The Only Way To Conquer Your Fears....
The Only Way To Conquer Your Fears....
"The only way to conquer your fears, Brad, is to face them", Daddy said. He was gathering some things together in a box as he spoke: a couple of clown dolls, a ventriloquist dummy, a stuffed monkey with a horrid, leering grin, three old Halloween monster masks....all things that gave Bradley the shivers.
"My father always told me that, Brad, and it's true. And do you know what he did?" Brad, seven, shook his head. He didn't really want to know what Pop-pop had done; he just knew that he was getting worried about what Daddy was planning to do with all those creepy dolls and things.
Daddy grinned. "He made me face my fears. He locked me in my closet with all the things he could find that I was afraid of, and made me stay there all night, every night, till I could go in there at night without being scared. That's why I'm not scared of anything now."
This was true, Brad knew. Daddy wasn't scared of anything at all. He drove recklessly, even around curves, making Mommy scream, and laughing at her. He picked up spiders, even big ones, and dangled them in Brad's and his sister's faces, chasing them around the house. He even would chase them with a red-hot poker from the fireplace, and giggle while they all cringed.
"So, Bradley, now it's your turn! We''ll make a man of you yet, son!" Daddy arranged all the horrible props in the closet, and grabbed Brad by the collar when he saw Brad starting to edge away. "Now, don't worry! I survived it, and look at me! This is the only way to conquer your fears, trust me." He pushed a pale, sick-looking Brad into the closet.
"Oh, I almost forgot...one more thing." Daddy reached back into the box, and took out a jar with several large spiders in it. "We can't forget the spiders!" He emptied the jar into the far corner of Brad's closet, then backed out. Brad was weeping, nearly paralyzed with fear. "D-Daddy? P-p-please don't..."
But it was no use, he knew. He'd tried to escape Daddy's lessons before, and it only made the next lesson that much worse. He curled into a helpless, weeping ball, and Daddy locked the closet door, chuckling. "You'll grow up into a fine, brave man, just like me! Goodnight, Brad."