Morry's Gift

Chances are there was a monster under your bed or in your closet when you were a kid.  In all likelihood, it had been there since you were born.  The job of this monster was to break your will and spirit just before you stopped believing in it.  For most of you, age seven was the magic age when you stopped believing.  Once it wore you down, saw you crumble; it got new orders and was sent on its merry way.

Maurice’s last assignment was a little boy, Jimmy, whose spirit was never broken.  He was a fearless little boy.  His dad called him “Red Chief” after a character in an old O’Henry story Jimmy’s dad loved as a kid. 

It was Halloween when Jimmy confronted Maurice, Morry for short, about the facts of a monster’s job.  Jimmy made a deal with him that night.  Since Morry knew he would never break Jimmy’s spirit, he agreed.  The deal was to leave Jimmy for greener pastures.  He promised Morry the job would not only be easy but entertaining.  His Halloween gift to Morry was Boris.

Boris was a classmate of Jimmy’s.  He picked on Jimmy and his friend, Billy, on a daily basis.  Boris was the class bully.

After he came home from trick or treating, Boris gave the bag to his dad to check the candy.  He kissed his mom and went up to his room.

Boris barely heard his dad call after him, “Sport, you don’t want any candy?”

He didn’t say a word; just shook his head.  As he pulled off his costume he saw something move in the corner of his eye.  It was probably nothing but a shadow.  It was Halloween.  You were supposed to be spooked. 

The next morning he saw Jimmy and Billy as they walked passed the house.  He wasn’t in the mood to pick on them.   Percy, his older brother, beat him up again.  Boris couldn’t wait until he was old enough to get even with him.  On top of that, he saw the shadow go under the bed again. 

Time moved on and Boris began to see the shadow more and more.  He had begun to think he was losing his mind.  Just before spring vacation started, something had begun tugging at his blankets. 

Boris bolted up in bed, “Percy, if you don’t stop I’m gonna pound you!”

Percy did not respond to the threat.  Boris was relieved.  He didn’t want to deal with him tonight.  He crawled under the blankets and hugged his pillow.  Silent tears began to run down his face.  His parents had been fighting again when he came home. Before too long, Boris was asleep.

Morry saw the toes first.  The toes were short and pudgy.  He was ready to run his nail down the bottom of Boris’s foot when he heard a sob.  He didn’t think Boris was the bully he made himself out to be outside the walls of his house.  In fact, he knew it. 

Morry had learned over the past months that Boris was a sad little boy.  If Jimmy had known, heck if Morry had known Boris was not the bully he pretended to be, the deal would have never happened.  Tonight Boris was told his parents were getting separating.  His dad was moving to the other side of town.  Percy told him if their parent got a divorce, it would be his fault. 

Morry had seen everything on this job.  Boris was not the first kid whose parents separated.  He decided Boris needed help and he was just the monster to do it.  Morry first needed to talk to Jimmy. He silently slurked out the window into the night.

Jimmy stopped wrapping himself like a mummy when Morry left.  Morry took advantage of it.  His nail ran down the length of the bottom of Jimmy’s foot.  Jimmy bolted straight up in bed. 

“Morry?” Jimmy croaked.

“Yes.  Jimmy, we need to talk about Boris.  And I need a favor from you.  This seems only fair.  I did do one for you.” Morry made himself at home on the end of the bed.

“Sure, what is it?” Jimmy answered.  He remembered last Halloween when the deal was made.  He did owe one to Morry.  He’d been with Boris for about six months.  He thought maybe Morry had come to tell him the job was done and was coming back. 

“It’s about Boris.  I would like you and Billy to befriend him.  Close your mouth Jimmy.  Boris is having a very hard time.  He really is just a scared little boy.” Jimmy snapped his mouth shut and continued to listen.

Morry told him Boris was bullied by older brother, Percy.  He mentioned the fighting between his parents. Then Morry told Jimmy about Boris’s parents.

“Jimmy, this kid has no spirit to break.  He was broken when I moved under the bed.  His, by the way is completely neat and tidy compared to yours.” Morry ducked his head under the bed as he said this; his voice muffled.

He popped back up and said, “You and Billy start hanging with him a little. I’m going to do my best to talk to him.  You know, set him straight.  Maybe I should go into the counseling business.”

Morry was out the window before Jimmy could register a response.

When Morry returned to Boris’s room, he noticed that pudgy foot again.  He took action.  He ran his nail on the bottom of his foot. His foot twitched. Morry did it again.  Boris woke just as Morry was about to just shake him awake. 

“Hey, kid.  We need to have a monster to bully talk.”

Boris sat there with his eyes wide and mouth open.  Morry placed his pointed nail under Boris’s chin and gently pushed it shut. 

“What is with you boys and your mouths hanging open? It makes you all look a bit like goldfish. Don’t answer; I truly do not want to know. Let me introduce myself.  I am Maurice.  And if you don’t blink soon, I will be forced to eat you.”

Boris blinked.

“Thank you.  You may call me Morry.  I’m the monster who lives under your bed.  Normally, I would be sent to you as a baby.  Then I would wait for your seventh year and basically turn you into a sniveling little boy.  You, however, were a gift to me. 

“I’d been told you are a bit of a bully.  No, that’s not right.  You are a bully.  I’ve spent months under your bed and I have to tell you, you are not good at it.  What you are is a frightened little boy.  I have decided to give you some advice.”

“On being a bully?” Boris managed to sputter.

“No. No. No.  I could give you lessons of course; but you are not cut from the right cloth for it.  No.  I’m going to tell you how things really are.  First, about your parents and the fighting; grownups do that. It comes from stress.  Grownup stuff.  It comes from the frustration you get when something happens and you have no control over it.”  Morry looked at Boris.  The kid wasn’t getting it. He was seriously thinking of exchanging this gift.

“Let me put it this way.  When your parents are arguing, you are unable to do anything to stop it.  You have been taught your entire seven years to respect your parents.  That’s a very good thing.  Unfortunately, you cannot fight back.  So what does little Boris do?  He wipes the tears and goes out and picks on other little kids.  That’s going to stop.” Morry inspected his nails.

Boris began to whimper, “The kids don’t like me.”

“Of course they don’t kid.  Tell me, do you like it when Percy picks on you?” 

“I hate it.”

“Everyone hates to be picked on.  It’s the number one reason the other kids aren’t too fond of you.  But, like I said, the bully act is going to stop.  Once you do, the other kids will start seeing you for who you really are.”

“Do you really think so?”  Boris was beginning to get his hopes up. 

“I do.  Now, about your parents getting a separating…”

“Uhhhh”, moaned Boris.

“Hear me out on this one kid.  That is not exactly the worst thing that can happen.” Morry saw Boris was going to protest and held a hand in front of his face to get him to stop.  He noticed he needed more scum under some of the nails.

“I see and hear things you don’t.  By the way, Percy is an idiot.  You are not the cause of your parents separating.  I would love more than anything to tell you its Percy’s fault. I really don’t like that kid.  The fault belongs to no one.  It happens.  But I know, after your mom and dad are apart for awhile, things will get better.  The fighting will stop.  They will get along much better.  The sad part of the whole mess will be Percy.  He’ll still be here.”  Morry had plans for Percy.

Boris sat straight in his bed, “Really?  Do you think everything will be okay?  Mom and Dad don’t blame me? They really don’t?” Boris sniffed. “And you are right about Percy.  He is a jerk.  I’m just not big enough to get him back.”

“You will be alright Boris.  You’ll see.  Now I have to take care of my next assignment.” Morry gave Boris a thumb up as he slipped out the window.

Boris sniffled again.  As he drifted off to sleep, he thought he heard Percy scream. 

The next morning at breakfast, he heard Percy coming down the stairs.  He closed his eyes and waited for the morning blow to the back of his head.  It never came. With one eye open he looked at Percy.  He had dark circles under his eyes.  He looked pale.  He stood there shaking and just stared off into space.  Boris had an idea who Morry’s next job was.

Boris grabbed his books.  When he had opened the door to leave, there stood Jimmy and Billy. 

“Hey Boris, walk with us to school.” Jimmy and Billy said at the same time.  They turned into the school yard when the three of them saw Chloe, the new girl from their class. She tossed her hair as they looked her way. Boris gave her a shy wave then caught up with his new friends.