A.A. Balaskovits is the author of Magic for Unlucky Girls (SFWP). Her fiction and essays appear in Indiana Review, The Southeast Review, The Madison Review, Apex Magazine, Shimmer and many others. She is the Co-Editor in Chief of Cartridge Lit. On twitter @aabalaskovits 

            Some children are born believing that there are monsters under the bed, witching and wheedling their way from their dark confines towards the light of a baby’s eyeballs. If they make it that far, past screams and parents armed with brooms, the monster will settle in the child’s head and make a gallery of terror and wonder to keep them entertained for the rest of their lives. “It’s only your imagination,” their parents will tell their weeping children, frustrated at the bed wetting and screaming once the moon rises, but it is only because they too forgot that they have monsters living behind their eyes as well, and have long grown used to the presence.

            For the children who grew up in the village surrounding the high tower on the top of the hill, they knew the monster did not wait under their beds or behind their eyes, but was biding its time.

Translation by Raquel Salas Rivera

Alba Ariet se ha dedicado a los estudios literarios desde el año 2007. Tiene un bachillerato en Estudios Hispánicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Mayagüez y se encuentra terminando una Maestría en Estudios Hispánicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Río Piedras. Le interesa estudiar las luchas de identidad cultural y la reivindicación de la mujer en la literatura. Además, disfruta de contemplar una noche estrellada, de colaborar con quien la necesite y ama a los gatos. La puedes contactar escribiéndole a su correo electrónico: alba.ariet.pr@gmail.com.

Alba Ariet has been studying literature since 2007. She has a B.A. in Hispanic Studies from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and is currently completing her M.A. in Hispanic Studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. She is interested in studying the history of identitarian struggles and women’s rights in literature. She also enjoys starry nights, collaborating with those who need her, and loves cats. You can reach her at alba.ariet.pr@gmail.com.