Chocolate Travels

The suburbs would have normally been a decent hunting ground for the Chocolate Monster, but times were tough. There were no kids running around, no family picnics being had, and no birthdays being celebrated. The Chocolate Monster dragged itself across a perfectly manicured lawn under the beating sun, convinced that if it did not find some chocolate soon, it would see the sun set but it wouldn’t see it rise.

Chocolate Monsters were better suited to cities where there were plenty of grocery stores, candy shops and bakeries to make home. This Chocolate Monster had lived in a chocolate shop for decades with no complaints. The owner was a genius, ensuring there was always a delicious spread to choose from once the doors were closed. Every day there were different dramas brought in by the customers. The Chocolate Monster observed from it’s perch on the highest shelf behind the cash register facing the door. It always tried to guess their reasons for coming in that day.

This man looks pleased with himself and will not stop humming. Could it be he remembered an anniversary? I bet he buys chocolate covered strawberries.

That woman looks like she’s been crying. I wonder what has upset her? She should have some fudge.

That child looks overwhelmed. Some salted chocolate caramels would blow his mind.

That man looks worried. I bet he’s done something wrong. He’s gonna go for the heart-shaped box of chocolates.

That child does not deserve any chocolate if she doesn’t stop whining.

It was a good set-up, but the Chocolate Monster grew restless. The food security was great, it needed chocolate every day, but it sometimes wondered about the thrill of the hunt. And the glimpses it received into the lives of these humans was not enough. It always wondered what happened to the people after they left the store. The Chocolate Monster yearned to be a part of a family, so it decided to try and find one.

The night it left the chocolate shop for good, the Chocolate Monster gorged itself on all of the confections. It usually tried to be discrete so that the owner wouldn’t notice, but after tonight it wouldn’t matter. The next morning, the Chocolate Monster stole onto a city bus and headed to the suburbs.

The Chocolate Monster had tried staying with a couple families but either the family didn’t keep enough chocolate in the house or the Chocolate Monster didn’t like the family enough to stay long. Then the pandemic happened. The Chocolate Monster was between homes when people started shutting themselves inside in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. The Chocolate Monster found itself starving, laying under a bush, conserving the last bits of energy it had left while it attempted to come up with a plan.

“We celebrated Benji’s birthday this weekend.”

The Chocolate Monster lifted it’s head and listened. A woman sat on a bench on the porch with a dog beside her while talking on the phone.

“He seemed a little disappointed that he couldn’t celebrate with his friends but he said it was still the best birthday ever.”

Birthdays meant cake. The cake could be chocolate! The Chocolate Monster scooted to the bottom of the stairs that led to the front porch as the woman continued talking on the phone. It was a small monster and the step was slightly above it’s head but it reached it’s arms up and heaved with all of it’s might, pulling itself onto the first step. It rolled over the edge, flopped onto it’s back and lay like a beached whale for a few seconds before it repeated the process. Six steps later, it had reached the top.

The Chocolate Monster froze. The dog had lifted it’s head from the woman’s lap and was staring at it.

Animals and children saw monsters all the time. Adults assumed the children had made up an imaginary friend. They assumed the dog was hearing or seeing something they couldn’t. Adults themselves were too preoccupied to see monsters, although some would see them move out of the corner of their eye on occasion.

The Chocolate Monster remained still, knowing it did not have the energy to fight or run away from a dog. The dog lost interest and eventually dropped it’s head back into it’s owner’s lap and turned away. The Chocolate Monster sagged in relief and then positioned itself beside the front door, waiting.

Eventually the woman finished her conversation and got up to go inside. The Chocolate Monster stayed motionless as she approached the door with the dog at her heels. She swung the door behind her without looking and the Chocolate Monster slipped in just before it clicked shut.

The Chocolate Monster found the kitchen easily. A quick look around showed there was no cake on the counter, so it had to be in the fridge. It found a hiding spot and waited until the house was asleep. When all was quiet, the Chocolate Monster emerged and stared up at the fridge. It tugged on the door handle but it wouldn’t budge. The Chocolate Monster gave it an even bigger yank with no luck. It tried to stick it’s fingers between the magnets holding the door closed but was unsuccessful. It found a spatula and tried to use that for leverage, but the Chocolate Monster just did not have enough strength. The door of the fridge remained closed and the Chocolate Monster collapsed from exhaustion. It closed it’s eyes. It assumed the dog would find it’s body in the morning and use it as a chew toy.

“Hello.”

The voice was high but soft and was coming from directly above the Chocolate Monster. It slowly opened it’s eyes and tilted it’s head in confusion. It found a young boy, no more than five or six, looking down at the monster with a mirrored expression. The Chocolate Monster had no idea if it’s appearance was frightening to a young child but the boy did not seem scared.

“Hello,” the Chocolate Monster returned the gentle greeting and gave what it hoped was a friendly smile, trying not to startle the boy.

“What are you?” the boy asked.

“I’m a Chocolate Monster,” other than opening it’s eyes, the chocolate monster had not moved.

“Oh!” the boy’s face lit up with excitement and a grin appeared, “I’m Benji!”

“Nice to meet you,” the chocolate monster said politely but it was unable to raise it’s hand for a handshake.

“Do you need some help?” Benji asked.

“I was trying to get into the fridge. I was hoping to find some chocolate cake,” the Chocolate Monster looked down at it’s toes in embarrassment.

“Oh!” Benji exclaimed again. “You can have some of my birthday cake!”

The Chocolate Monster’s heart warmed with joy and gratefulness at Benji’s generosity. Benji crouched beside the monster and place one hand under it’s back to help it sit up. The monster was light headed. The boy seemed to sense the monster’s frailty and moved gently to pick it up, placing it on the counter. Once he was sure the monster could sit by itself, Benji grabbed plates from the cupboards, cutlery from a drawer and retrieved the cake from the fridge. Benji cut two pieces of cake and placed one in front of the monster.

The Chocolate Monster’s mouth filled with saliva. It crawled onto the plate and grabbed pieces of cake with it’s tiny fists, stuffing it into his mouth. Pretty soon it was covered head to toe in chocolate and it’s belly was bulging. It sat back on it’s bum with it’s legs out in front, licking it’s hands in satisfaction. Benji giggled at the sight.

“Are you ready for bed?” Benji asked.

The Chocolate Monster smiled sleepily and nodded.

Benji grabbed a single cookie in one hand, wrapped his other arm around the Chocolate Monster and quietly went back upstairs.

“This is my room,” He whispered after gently closing his door. He lowered the Chocolate Monster onto the floor saying, “You can sleep wherever you want. Some sleep in the closet and some sleep under the bed.”

The Chocolate Monster frowned in confusion and watched as Benji placed a cookie on a plate under the bed and then set a large stuffed animal on the floor of the closet. Once Benji was satisfied, he turned off his light and climbed into bed.

“Goodnight!” Benji said cheerfully.

“Goodnight,” the Chocolate Monster said softly in return. Benji’s breathing grew deep with sleep after a few minutes.

A nightlight glowed in between the bedside table and the closet so that the Chocolate Monster could still take in it’s surroundings. There were a number of cozy spots to choose from for settling down and he was about to head over to a reading chair, when he heard a voice behind him.

“Hey!” a whisper came from underneath the bed. The Chocolate Monster couldn’t see anything and approached cautiously. A small, rotund figure waddled forward, waving.

“Hi,” The Chocolate Monster whispered back in surprise and raised a hand in greeting.

“Where did you come from?” the round monster asked with a tilt of it’s head.

“I came from the city. I’m a Chocolate Monster,” it hoped that by offering an explanation it would get an explanation, as it had never seen this type of monster before.

“Oh! I’m a Cookie Monster!” it placed both hands on it’s chest proudly.

“Pleased to meet you,” the Chocolate Monster said with a nod.

Something shifted off to the left and the Chocolate Monster turned to see the closet door open slightly. A very fluffy monster moved forward to join the conversation.

“I’m a Cuddle Monster,” the furry one introduced itself.

“Wow! Do you all live here together?” the Chocolate Monster asked.

“We have lived here for almost a year now,” the Cookie Monster explained, “Benji’s Aunt was babysitting him when he ran out crying that there were monsters in his room. She told him that most monsters were good and just needed a place to stay. She checked under his bed and in his closet and told him that he should feel honoured that a Cookie Monster and a Cuddle Monster were here to watch over him! She said the polite thing to do was to leave a plate of cookies and some stuffed animals for us. We’ve been here ever since.”

There was another shuffling noise and the largest monster it had ever seen peeked around the corner of the closet door.

“That’s just the Closet Monster,” the Cookie Monster explained, “Benji’s Aunt told him that Closet Monsters are shy and just want a quiet place to hide.”

“Are there any others?” the Chocolate Monster asked curiously.

“There are Tickle Monsters in the neighborhood but they aren’t allowed in this home. Not after Benji wet his pants at school,” the Cuddle Monster grimaced at the memory.

The Chocolate Monster nodded and then asked, “Is Benji a nice kid?”

“Oh, yes! He takes good care of us. He has a little sister on the way so there will be even more playing!” the Cuddle Monster hugged itself and swayed happily.

“Do you like to play?” the Cookie Monster asked.

The Chocolate Monster thought for a moment and it’s mouth dropped open in surprise as it realized, “I don’t think I’ve ever played before.”

“We’ll play tomorrow,” the Cuddle Monster stated reassuringly.

The Chocolate Monster smiled and nodded. It couldn’t believe it’s luck. Just when it had thought it was a goner, it had found the perfect home with both monsters and humans to be it’s family. The monsters said goodnight to each other and returned to their sleeping spots. The Chocolate Monster climbed onto the reading chair easily and made a nest in the blanket that lay across the armrest. It smiled with content. The risks of leaving the city had definitely been worth the reward.