"I used to think monsters lived under my bed. I never imagined one would come from behind my mother's eyes."
At seventeen, I was usually with Johnny, two years older, always looking out for me. He'd drop me home, make me breakfast, snacks, even lunch if he had time.
I didn't eat much those days, but he still tried.
That night, I waved to him from the doorway. He hesitated, then smiled and waved back.It was the same kind of smile Dad used to give Mom, the last warm thing I saw before the dark swallowed me.
I stayed home most nights while my grandparents rested at my uncle's. They wanted me to join them. I refused.After Dad's death, I'd learned that absence could turn into regret overnight.
The house was silent when I stepped inside.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence I remembered from the day of the black car.
I switched on the light with a trembling hand.
In the kitchen, I forced down some food, then carried a plate to my mother's room. My pulse was loud in my ears as I stopped at her door.Breathe in. Steady.
I opened it.She sat on the bed, staring at our family photo — the one taken before the medal ceremonies, before her eyes became strangers to me.
"I'm leaving the food here, Mom… I'll come back later."She didn't answer.
I pressed my forehead to hers. Cold.When I left, my eyes were already burning.
Later that night, the door creaked open.She was still awake.
Mom stood in front of the same photograph, unmoving."Ryu… come here, my dear," she whispered.
Then she turned.
I saw her sliding bullets into a pistol, locking it into her waistband.My heart stopped — the same metallic click I'd heard in the police station after Dad died.
"Mom! Where did you find those bullets?!"She only frowned.
"M-Mom, listen!!" My voice cracked.
I stepped forward — and slipped on the untouched dinner plate still by the door.Her laughter burst out, sharp and manic.
"You think you can touch my family and get away with it?" she snarled. "I'll protect them ....always!"
She wasn't talking to me. She was talking to ghosts.
The knife flashed in her hand as she lunged.I ran, panic blinding me.
She chased me through the house, cursing, the blade gleaming under the light.I nearly made it to my room — then the handle of the knife smashed into my back.
I fell down the stairs. Pain exploded. Warm blood ran down my neck.
She came after me, grinning."It hurts, Mom!" I cried, covering my head.
I threw cushions at her, scrambled up the stairs."It's me, Mom! Ryu!" I screamed.
She paused.That was my only chance.
I fled into my room and slammed the door. My hands shook as I locked it.Blood pooled on the floor.
Throbbed.
Then a gunshot.
THUD.
I froze.
The banging started.
THUD! THUD!! THUD!!
Light speared through bullet holes and knife gashes in the door. She was trying to break in.
My phone slipped out of my bloody hands. I called the police, swallowed painkillers dry. The chalky taste caught in my throat.
I was dizzy. The world tilted.
Outside the door, her voice cracked into sobs."Ryu… I'm sorry. Yujuv is gone… and now I've hurt you too. Please forgive me… please…"
I wanted to open the door, to tell her I still loved her. But my limbs wouldn't move.
"M… Mom…" The word barely made it out.
A lamp tipped over and hit the floor with a dull thud. She heard it.Her voice softened. "Thank God."
Then...
THUD.
A gunshot above my head.
Silence.
A second gunshot.
Darkness.
And just before I slipped under, I thought I saw something in that darkness.....Not the monster under my bed.But the one who used to tuck me in,now gone forever behind her own eyes.