My Mom Turned Into A Monster…

This story won HarperCollins World Book Day story writing contest.

That afternoon when I came back from school, Mummy was not at home. I thought of checking upstairs. I flung my bag on the sofa and went to the room upstairs. I opened the door and what a shock I got! The room was smellier than a skunk. I turned around and was flabbergasted at the sight I saw. There was Mum’s favourite China vase shattered on the ground. A broken alarm clock … And suddenly, a pencil case flung at my feet! I looked up. And there was a creature with tangled hair, long pointy nose, sharp nails, and overgrown cloak with its back pointing at me. She looked like a witch.

‘Yumm…’ the creature said. It sounded like my mother’s voice, but a bit hoarse. I ran like a bird and flung the door shut. Saved. It was my mum. She needed help. I had to do something. I sat and pondered over the situation. Suddenly I thought about calling Aunt Maria, my mother’s sister. She is a vet who also researches on unusual behaviour in animals. Once while experimenting on our dog, she ended up giving it a potion that caused its tail to grow longer than usual. Well, she did bring it back to normal though. So, she was my only hope.

I rushed to my bedroom, grabbed my phone and started dialling. The phone rang for a minute and then turned off. The battery was dead. So, I flew down the stairs leading to the hall. I ransacked the whole living room. And finally found my mum’s phone on the sofa behind a cushion. I looked at the battery—40 per cent, it said Great! I again looked in the contacts and clicked on Maria. The phone rang for a minute or so before Aunt Maria picked it up.

‘Hello!’ my aunt said.

‘Aunt Maria!’ I stammered. ‘I am in big trouble. Can you please help me?’ I spoke.

‘Oh, what happened, sweetie?” she asked.

‘Aunt, you won’t believe this. Mum has turned into a monster!’ I replied.

‘WHAT! I’ll be right there,’ she said before she hung up.

I was trembling with fear. Suddenly the door of the room in which my mother was locked started rattling. I jumped. I ran up the stairs again and stood outside, trying to find some courage and spoke a little louder, ‘Yes?’ ‘I’m hungry! Give me food!’ my mum yelled. Then she grunted. Another vase was flung at the door. Thankfully, the door was shut so the vase didn’t hit me. I ran into the kitchen and opened the fridge. I looked for some cooked food. I found some chicken lollipops and took them out of the fridge. As I kept it on the table, the doorbell rang. I again rushed to the door panting heavily. I opened it with a heavy sigh of relief. It was Aunt Maria, finally.

‘Are you okay? Where is your mother?’ she asked.

‘She is upstairs. I managed to lock her.’

We both reached upstairs. Aunt Maria took a net out of her bag and flung open the door, aiming the net on my mother. She got stuck in the net. Whew! Aunt Maria and I heaved a sigh of relief. But our troubles were not over. Mother tore the net with her long, sharp nails.

‘Aunt Maria! Mother tore the net! Run!’ I screamed.

Soon Aunt Maria and I were running full speed with Mummy chasing us. After some time, I got tired, and I waited for a bit. Suddenly I heard a roar. I turned around and gasped. It was the monster, I mean my mum. She roared again. I tried to run, but I was trembling, so I was rooted to the spot.

Mummy got hold of me as I struggled to free myself. She suddenly pierced me with her teeth. I screamed very loudly. She might have sunk her teeth for maybe half an inch. I was bleeding profusely. I bit her hand. She yelped in pain, and let go of me just for a second. I ran away and reached the hall.

Aunt Maria was searching for me. She just glanced at me and understood that I had had a horrific encounter with the monster.

‘Do you have any food we can offer your mother with the medicine in it?’ Aunt Maria asked.

‘Yes, chicken lollipops,’ I explained.

‘Do you remember the potion I gave to the dog to get it back to normal? I still have that with me. It turns abnormal creatures back to normal. We will try it on your mom,’ she said.

‘Okay,’ I replied.

We opened the door. Thankfully Mum was upstairs. We rushed to the kitchen, grabbed the chicken lollipop, added few drops of the potion to it and kept it beside the stairs.

‘Mummy, food is here!’ I yelled and we both hit behind the sofas.

Mummy came and gobbled the chicken lollipops one after the other. She was about to pick a photo frame from the table when suddenly, she collapsed. She turned human yet again. I rushed forward and hugged her. She woke up. ‘What happened?’ She asked quizzically.

Aunt and I preferred to feed her first. We prepared food together. She ate it and we told her what had happened. On hearing it all, she hugged me tightly. The last thought I had that night before sleeping was that while it was good to have Mum, my loving and caring Mum, one never knows what might happen to a person within seconds.

The next morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was to go to my mum’s room for a big, tight hug. I saw her brushing her hair before the mirror. Suddenly, as I saw her image in the mirror, I could see the monster yet again. I held my breath and turned around to see her—she smiled at me and said, ‘What happened, honey?’

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