After giving birth to my second daughter, Elsie, I thought we were settling into a peaceful new chapter. Our eldest, Lina, seemed thrilled to become a big sister. But then she whispered something chilling to the newborn: “Now I have someone to keep the secrets with.” At first, I brushed it off as childhood imagination—until she kept making odd comments about monsters and rules about not telling Daddy.

Over time, Lina described a shadowy, faceless figure that only came when her father wasn’t home. A drawing she made showed the “monster” looming in our kitchen, with the words “Don’t let him take her.” She later hid in the shed with Elsie, convinced the monster was coming to take her sister. Alarmed, we took her to a child psychologist, who found signs of trauma.

When I gently asked Lina if the monster reminded her of anyone, she said, “He smells like Daddy.” It turned out James, my husband, had been drinking and losing his temper with Lina when I wasn’t home—yelling, slamming doors, even grabbing her once in anger. Her fear had twisted him into something terrifying in her young mind.

James left and got help. Lina began therapy. Slowly, the drawings stopped, and she laughed again. One night, she told me, “I don’t need to keep secrets anymore.” That’s when I knew real healing had begun. Monsters can be real—but they can also be helped, changed, and left behind.