#kamanue

The fears of a monster under the bed or in the closet are quite childish.

I think anyone else would agree that believing in such things when you're a grown adult capable of fully understanding that such things were not only not real but ridiculous to believe in if you weren't a child or paranoid person was absolutely ridiculous. After all monsters were the things made of myths and legends like unicorns or ghosts. They only existed in horror media and people's imaginations used to scare others or tell a story. 

There was no such things as monsters.

Or at least that's what you always believed. You never really had a thought of even entertaining the notion that there might be something otherworldly out there. Not until you had moved out of your parents' house and into your first apartment building. It was just a small apartment but you didn't mind it as you had your freedom and could live on your own now. The first night you lived there you could've sworn that you heard footsteps coming from the the guest room you used for a temporary storage space but when you went to go look but found no one there. Strange but you didn't think much of it chalking it up to your upstairs neighbor walking around.

Then there was the strange occurrences that continued happening in that room. 

Sometimes you'd hear what sounded like footsteps or muffled voices which could just be easily explained away as your upstairs neighbor being a bit too loud but there was other strange.things too. Sometimes when you walked into the room, you'd notice some of your boxes opened up and sone of your property scattered around the room like someone went rummaging through everything which freaked you out into calling your landlord to come take a look around in case someone broke in but you both didn't find anyone else in the apartment. That was weird. Your landlord suggested that your stuff probably fell out as you moved in which might've been believable if you knew you used strong duct tape to wrap up the boxes in. So someone must've gotten into your stuff. You sure hoped it wasn't rats. 

But the strange occurrences didn't stop there. You transformed the second bedroom into a study/relaxing room separate from your bedroom decorating it and everything, but the strangest things were yet to be had. It started out small. Sometimes you would find an object misplaced or moved from where you knew you left it. Nothing easily written off as you being forgetful but then something really started bugging you when you started once again finding your items laying on the floors. You knew you didn't move your favorite comfy bean bag chair next to your mini fridge! Speaking of your fridge-

ALL YOUR SNACKS WERE GONE!!

You stood there frozen staring at the open mini fridge before your gaze slowly turned following the trail of empty tv dinners, crumbs, plastic wrappers, and crushed soda cans until they stopped just in front of the closet. The door slightly ajar just an inch and-...Hey. wait. 

Was your closet always open??

You could've sworn it was closed when you left for work. You stood there silently as you slowly approached the door. A wrapper crinkled under your foot as you stoof in front of the door looking at it curiously and confused. You didn't leave this open. Leaning over your eyes scanned for any way the door might've popped loose only to find a face in the gap of the door staring at you-

You screamed bloody murder. You screech echoing out through the streets apartment as you turned and RAN right out of that apartment. Running down the stairs, didn't stop out of fear until you stood outside on the sidewalk where you fumbled with shaking hands to call the police.

"Hello? Police! I need help! Someone broke into my apartment!!"

It took an hour for a squad car to get to where you were at which point you had also called your landlord and he also arrived when you gave a statement before leading them back to your apartment . Some neighbors were in the hallway or poking their heads out their doors to see what was going on. The door was still slightly opened and your were ordered to wait as they searched the place. You stayed right across the hall watching with shaking hands as they entered your home and lights turned on as you saw their figures watching through your home. After a while they came back out without anyone in cuffs.

"There's no signs of anyone being inside the home, and no forcibly entry."

"But there WAS something there! I saw him in the doorway!!"

No matter what you said the police had nothing else and left leaving you standing there in the hallway in front of your house. You couldn't get yourself to go inside opting to sleep in your locked car that night before going on the next morning with a tire iron from the trunk in search of the guy you saw checking every closet, under your bed, and even in the kitchen cabinets but found no one. It was both relieving and weirded you out.

You know you saw someone last night! He was right there! Was it just a hallucination? You had been pretty swamped with work and homework so maybe all the lack of sleep combined with hearing those ghost stories all the time we're starting to get to you. Yeah. That must've been it. But..you KNEW you saw the side of someone's face looking surprised at you from inside the hallway. So after cleaning up the mess left behind, you all but tore out that closet using the brightest light you could find. Pulling out some old suitcases and other random items you had no other place for so stored them in the closet. You didn't find anything so you desperately looked for any secret doors or any holes in the walls. You've heard horror stories of homeless people living in people's walls before so you thought perhaps that was what was going on 

But no matter where you searched you couldn't find anyone or anything anywhere! It was like a ghost was causing your misery but you knew it wasn't a ghost! A ghost couldn't eat food!! Someone must've been breaking into your apartment without you knowing so you BEGGED the landlord to change your locks to which he did after you threatened to leave a bad review of his housing business online. The locksmith came out and changed the locks giving yourself and the landlord the only two keys so you felt at peace knowing no one would get in again.

....Until you found someone had gotten inside AGAIN!!

You had been working on a project in your study, including everything from having ordered a pizza , and had gotten up to just quickly get a drink. You came back and found your entire pizza GOBE and the desk lamp knocked over. You stared stunned until you again looked over and found the closet door OPENED!! This time you grabbed the lamp and held it up as a weapon before going over to the door and YANKING IT OPEN!! The closet was empty. The only things inside was some random clutter and an empty pizza box. You stood there stunned looking at the tiny closet. 

The police were called again but the same thing happened. They didn't find or see anyone or anything and left leaving you standing there feeling paranoid. You didn't know what was going on and were feeling like you were going crazy!! It wasn't until a neighbor talked to you did you finally learn the truth.

"So you're the new resident of the Closet Case." 

You stopped on your way back from retrieving your mail when you ran into an old lady. "...The what?"

She smiled at you. "The Closet Case. That's what the call the apartment that's haunted by the man in the closet."

You stared blankly. "Are you talking about the 'ghost' in my home?"

She hummed. "Not so much a ghost but a monster."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." You held up a hand. "Are you telling me that there's a monster in my closet?! Do I look stupid to you?! Only kids believe in that stuff!"

"Hm. Doesn't the activity only take place in the room with THAT particular closet?" You fell silent as she turned. "The old tenant thought it was fake too. Why do you think the apartment was so cheap? No one wants to live with a monster."

She couldn't be serious right? A monster in the closet? Even as a kid you didn't believe in that stuff! Only crazy people and kids believed in things like monsters and fairies and ghosts!! ...But then again..You didn't really have any other way to explain why the activity started or why no one was able to find anything. You came back to your apartment to find found your restocked mini fridge again raided and your favorite food gone!! A trail again leading back to the closet.

....Oh HELL no!!

"No one eats my food and makes me waste my money but ME!!"

You didn't care what it was at this point! Ghost, monster, hobo- NO ONE TOUCHED YOUR FAVORITE JUNK FOOD AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!! Two people could play ball at this rate!! You immediately got online and found the closest locksmith right then and there to come by to change the locks on your closet! Your money was down the drain from all the food you lost! Your food was taken! Your privacy was violated!! And YOU were the one that owned this place not it!! So the locksmith came and while he found it strange that he was changing locks on a closet, he did and handed you the keys. You had a lock that could only be unlocked from the outside so you liked to see him try to get in now!

The next thing you did was looking online for a local priest to come out and perform an exorcism on your closet. If the locks and exorcism didn't work then you were secretly going to get rid of the closet and make it a part of the wall without telling the landlord. No closet, no monster. But that was a last resort if the first two options didn't work. A local priest came and (for a fee-) did a cleansing on your apartment banishing out any evil spirits before putting a paper talisman on your door.

"As long as the talisman is on your door nothing will come in or out of that closet. It should be gone however." 

It should've left but whatever it was it didn't. Because you were reading in your study and heard something come from the closet. You looked up and found the doorknob turning and jiggling. Rattling around as whoever was on the other side tried to open it. Ah. Came back huh? Calmly and quietly you placed your book down and quietly tiptoed your door. You stood there arms crossed as the knob still rattled before you pulled your leg back and KICKED the door! It sounded like something collided with the door on the other side with a good thud.

"OW!!", a voice yelled from inside the closet, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"THAT'S FOR TAKING MY PIZZA YOU TRESPASSER!!," You yelled out as the voice went silent. "NO ONE TOUCHES MY PEPPERONI!! IT COSTED ME MONEY TO FIX YOUR THIEVERY!!"

There was silence on the other side before you heard some muffled shuffling around and then the voice came back. "Hey...IM TRAPPED IN HERE!!"

"DUH!! I paid a good amount of money to keep you out of my apartment!! It better keep you out for the amount I had to pay!!"

"No you foolish mortal!! I'm literally TRAPPED inside this confined space now!!"

"Ok. And?"

"AND?! IF IM TRAPPED WITHIN THE CONFINED SPACE OF YOUR CLOSET THAT MIGHT MEAN I CANT GO INSIDE YOUR WORLD BUT THAT ALSO MEANS I CAN'T LEAVE YOUR CLOSET EITHER!! IM LITERALLY STUCK HERE IN LIMBO UNLESS YOU LET ME IN OR REMOVE THAT TALISMAN SO I CAN LEAVE!!," HE yelled out from behind the door, "IT'S LIKE I'M TRAPPED INSIDE A BOX!!"

Ah.

That... hadn't been a part of your plan. You wanted to get rid of him, not trap him in your home. This was a problem. ...A problem that you could easily use to your advantage! With a smile you just stood there.

"Well. Then I guess you'd better get comfortable."

"WHAT?!"

"You caused me a lot of trouble not to mention food and money, so you can just rattle around in there for a while to teach you a lesson!"

More screams, curses, and banging was had from the closet but you merely just pushed a heavy desk against the door(just in case-) and left the room to go do other things. He could stay in there for a while and think about what he's done! That day and the next was filled with nonstop yelling and crashing sounds from the closet muffled by the walls but you still got a visit from your landlord about the amount of complaints your neighbors were making about the noise. 

"Sorry about that. My TV is broken and the volume is stuck on high."

He didn't look pleased. "Well then I suggest you turn it off until it's fixed."

"Will do!"

You couldn't tell him you had a monster trapped in your closet. They'd think you were crazy and might have the police called on you. So you kicked the door again with a frown.

"Be quiet in there! You got in trouble with my landlord!"

"Then let me OUT OF HERE!!"

"The more noisier you are the longer you'll stay in there!!"

He threw some more curses your way as you left the room. In fact you avoided that room all together until an entire week went by. You thought that was enough time to get your point across before you went back in there and knocked on the closet door.

"Hey. You still there?" Silence. Oh. So now he was giving you the silent treatment huh? "Ok. I was going to talk to you about letting you go but since you seem to be happy on staying-"

"Wait!!"

Ah. There he was. You smiled. "Alright, Mr. Monster! Have you come to admit defeat now?"

"Yes! Yes I admit defeat! Now please let me go," he sounded desperate.

"I will but on some conditions. Firstly, I want an apology for everything you put me through!"

A muffled sigh. "Seriously?!"

"I can always move out and just leave you locked in there until the next person decides to move in." And you were dead serious too!

"Fine! I'm...sorry."

You smiled wider. "Good. Secondly I want to know why you kept stealing my food and breaking into my apartment!"

"I was here first way before humans even inhabited this land! I was hungry so I ate what I found!"

"Wow. Invasion of privacy much?"

"You'd do the same thing in my position, Woman!"

.....Ok. Maybe he had a point. Soda, Pizza, and junk food was delicious but that still didn't excuse all the money wasted and the fear he put you through.

"And finally! I have a deal for you! I'll let you go, but in return you NEVER come back here again!"

"A deal usually provides mutual benefits. That sounds like it'll only benefit you!"

"You'll be free won't you? Look. It's either that or I am fully prepared to just live with the fact that I have a monster in my closet trapped forever. So do we have a deal or not?"

"...*sigh* It's a deal. You're a stubborn woman."

"And you're a trespasser. I'm going to take off the talisman and count to ten. So you have ten seconds to vanish before I put it back on the door, so don't even think about double-crossing me or trying to come back because if you do I'll just leave you trapped in there and just put a wall over the door!!", you threatened. You got no answer so you reached up to pull off the talisman. "One. Two. Three." You reached out for a piece of tape. "Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight." You put the tape on the back of the talisman. "Nine. TEN!"

You quickly slapped the talisman back on the door. There wasn't any answers from the other side so you slowly reached out to move the desk and pull out the key to unlock the door. Making sure to reach out to grab a vase in case you had to defend yourself as you took a deep breath and YANKED the door open ready to throw the vase-

But the closet was empty.