bewize

When I was a child, I knew a secret. Once I went to bed, if I pulled my blankets in tightly around me, if I slipped the second pillow over my eyes, if the only part of me left exposed to the darkness was my nose, then I was safe from everything.

The monsters under my bed had no power if they couldn't touch me, and the blanket was my fortress. The shouting voices of my parents couldn't penetrate the thin fabric as more than muffled exclamations, which my childish brain could turn into songs or playful greetings coming from dreamed friends waiting to lure me into the Land of Nod.

If I took a flashlight under the covers with me, I could get lost in secret gardens, wardrobes, foreign countries, enchanted forests, pirate ships, or anywhere else the written page could take me.

Somewhere in my teen years sleep became an end of itself. The hours under the covers were still spent drifting from dream to dream, only these dreams involved school, boys, a bright and shiny future that was almost in my reach.

But eventually, all childhoods end and mine was no exception.

After college, I got my very first apartment, complete with roommate to share the expenses. Her bedroom shared a wall with mine, and while we were poor and living mostly from pilfered food from either her job waitressing, my job waitressing, or her boyfriend's job as a restaurant manager, we were comfortable.

My graduation present from my mother was a bed, and it is the most comfortable bed in the world. The blankets were the same ones I'd used as a child, so perhaps it isn't surprising that on the night when my dresser turned over, without explanation, that I immediately yanked the covers over my head.

It was three a.m., I'd been in bed for at least an hour and a half (waitressing was a night job!), and the roommate and her boyfriend were also asleep.

BOOM!!!!

I was jerked awake and my first thought, for which I take no responsibility, was "MONSTERS!" I yanked the covers over my head because I didn't want to see the end coming.

Two seconds later, I threw them off and leapt to my feet, because fuck that, I wasn't going down without a fight!

There was nothing there.

The dresser and the television on the dresser were both laying face down on the ground. Without explanation.

Then, I heard the boyfriend's voice. "V! Go and see what that was."

I promptly dissolved into hysterical giggles.

We never did find out what made the dresser turn over. I maintain that it was a poltergeist. Whatever it was, the protective magic of the blanket was forever shattered.

Earlier this morning, I got an email from my boss telling me that next Tuesday will be my last day at work. (I'm fighting it, but that's another post altogether.) From where I sit now, I see monsters more real than any from my childhood barreling towards me in the form of utility bills, credit card statements and student loan IOUs coming due.

All I want to do is climb under the blanket and hide until it goes away.

In fact, as soon as I post this entry, I think I will go and hide under the covers. But tomorrow, I'm going to throw them back, get up and get dressed, drive into my office and fight for a severance package. Then I'm going to go to an interview and do my best to get a new job.

Because, fuck that, I'm not going down without a fight!

This entry was written in response to the

therealljidol Challenge 19: Blanket . There will (probably) be voting for this week's entries. I will make sure to link to the poll once it is put up and I would appreciate it if you would vote for me if you enjoy my entry. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated.