When you were little, there was a monster under your bed. It had saws for teeth and chains for arms with razors at the ends. It was a very scary monster.

But I was there to fight it for you— a fraction of your size, a sliver of your weight, I struck fear into the heart of that creature like a true warrior. I will always fight your monsters, I promised, and that I will always promise.

One night your old monster wasn’t there anymore. Its chains didn’t rattle. Its saw-teeth didn’t screech. I peered beneath the bed and saw no glinting yellow eyes, no scaly moss-green hide. It was gone.

But then you cried and held me so tightly I couldn’t breathe, and I saw reflected in your eyes a new kind of monster, even scarier, because this one had a human face. It spoke human words, but only mean ones, and it wouldn’t stop. I narrowed my eyes and glared at it, glared until I though my glass eyes would burst into flame, and I didn’t stop until the monster went away. This monster was harder to fight, but you were bigger, too.

You put me on a high shelf so I could see the whole room and every place in it where a monster might be hiding. I felt very powerful there. You looked sad when you reached up and rested me on it, but I knew you must have thought I could do my job better there.

That’s when I saw a new monster, and it was very big. It was bigger than you. It was bigger than the room. It was an invisible monster that snaked through the air and crushed people with its weight. This monster was even scarier than the last, because you couldn’t even see it take away the things you loved: it stole them from you and made you forget.

From my shelf I stood proud and told the monster it was not allowed to enter, and I looked you in the eyes and told you, “Look! Look at what a wonderful job we’re doing!”

And every time our eyes met, you looked sad. I’ll never understand that.

I will always fight your monsters for you, even though I no longer stay so close to you. It must be hard for you to fight monsters, too, because you always seem so tired… we haven’t talked in so long.

Now I face the most horrible monster I have ever seen— and it is called Time, and it wraps its frigid fingers around you and controls you. It makes you its puppet. I see you fighting its command as you reach for me on the shelf, though it demands for you to keep your arm down.

The box by your side is what you will take to The University. I think that sounds like a marvelous place.

And I stand tall and strong as our eyes meet, because I know you will be strong. I know that you will fight this monster like I taught you to.

Please be brave.

I know you can win.

I know you can—