"I'm the girl that knows the monsters"
 

“I’m the girl that knows the monsters”

This was said to me this morning as I was walking to my bus stop on my way to work this morning.

She is a homeless woman I’ve seen around a few times before. Very dirty, no shoes, just torn socks.

What few teeth she has are rotting severely. She looks around 70 years old but is probably closer to 40.

Living on the street, in the sun, rain and cold all year round does that to you.

She asked me for a cigarette. This is nothing new. I’m asked for one pretty much every day and always give it.

As I handed her the cigarette, she started speaking about how she had seen the slaughter of the untouchables.

How she had seen the horrors and that they know what she knows.

Then she mentioned monsters. I couldn’t understand what she meant.

There are all kinds of monsters in the world.

Some we invite into our lives for brief periods.

Some rush at us, do what damage they can and then leave.

Some stay with us all of our lives, periodically reminding us they are there.

You don’t always see them but you can feel them there.

They come in the forms of mental illness, drugs and some are people.

I had to leave and catch my bus, She nodded understanding and turned to walk away.

As she turned, she said “I’m the girl that knows the monsters”. It gave me chills when she said it.

Maybe it was the quietness of her voice.

And as she walked away, I found myself looking at her, squinting my eyes to see if I could see her monsters.

Of course I couldn’t. But I could feel them.

she doesn't even have a bed for them to be under

Sounds like her belfry is intact, though.

schizophrenia

Unless she was speaking the truth.

:eek:

I know of what she speaks, I have one that jumps on my back every time I step on the scales. :unsure:

what?

She's the monster that knows the girls...

I only know one Monster. And she is nice.

Who wrote that, Shel?
I'm only guessing it wasn't you because of the layout - looks cut and pasted.

Very Neil Gaiman.
The writing, not the spacing.

Sometimes I feel like the girl that knows the monsters.
But I'm more like the woman that knows the horrors.

I had a patient yesterday who told me that people of her size kept breaking into her house and stealing things. She knew they were her size because they stole her clothes. She went to the window a number of times to look at her car. She wanted to make sure nobody was stealing from it.

I have a neighbor, older woman about 65ish. She used to accuse her next door neighbor of tunneling through their common basement wall & watching her TV while she was at work. When I asked if there was visible damage in her basement, she said he sealed the hole up before she got home every day. ......... she still lives across the street. He has long since left citing her as one of the main reasons.

Actually every word written by me from what actually happened to me that morning last week.

No shit, you write well... for a Jersey kid. :haha:
Ok ok, former Jersey kid, but kidding aside, kudos, that's a great piece.

Thanks. It was one of the few times I felt like I HAD to write it down.
Usually when it happens, I use pen and paper and after writing I throw it away.