[ WP ] You are a single parent , and your child has shown you their drawing of a monster . You discover that the monster is real .

It was hard being single again. 
 
 Not single exactly- she had to face it. Divorced. 
 
 There were a few problems with that distinction. People treated her differently- either skating around the subject or being awkwardly sympathetic- and those friends they used to share as a couple... well. 
 
 It was all so very awkward. 
 
 Then there were the bills of course. She did n't know why she became a housewife at Jerry's insistence, just that she'd thrown away a high-flying future, disappointed her parents, and was now at her wits end trying to find a job that she was n't overqualified or too old for. Through all of this, she was also busy pretending she was ok to her little ball of sunshine. 
 
 It was quite stressful to look like she and Life were good pals while going for job interviews. 
 
 At least someone was taking this whole situation better than her. It was hard to smile sometimes, but whenever she saw Fabian playing with his toys or when she took him to the park- it reminded her that things were still ok. 
 
 She did have him after all, and that was all that was important anyway. 
 
 `` What's this?'' 
 
 `` It's my friend.'' Fabian told her, not looking up from his colouring. `` He's always happy even though he's sad.'' 
 
 `` A sad friend?'' she frowned. She had hoped that her negativity was n't visible to him. `` Uh, what is he?'' 
 
 `` He plays with me sometimes.'' the child said, `` He knows all the best places to play hide and seek.'' 
 
 That was n't an answer. She was vaguely worried about the weird tails and the big teeth but Fabian did always have a very active imagination. 
 
 `` I suppose it's good you can be happy.'' she muttered to herself. 
 
 About a week later she discovered the bell. It was a tiny iridescent thing just by the Fabian's bed. It glinted oddly when she held it up to the light, as if it was emanating light of its own. 
 
 She had a strange instinct to keep it so she did. 
 
 Time passed. Fabian started attending school and she got a job as a cashier by hiding information about her higher qualifications. It was n't a terribly glamorous job for somebody of her background but she'd never really wanted a glamorous life anyway so it was all good. 
 
 `` Fabian!'' 
 
 Then the bus accident happened. God, she was so worried when she heard news of the school bus' accident but Fabian seemed oddly ok. 
 
 `` My friend saved me.'' he told her, `` He made the bus stop so that it would n't run me over.'' 
 
 `` Who is this friend of your?'' she asked, `` *Fabian*.'' 
 
 He did n't want to answer. She frowned but let him go. She remembered the odd bell she'd found. 
 
 She waited until it was night and Fabian was asleep. Again she had a strange urge to keep the bell with her and she stayed up as the moon rose. 
 
 She rang the bell. 
 
 It rang with a single, dull note. Something shifted in the darkness of her bedroom and resolved itself into a form. 
 
 It had many tails. It had white, sharp teeth. 
 
 She screamed. 
 
 Then she stilled when the sound seemed to reflect back at her in a muffled echo. 
 
 `` W-what are you?'' she growled, `` What do you want with my son?'' 
 
 It yipped and jumped up onto her bed, snuggling at her side. She had no room to squirm away so she just lay there trembling but it did not seem to mind. Eventually, she dared to run a hand along its furry coat. 
 
 `` Soft...'' 
 

