The Monster Complaint Department
2 min read · Generated by Playla AI
On the night Anya finally looked under her bed, she didn't find a monster. She found an office.
A small desk. A tiny lamp. A sign that read: 'MONSTER COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT — Now Serving #847.'
Behind the desk sat a furry creature no bigger than a football, with enormous worried eyes. He was filling out paperwork.
'Oh!' He startled when he saw Anya. 'You're not supposed to look down here!'
'You're the monster under my bed?' Anya stared. 'You're... small.'
'Size isn't everything,' the monster huffed. 'I'm very scary when the lights are off. It's all about atmosphere.'
'What's the complaint department for?'
The monster sighed. 'Children keep complaining that we're too scary. Last week a kid in Brooklyn asked for a less growly monster. A girl in Portland wants one that tells jokes instead of making noises.'
'And you?'
The monster's big eyes got bigger. 'Honestly? I don't even like being scary. I wanted to work in the Dream Department, making nice dreams. But I failed the entrance exam.'
Anya sat cross-legged on the floor. 'What if... you practiced? I could help.'
That night, instead of growling, the monster under Anya's bed whispered the beginning of a dream about flying over cloud castles.
Anya fell asleep smiling. And the monster? He finally had the job he always wanted.