I’d gone down that morning to throw away the wrapper from the bag of Skittles we’d left the night before, but it was nowhere to be found. As I searched the floor, I heard the sound of the guardian dragging itself out of its favorite corner, its spindly legs struggling with its massive girth. It seemed tired, somehow, as though it wasn’t strong enough to carry itself. I began to worry.
The guardian crawled up to me, and I did my best not to be frightened – I knew it meant me no harm, but seeing a giant spider-like creature crawling towards you is unsettling no matter what anyone says. As soon as the creature reached me, it spat the wrapper on the floor.
Then, it shifted its body forward and began to nudge at my hand, as though asking for something.
For a moment, I was hopelessly confused. And then, oh, oh. It hit me. Our guardian was still hungry.
I promised the guardian that I’d bring it back something to eat – although I was pretty certain it couldn’t understand what I was saying – and went back up the stairs to explain the situation to my mom. She sent me to the store with a hundred dollars and told me to get enough hard candy to feed an army. I made sure to get all the guardian’s favorites.
