Most kids fear the idea of monsters under their bed. Not me though; I mean, it's not like they asked to be called monsters, right? So, when my parents turned out the lights and the darkness flooded my bedroom, I chose to talk to the things living under my bed. And they answered.

As time went on, Olive the spider creature and Melody the bat creature became my best friends, even though I never physically saw them. I told them everything: who I liked, what I wanted to be when I grew up, the places I wanted to go. They were there for me every night I went to sleep. And one night, I discovered how deep our bond went.

It was close to midnight and I was staring up at the ceiling as I said, "Are you there?"

"Yes, we're here," Olive answered back.

"Is everything alright? Normally, you talk to us much earlier," Melody added.

"There's... something I need to tell you. And I was scared how you'd react. But, you deserve to know: I... I want to be a girl."

Melody and Olive were silent for all of five seconds before they both responded, "Alright then!"

"You... you guys are okay with this?"

"Of course we are," Melody replied. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"What would you like us to call you, dear?"

"Um, Daisy. I wanna be called Daisy."

"Hello, Daisy," Melody said. "Now go to bed. It's late."

"Okay. Good night guys."

When I woke up the next morning, there was a surprise waiting for me. Hanging off the foot of my bed was a beautiful dress the color of corn silk. Lying next to it was a post-it note with the words 'A pretty girl deserves a pretty dress!' scribbled on it. I actually started to tear up at the gesture.

Over the next few years, Olive and Melody were there for me like they always were, but something was different. When I referred to them as my friends, I felt... guilty. I still liked them and they still liked me, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being reductive in a way. I wanted an answer so badly--and I eventually got one.

I came home from school one day, eager to put on my dress to cheer myself up after a bad day. But that didn't happen. Because sitting in the living room was my parents, with my dress in my mom's hands and both of them staring at me like I'd just tried to smack a puppy. I froze in place and awkwardly said, "Where'd you, uh, get that?"

My dad angrily pointed at me. "It was in your room. Why?"

"It-it's a birthday present for a friend. I was keeping it in my room so she wouldn't find it when--"

My mom shot out of her seat and screamed, "DON'T YOU LIE TO US! We will not let our son fall into this heresy!" My mom then tried to rip my dress in half, prompting me to rush at her and grab it myself while yelling, "No! Stop! It's mine, let go!!"

I managed to wrench the dress out of my mom's grasp without ruining it. But the second I did, my dad backhanded me, sending me sprawling onto the ground. As I touched the bruise on my cheek gently and shakily looked up at my dad, he growled, "We didn't raise a freak."

I bolted up the stairs and threw myself into my room as fast as I could. I slammed the door shut and pressed up against it in an attempt to keep my parents out. I felt tears running down my face as I whimpered, "Why are they doing this? What did I do wrong?"

"Daisy! Daisy, what's happening?!" Melody's voice grabbed my attention, prompting me to reply, "They found my dress, and now they're mad, and my dad hit me, and--"

The door to my room was forced open, sending me sliding across the floor. I clutched my dress as tight as I could as my mother started dragging me by the hair into the hallway. My dad undid his belt as he said, "You brought this on yourse--"

SCREEEE!

A giant brown blur lunged out of my bedroom and tackled my dad against the linen closet door. A woman covered in fur with big pointy ears and a pair of leathery wings in place of arms had pinned my dad as she hissed, "Try me, you self-righteous clump of garbage with a pulse!" My mom screamed and tried to run away, only for a giant strand of spider silk to reel her in and stick her to a wall. I looked up to see a woman with the lower half of a spider, long white hair, and jet black skin with a web line protruding from her wrist.

"O-Olive? Melody?"

Olive looked down at me and said, "Oh God, Daisy, please tell me you're okay," as she crouched down to pull me into a hug. I cried into her arms as she tenderly stroked my hair. My dad tried to say something, only for Olive to fire a web over his mouth to shut him up and another on his chest to stick him in place. Melody then joined Olive in embracing me as she said, "We are so sorry, baby. We never should've let you stay in this place for so long."

I sobbed as I responded, "I don't wanna be here anymore. I don't wanna be with them anymore."

Olive sounded like her heart was breaking as she said, "Okay, sweetie. Go pack up everything you want to bring with you, and we'll take you home with us. Does that sound good to you?"

I nodded. "I just want my dress and my stuffed animals and my game system. Then I'll be ready."

Melody walked into my room to start gathering up my things. My mom sputtered, "What is going on?! What are you people?!" Neither Olive or I gave her a response, and instead stepped into my room and lifted up the covers on my bed. As Melody and Olive crawled underneath and entered the shadows, I turned back to my mother and gave her the answer to her question and to the way I felt about the two:

"Those two are my family. My real family."