I’m enclosed in a box-like room with a monster. There’s one light shining down on me. The monster seems to surround me on every side. His red and black eyes glow in the shadows like a fire. The growls escaping his mouth are the only sound next to my heart racing at full speed. His breaths, coming out hard and fast, send off a wind that chills me to the deepest part of my soul. As he circles around staring at me, I feel cut off from the world I used to know.
Everything is unbalanced and insecure here. Joy has turned to sorrow, happiness to sadness, laughter to crying, and smiles to tears. It all is backwards and nothing seems right. I feel things that I thought I had left behind a long time ago. The guilt of my past has returned and is haunting me just as much as the monster. Memories of pain and suffering trample my mind until I’m on the floor crying out in pain. The monster stares in delight at his helpless prey.
I look down to see a puddle. In the puddle I see myself, but in a way it isn’t the person I would see in a mirror. Half of my face is my own but the other half is transforming. This part is distorted and dark. It looks like a snake combined with a lion. Venomous teeth jut out like hooks, a mane is covering my head, beady snake eyes stare back, and the square face of a lion look at me. The monster is and always was my past.
I had put the past behind me and now it was pushing itself back up front. All the years of pain and regret, mistakes and misunderstandings were coming at me full force. I was unprepared for this to happen, and am sure to lose the battle within myself. I have to fight against it as I did before, but this time I’m alone.

I look up from the frightening imaging to the actual monster. It stands in front of me on its four panther legs. The body is like an eagle’s, with large wings. The head is the same as it was in the puddle but more terrifying in person. The monster is completely black, with the exception of the fiery eyes. I doubt I’ll win this battle, but I’m going to do everything I can to fight this monster off.
I’m prepared to fight. The monster is in attack position and I’m in survival mode. We start to approach each other when a flash of light comes from behind the monster. It appears to be a teenage boy. The monster turns around to face its new enemy.
No sooner does the fight begin does it end. The boy simply snapped his fingers and the monster was gone. He stood there staring at me for a few minutes, seeming to take in my shabby appearance. I just stared at his facial figure: long, curly blonde hair, perfect bone structure, and soft green eyes. He looked completely unreal to me.
He looked at me with great concern before asking, “Are you going to be okay?” His voice stuns me. He sounds so strong and older than he appears. It takes me a second to gather my thoughts. “I would like to get out of this room. Other than that I think I’ll be fine,” is finally the answer that I give him. He looks at me then around the room and says, “What room are you talking about?” It’s then that I realize the room has been replaced with a bright, colorful park. I stare back at him in amazement and confusion. “How did you do that?” I ask. “Do what?” he asks with a questioning look. “How did you make the monster simply disappear? And how did we arrive here?” I say. He replies, “It’s part of my job. I can do anything I feel I need to do to protect you.” “Are you saying you’re my guardian angel?” I ask stunned. “You said it not me. You’re never alone. Remember that.” Those were his last words before he flew off into the sky.