Bitter Breath

Sister’s bitter sleep breath wakes me up. “Get up, I need to show you a secret.” I am pulled from my cocoon and instructed to tiptoe so Dad doesn’t hear us playing in the secret. The stairs creak and Sister shushes me and I rub my hands over the goosebumps on my legs. When she opens the door I get chills. The ground is higher and glowing in the dark, little clouds are waving themselves in a frenzy. The sky had fallen! I whimpered so Sister took my hand. “Surprise!” She stole Mom’s coat and ran from me into the sky. I stood cold in the doorway, watching the wind push her down. I should have shown Dad the surprise secret, too, and maybe he would have told Sister not to go out. She waves her limbs but the clouds are too sticky. I see less of her frantic movements and more clouds. Clouds clouds clouds. I step onto the porch and my foot is stung. I scream, I cry, but the wind yells louder. Dad doesn’t come but Sister sits up. She is not Sister anymore, she is a glowing monster and she reaches for my hands. I run inside and slam the door then click the lock like I had seen Sister do before. I sprint upstairs and I don’t care that the stairs creak and my goosebumps won’t go away but I just let them be. I wrap myself back up in my cocoon and I leave the curtains closed so Monster can’t look in. “Honey,” Dad whispers into the room. “Why are you running around? You’ll wake your sister.” I can’t tell him about Monster or else he’ll be mad. I make a little noise so he knows I heard him and then his feet pat back across the hall. I have never been up so late, maybe the sky always rises in the morning and Monster will turn back into Sister when the clouds go back home. I go to sleep hoping that bitter Monster breath doesn’t wake me up.