No one believed Jeremy that there was a monster in his closet, try as he might to explain.

Charlene, his babysitter, told him he was imaginative.  His mother told him he was being silly.  His teacher, Mrs. Butterbean, who of all people should have understood with a name like Bee Butterbean, told him it was simply a dream.  And his father refused to listen, instead burying himself in the paper and mumbling, “Son, don’t you have homework to do or a paper to write?”  At that point, Jeremy, who was in the first grade, would give up.  Even his best friend Todd would roll his eyes.  “Jeremy, we’re too old to believe in such things,” he would snap whenever Jeremy brought it up.  “We’re seven, for gosh’s sakes.  We have more important things to do, like ride our bikes to the other side of the world.”  And he would proceed to barrel down the driveway wobbling furiously, his training wheels only having been off for a week.

Watching Todd crash into the bushes at Mrs. Clark’s house, Jeremy decided right then and there to quit talking about the monster in his closet.  Instead, he would prove it.  He would catch the monster and show everyone how wrong they were.

The only problem was he had no idea how to catch a closet monster. This was going to require some research.

Loading his backpack with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and plenty of cheese crackers, Jeremy set off for the library with his mother.  After she had kissed his forehead and made a beeline for the romance novel section, where she could spend hours, he hurried over to one of the ancient librarians.

“Excuse me,” he asked politely.  “Can you help me?”

The grey haired librarian peered at him through her thick glasses.  “Perhaps.  What do you need?”

“I need a book on closet monsters.”  Jeremy waited for her to laugh.  Instead, she merely blinked.

“What kind of book?  One on closet monsters, one about how to get rid of them, one about how to play poker with them, a book about how to catch them…”

“Yes, that’s it!”  Jeremy stared at her in awe.  An adult that didn’t laugh at him, that understood him.  “I need to catch a closet monster so I can prove to everyone I’m not silly, I’m not over imaginative, I’m not ridiculous and I don’t have a paper to write.”

The librarian looked down at him, her face creased with worry.  “I don’t know, son,” she said.  “Catching closet monsters is rather tricky.  They’re the most fierce out of all monsters, you know.  Much meaner than the ones under your bed or that dwell in the bath tub pipes.”

Jeremy’s mouth dropped open.  “There’s monsters in the bath tub pipes?  Where else do they live?”

“Oh, everywhere,” the librarian said, waving her hand.  “They live in pantries, the backs of freezers and fridges, in the dryer, under old car engines…I even had a girl who had one living in her sock drawer. He was particularly mean, as he kept eating her socks so her toes were always cold.  I was always worried they would fall off.”

Jeremy curled his toes inside his sneakers.  Puffing out his chest, he pulled on the straps of his backpack, rustling his sandwiches and chips inside.  “Ma’am, I may be small and only seven, but I know I can catch the monster in my closet.  I just need to know how.”

The librarian looked down at his face, set in a determined scowl.  She did not pat him on the head or coo at him like most other adults would do.  Instead, she nodded as though what he said was the most sensible thing in the world.  Glancing from side to side, she reached under the counter and pulled out a thick leather bound book with yellowed pages.  “Go in the back room, 5A, to read this,” she said in a soft voice, her eyes flickering around the library as she slid the book toward him.  “Don’t show it to anyone else.  Bring it back as soon as you’re done–you can’t check it out.”

Jeremy thanked her and scurried off, the book clutched to his chest.  Peeking at the romance section, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his mother in an armchair, dozing with a stack of books clutched to her chest.  He had hours to spare.  Hurrying past the children’s corner, to the side of the history shelves and past a row of glowing computer screens, Jeremy ducked into room 5A.  Cracking the book open, he stared at the pages.  There were a lot of big words he didn’t know, but that was all right.  He’d copy everything down and look it up in the dictionary when he got home.  Pulling out his sandwich and a pad of paper, he took a big bite of peanut butter and bread and got to work.

A few nights later, Jeremy let his mother read him a story, kiss his forehead and flip on his nightlight.  “Sweet dreams, darling,” she said, closing the door behind her.  “Sleep tight.”

As soon as the door shut, Jeremy leaped up.  Grabbing his flashlight, he crept towards his closet door.  If the book was right, the monster should be ensnared in his trap.  He had done everything the book said:  Left out something tasty (Oreo cookies and milk), set up something shiny and interesting (his new plastic laser gun with the real sounding machine gun noises)  and covered several plates in honey to stick to the monsters feet so he couldn’t run away (he had used a whole jar and nine plates.)

Taking a deep breath, Jeremy flung open the door and raised his camera, pressing the button quickly.  To his surprise, a flash blinded him.  Inside, a purple monster with a green horn poking from his forehead and four large yellow eyes raised his own camera, turning to three smaller monsters behind him.

“See guys?  I told you there was a kid in my closet!”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  We have a week full of whimsy coming up: an exciting adventure re-cap tomorrow, the last edition of the Pemberely Pet Shop and a delicious recipe perfect for Fall!  Stay tuned!

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