The birthday party for Nina was a success. I think my daughter was content with all her gift. I just had one more gift left to give to her, which I purposely left for last. Nina has an obsession with 80’s cartoons (thanks to the internet). I managed to negotiate some posters and plush toys from my neighbors basement, from when their adult children where young. Hey they were in good condition, cost me an afternoon of cleaning the basement, and apparently are vintage. Nina opened the box fast to reveal all the goodies inside. I know I did well when she let out a little scream of excitement.
After the guests departed, Nina begged me to put the posters on her bedroom wall and set up the plush toys in her shelves for display. The toys included Care Bears, Smurf’s, My Little Ponies, Gem and the Holograms, Thunder Cats, The Jetsons and a couple more. Nina was super excited by the time I set up her posters and plush toys in her room. One poster next to her night stand, another by her toy shelves and the last one near her closet. I lined up the plush toys on the shelf facing her bed, so she can admire them before she sleeps. Who would have thought this inexpensive gift could bring her so much joy!
I stayed up late that night cleaning up after the party. Nina fell asleep pretty fast, I was not surprised since she enjoyed herself today with all her friends. I allowed my older son Alex to stay up playing video games as I cleaned up. He’s a good kid and plus I don’t like staying up by myself. As I swept the kitchen, I heard some little footsteps. My floors are wood and you can hear every step. I called out for Nina but received no answer. I moved to the sink to wash some dishes and in the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a small shadow running on the floor. Startled I called out for my kids and chased the shadow in the direction it went.
I did not see the shadow but I heard the small foot steps. Certain it was Nina I went to her room. To my surprise she was sound asleep. I closed her door and headed to Alex. He was still playing video games. I asked him if he went to the kitchen and he said no. I dismissed this incident as a result of being tired and up all day. Told Alex to log off and go to bed. I went to Nina’s room again to make sure she was indeed sleeping. I noticed in her room, all the plush toys I placed on her shelves were in her bed next to her. Now I know it was her running around. I decided to let her have her fun for it was technically still her birthday.
The next night, Nina was persistent to sleep with me. She is 8 years old and has been independent ever since I can remember. I asked her why and she just shrugged her shoulders. I gave in to her request despite knowing I will get kicked all night. The night was pleasant despite my bruised knees. As I was making breakfast, Alex started arguing with Nina. I got in the middle of the argument when Alex screamed at his sister. Alex claimed he didn’t sleep well for all the pounding on the walls Nina was doing in her bedroom. When I told Alex that Nina slept with me, I felt my bruised knees go weak.
I searched in Nina’s room for an explanation but found everything normal. Thinking Alex had a vivid dream, I did not want to stress over something I had no explanation and honestly no concrete certainty it even happened. The following night, Nina slept in her bedroom and it was uneventful. The only concern I had is that she looked tired in the morning. As she got ready for school, she fell asleep washing her teeth. When I asked her why she was so tired, she said her toys and the cartoons in the posters kept her up. Alex chimed in that she was running all over her room until late and that was the true reason. When I gave Nina a concerned face, she immediately blurred out that the cartoons in the posters come out at night and keep her up. If she does not do what they say, they will hurt her family.
Later in the day, I kept repeating what Nina told me about her toys. Man does this child have a vivid imagination. I had a headache just to think how do I address this. Is this even possible, I had to slap that thought out of my head for it’s insane. Not really knowing what to do, my best option was to take her to a counselor. I needed a qualified adult to help me understand why my kid thinks her toys are possessed. In the evening, I went to Nina’s room and removed a few toys from her shelves and placed them in the garage. I assured her we would all sleep with our bedroom doors open. At the slightest concern I would rush to be with her.
Around 2:47am I woke up to whispers and small foot steps. Alarmed I got up quickly to go to Nina’s room. As I made my way, I heard foot steps make way to mine. I swallowed nervously for this seemed so surreal. As I stood in the entrance of the bedroom, I saw Nina and Alex on the bed hugging each other. Both gestured for me to keep quiet and join them on the bed. I joined my children who were scared but observing the floor closely. They pointed to the posters on the wall. At first I could not see clearly in the dark. The posters looked empty. Like if someone had cut out the vintage cartoons out of them. Confused I reached for the night stand to turn on the light. Both Alex and Nina screamed “No!”
In the split second I turned on the light and turned it back off, I saw some small creatures all over floor, they had the bed surrounded. Not sure what to do, I pulled my kids closer to me. At this point they were sobbing. I was shaking in disbelief. Nina started screaming that one of these things were on her leg. I tried to get it off but that was in vain. This blue like goblin raced toward her face and was choking her. I got on top of Nina and was struggling to remove the creature. Alex put the light back on and to our horror we saw we were outnumbered. I told the kids to make a run for the door. As we made our way the creatures ran up our legs scratching and tearing into our skin. In desperation I violently grabbed one poster on the wall and ripped it. This caused a frenzy but I saw some of the small creatures disappear.
I went to go rip another poster but the blue goblin ran up my back to my neck and inserted his sharp claws. I was in so much pain I fell on my knees holding my bloodied neck. Alex ripped another poster as Nina helped me up. More creatures disappeared but we dashed out the door not caring the fate of the remaining creatures.
We waited for the police in our front lawn. Not sure how to explain my injury and what happened. I made up a story of a break in. The police would think we were insane if we would even try to explain what really happened. When the police entered to search my home, they asked what happened to the posters on the wall. Strips of paper stayed dangling from the posters. When I looked in Nina’s room, the remaining poster on the wall stayed with the cut outs. The vintage cartoon images never returned and neither did we. We could not stay there for we feared the creatures remained there hiding- waiting for us. Safe to say we no longer collect vintage toys or post any posters on our walls.
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