Maybe this time the prayer would get through.

The door flew open, and there it was, eyes blazing, clawed hands reaching out. Heather’s tummy tightened like she had to go to the bathroom. Screaming again, the monster stomped around the bed. THUMP! THUMP!

“No, please,” Heather begged. “Please don’t hurt me.

The shrieking grew louder, pounding in her ears along with the beating of her heart. Sharp claws grabbed her and tossed her onto the bed. She landed in a heap like a rag doll then the monster had her again and it slammed her up against the wall. It dropped her and turned towards her dresser. All of her dolls and pretty things flew through the air.

Heather scrambled over her quilt, trying to keep the bed between her and the creature. Her clothes and shoes flew out of her closet as it stormed past. Heather crouched in the corner as the sound of more feet on the stairs reached her ears over the monster's screaming.

Oh no... more monsters... She pressed herself into the corner and closed her eyes again. “Please Baby Jesus. Why don’t you ever answer me?”

Then the monster was gone, its screaming fading into the distance. She opened her eyes, not quite believing that it was over. It was true; the monster was gone. A lady knelt down in front of her and smiled as she brushed the tears from Heather’s cheeks.

“It’s all right now,” the lady said. “It’s going to be all right.”

Heather's face lit up with a bright smile. The lady was wearing a uniform. The lady was a police woman. The Baby Jesus had finally answered her prayer. “How…?” was all she could think to say.

“Your friend, Lilly ran home, told her mother, and her mother called us,” the police lady said. She stood up and held her hand out for Heather’s. “Come on, let’s go find your Mom.”

Heather’s mom let out a loud cry when the police lady led Heather into the kitchen. She ran across the room and snatched Heather up in her arms. “I am so sorry that I didn’t believe you,” she said as she hugged Heather close. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Heather replied. “The monster can’t hurt me any more. The Baby Jesus will make sure of that.”

That day the Police took the monster away and the horrible happenings at Heather’s house never ever happened again. Each night before Heather went to sleep, she prayed to the Baby Jesus and thanked him for saving her. She also thanked him for Lilly, the best and bravest friend any little girl could ask for.