The Tooth Fairy

One

“MOMMY!” Jessickha screamed.

Jessickha’s mother rushed into the room to find Jesickha huddled in the corner furthest from her closet. She had tears and snot streaking her face. Her eyes were horror-struck, stuck wide open and staring at the deep darkness of her closet. Jessickha’s mother rushed across the room and cradled her daughter, “What is it? What’s wrong!?”

“In — in the closet!” Jessickha wailed.

Jessickha’s mother smiled to herself and pet her daughter’s hair. <Perhaps it was too early for the story of the Tooth Fairy,> she thought to herself. “Oh dear, there’s nothing in the closet.” Jessickha’s mother slowly got up and walked towards the closet.

“Mommy don’t,” Jessickha cried. She was trembling in fear.

Jessickha’s mother flipped the switch on. The tiny room full of clothes and cute little shoes flooded with light. “See?” Jessickha’s mother proclaimed. “Nothing there.” But Jessickha’s mother didn’t see the dark eyes peering out from between a red and a pink frilly shirt.

“Can I sleep in your room?”

“Not tonight.” Jessickha’s mother replied. She’d have to lock her bedroom door. She had a visitor and they hadn’t been together long enough to introduce him to Jessickha. Too many things were changing in the little girl’s life. Jessickha’s mother wondered if it wasn’t all of these changes that were causing these terrible night terrors.

“But Mommy, it comes and wiggles my loose teeth while I’m sleeping.”

“What does, honey?” Jessickha’s mother helped her to her feet and was crouched down, eye level with her.

“The little guy in the closet.”

Jessickha’s mother led her daughter to her bed. The comforter was blue and white and covered in Hot Wheels cars. Jessickha had never really been into pink. That frilly shirt in the closet had been left unworn for years. “Well, good thing you have a tooth under your pillow. The Tooth Fairy will get rid of anyone that tries to wiggle your teeth.” Jessickha’s mother hoped this little addition to the Tooth Fairy story would stick enough to get her daughter asleep.

Jessickha wiggled underneath her blankets. “Ok, mommy.”

“Now you close your eyes and think about what you’re going to do with what the Tooth Fairy brings you.” Jessickha’s mother kissed her forehead.

“Ok mommy. I love you.”

Why had her daughter sounded so sad when she said that? Jessickha’s mother shook the thought out of her head, “I love you too sweetie.”

Two

JESSICKHA WOKE TO A STRANGE HIGH-PITCHED NOISE COMING FROM THE CLOSET. At first she was still asleep and didn’t realize what was happening. The noise was like a drill that screamed instead of vroomed. That was the only way that she could think about it.

When she came to, she sat up in bed, and stared towards the closet. She was shaking in fear as her nightlight outlined a little man. He stood in the doorway, naked. His bits hanging grotesquely between his legs. Jessickha knew that boys were different from her. She’d always heard them talking about it. It was why they got to pee standing up, something Jessickha was very jealous of.

It had a long nose that spun — and with the spinning came the high-pitched screaming sound that had originally woke her! Its dark eyes looked towards her hungrily. Its pointed ears constantly twitching this way and that way, listening for Jessickha’s mother or any other interruptions.

Jessickha knew this moment was going to come.

“Teeeeeeeeeeeeeth,” the little demon whispered. Then it spun its nose — or maybe it was a tusk or a horn. Either way, Jessickha instinctively knew that it was used to devour teeth. The Tooth Fairy wasn’t anything like her mother had explained. Or maybe this was the bad Tooth Fairy. Maybe this one only came for bad little children.

“Leave me alone!” Jessickha warned. She was shaking, but she balled her fists. The boys taught her how to fight on the playground. The creature flapped tiny wings on its back and skittered towards her like an insect! “I said: Leave me alone!” Jessickha was crouched on her bed now.

She moved towards the foot of her bed, closest to the door that led to the hallway. The creature fluttered onto her bed like a mosquito and quickly tossed the pillows about to find the single tooth laying there that was a gift for the Tooth Fairy. The creature tossed it between his slender-fingered hands and smiled behind his long nose. And he popped the tooth into his mouth. What followed was a horrifying crunch as the tiny demon chewed on Jessickha’s tooth!

Jessickha was hoping that the Tooth Fairy would be satisfied and leave. But the demon turned towards her and smiled devilishly, “Mooooooore!”

“You can’t have more. I don’t have anymore loose!”

“More!” The creature pounced upon her. Jessickha landed on her back in a loud thud. She wanted to scream for her mother, but the Tooth Fairy had her mouth pulled wide open. She struggled, trying to scream! The Tooth Fairy spun its nose-horn dangerously close to her other teeth. Within reach, a shoe! Jessickha used the shoe and whapped it against the side of the Tooth Fairy’s face!

She scrambled away and dashed for the hallway, “Mom!” She screamed. She ran for her mother’s door, but it was locked. <No!> She thought. She could see the creature in the dull hall light that her mother left on so Jessickha could make it to the bathroom in the night. Its skin was gray, its eyes black, and it had long cascades of black hair that twisted down either side of its head behind its pointed ears. Its nose was a horn that gave its angular face the appearance of a humanoid mosquito.

Jessickha’s mother came out of her room, quick to close the door behind her, “What….!” The Tooth Fairy lunged for Jessickha’s mother’s face!

“Mommy!” Jessickha cried.

Blood came first. The Tooth Fairy had one grip on her mother’s throat, the other was waving her mother’s jaw, triumphantly, in the air. As the little beast reveled in his glory, it spun its horn and separated a few teeth from the jaw bone and popped them into his mouth before a strange man stepped out of Jessickha’s mother’s bedroom, “Fuck!?”

Jessickha didn’t know this man, but he bat the Tooth Fairy aside, knocking the jaw from his grip! He moved towards Jessickha, who was petrified in the hallway, and scooped her up. They moved towards the stairs. “What about mommy!?” Jessickha cried. Jessickha watched over the man’s shoulder as Jessickha’s mother grabbed the Tooth Fairy’s ankle as it tried to trail them. “Mommy!” Jessickha screamed. A stream of tears was leaving her mother’s eyes as they locked gazes. The Tooth Fairy turned its attention towards Jessickha’s mother.

All Jessickha could hear as they ran through the doorway outside — was the high-pitched drilling sound of the demon’s wretched horn.