[ WP ] the monster in the closet is trying protect a child from abusive parents . Unfortunately the monster only ends up traumatizing the poor kid

`` Sleep, dear child, or the Lamia will come and eat you.'' 
 
 Amarantham shivered under her *kodion*, wrapping it tight around herself. Her parents had often spoke of the Lamia. Mostly when she misbehaved.'The Lamia,' they said,'eats naughty children. Children like you.' Amara knew her parents wanted the best for her. That was why they beat her -- they did n't want the Lamia to come and devour her in the middle of the night. So they had to make sure she did n't become a naughty girl. It was from love, and this Amara understood. Yet the pain kept her from falling asleep. 
 
 It was so hard trying to force herself to swim into the river of dreams. For every stroke she seemed to be pulled back to the world of the waking with an aching joint or an itchy nose. But she had to try her hardest. Her parents would be devastated if they woke up and saw the bones of their daughter in the *kline* where she had been sleeping.'If only she had listened to us,' they would say.'If only she had not been a naughty girl and stayed up all night.' 
 
 A friend had advised her to think about the most boring thing she knew. Amara thought about her older brother talking. He had a *paidotribe* called Zeno who filled his head with weird ideas. She did n't know whether Zeno really was so strange or if her brother was just poor at communicating what he had learned. Amara refused to believe that Achilles could not outrun a turtle. Turtles are slow. Achilles is fast. Talking does n't change how fast they are, even if it is very weird talking. When her brother talked, often she fell asleep. She tried to imagine a turtle running on two legs, faster than Achilles, who is running behind the turtle and sweating. This did not make her very sleepy. 
 
 From the *larnax*, Lamia was peering at Amarantham. There were not many pieces of clothing inside the chest, so she could fit very well. She had opened it a little bit and was staring at this girl who was clenching her lids together as if she were trying to make her head burst into flames. Such agony Lamia had not seen in a child like Amarantham in a long time. She had been inside the chest long enough to have heard the beating. First she was surprised at the girl not screaming, nor making any sound. But she realized that the girl had grown accustomed to this treatment and that she knew the beating would be far worse if she showed any sign of resistance. 
 
 The parents would eventually beat her to death. Lamia could see this clearly. Zeus had given her the ability to remove her eyes and see instead of the present the future. This was after Hera cursed her so she could never close her eyes. Hera murdered her children in front of her, and made sure she could never rest her eyes. So now she watched over these little ones. She could n't prevent her sweet children from receiving the kiss of death, but there were more children in the world. And many with horrible destinies. Yes, Lamia could see this quite clearly. And Amarantham was one of these children. 
 
 `` Are you sleeping, dear child?'' 
 
 `` Yes, mother. No! I mean --'' 
 
 `` Amara! You are awake? Now the Lamia will eat you.'' 
 
 Hurried, angry steps. Yelling. Then came the beating. Lamia could not turn her eyes away. She saw Amara's mother and thought of Hera beating her own children to death. This could not go on. She had to be stopped. 
 
 The larnax opened with a bang. Amara was frightened at the sound. Then she saw the Lamia. Her mother, her sweet mother, had been right. But now the Lamia had come. She would eat her. Her poor mother had nearly saved her with the beating, but Amara had been naughty. A strong feeling of guilt mixed with fear spread through her body. *Let her eat me*, Amara thought. *I have been bad*. Then she looked at the monstrous Lamia and wanted to escape. She wished Zeno's turtle was there, telling her to climb on his back. He would run and the Lamia would not be able to catch them. 
 
 `` Let go of me! There is the child! Take her! Leave me be!'' 
 
 The Lamia held her mother's arms. Amara's mother was screaming and writhing, trying to get the monster to let her go. But the Lamia was strong. Then came a horrible sound along with a scream like she had never before heard. The Lamia pulled her mother's hands off as if they were twigs. Then the legs. And finally, the head. The blood was like the water of a fountain. For a moment, Amara hoped she had fallen into a bad dream. That this was not the world of the waking. Soon she would wake up and there would be no dead mother, no Lamia. She tried to wake herself up. Screaming. Clawing at her own skin. Hiding under her *kodion*, wishing it all would be over. 
 
 Then it all turned quiet. And she could feel a hand gently nudging her under her blanket. 
 
 `` Amantharam?'' a woman said. `` Amantharam, are you okay?'' But the voice did not belong to her mother. It was the voice of the Lamia. Amara tried to force herself asleep, for if she was awake any longer, the Lamia would eat her. Her parents had told her. Her sweet, dear parents.
