I was a simple little girl. What with my jean overall dress, my little pig tails, and my red rubber boots, I never would’ve guessed my whole world would be turned upside down from just a plain, little old tree. But this tree was not like other trees, in my mind it was a monster, a demon, a beast, something like I’ve never seen before. Some say (like my mom) that it was only my imagination that made it seem so scary. I know that is not the case though, for how can a seven year old girl just make up this monster?
It all started when I was playing hide and seek with my friends. As soon as we decided who’s it and he started counting, I bolted. I did not want to be it so I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, or so I thought.
After a while of running I couldn’t hear my friends anymore. Somehow I ran deep into the woods, and although I couldn’t hear my friends anymore, I could hear other things. Strange noises and shadows were creeping around me, sweeping across my back and whispering a language in my ear I couldn’t understand.
I ran faster now, scared for my life as the darkness swallowed me. Then I ran into something so hard I could’ve sworn it was a chunk of metal running towards me as fast as I was running towards it. Head throbbing, I looked up to see what it was and what I saw was terrible.
The tree, a darkened monster with pointy spikes sticking out of it in all directions, stared down at me hungrily planning to grab me with its splintery like claws. It stared right through my soul with its glowing, beedy red eyes and knew how scared I was.
“This is the perfect time to grab her,” it thought to itself.
“No,” I screamed as I got up and zipped past everything with tears in my eyes.
My heart felt like it was trying to jump right out of my chest. I felt my face go hot and my spine go cold as I ran faster. Finally I got home and leaped into my mom’s arms and told her what had happened who of course laughed and didn’t believe me.
So I quickly hatched a plan. The only way to get rid of the demon was to either chop it down or find a way to its brain and destroy it. Since my dad refused to let me borrow his chainsaw I came to the conclusion of climbing it to get its brain.
So off I went to defeat the beast, which is exactly what I told my parents as I was heading out the door the next day. When I said this, they laughed and took pictures of me with my two black stripes swiped against each cheek, my camo overall dress, and my knee high camo laced socks that I put on to prepare for the battle. I didn’t know at the time that my “defeat the beast uniform” was that funny.
I stamped out the door trying to get over the fact that no one took me seriously and headed to the forbidden (or should be forbidden) woods. The wind was blowing, the crows were yelling, all waiting to see what would become of me as I walked up the hill that lead to the woods. Soon I started walking by more and more trees until I knew I was officially in the home of the vicious monster. Then the beast came into sight.
I walked up to the tree, my feet barely touching the ground. Slowly I tilted my head up when I got to its trunk. There it was again hunched over me with its prickly, viney fingers trying to grasp me in its fists. Closing my eyes, I gulped up the only courage I had left and grabbed the first branch I saw.
The splinters getting stuck in my hands, the brittle taste of leaves that kept getting stuck in my mouth, the slipping of my feet, and the fear of falling as I climb higher, was unbearable. After what seemed hours, I got to the top and searched for the brain which I found instantly and oddly enough looked like an abandoned bird’s nest. But I dint think to much about that. Now I was worried about climbing down.
The beast must have known I had its brain because it shaked its branches as hard as it could to make sure I didn’t get down alive. Every time I glanced towards the ground I seemed ten stories away from it. But unfortunately for the monster, my feet touched the ground alive. I smashed its brain on the ground and the demon disappeared.
Because of this awful experience I learned that even the smallest of people can conquer evil. I can now proudly say, “Yes, I am the monster slayer,
Lyla Clembrel.”