Speaker 1: My name's Matt In my childhood wasn't normal, not by
Speaker 1: any stretch of the word. Something happened to my family
Speaker 1: that's almost impossible to understand, But I'm going to try
Speaker 1: my best to explain those five years. Five years of
Speaker 1: my life I spent in terror. Five years we all
Speaker 1: lived in fear. Five years we'll never get back. My father, Spence,
Speaker 1: wasn't a very strong man, both physically and mentally. He
Speaker 1: was the type of dad who often let our mothers
Speaker 1: speak for the both of them. Now. He wasn't a
Speaker 1: complete pushover, but he often was content to just go
Speaker 1: with the flow rather than to alter it. He worked
Speaker 1: hard and dedicated his free time to us his family.
Speaker 1: He made sure our needs were taken care of, his
Speaker 1: soft assurances the unseen foundation of our family. My mother, Megan,
Speaker 1: was the head of our house. She was outspoken, independent,
Speaker 1: and extremely loyal to all of us. She loved my
Speaker 1: father's quiet ways, and even from a young age, I
Speaker 1: could see the chemistry flowing strong between them. My little sister,
Speaker 1: Stephanie was a year younger than I. She looked up
Speaker 1: to me, and my father always told me it was
Speaker 1: my responsibility to look after her. We got along as
Speaker 1: best we could, and even though I gave her all
Speaker 1: kinds of brotherly hardship, I did love her. We lived
Speaker 1: in a suburban, middle class community. Complete stock photo of
Speaker 1: the American Dream. My father worked a respectable nine to
Speaker 1: five job when my mother taught yoga classes out of
Speaker 1: the house. It was a neat life, organized and structured.
Speaker 1: Everything was discussed, considered, and acted upon. As a family.
Speaker 1: There was a good home to grow up in. But
Speaker 1: that was before he showed up. That was before the
Speaker 1: third parent. July nineteen eighty nine, I was sitting at
Speaker 1: the dinner table waiting for my father to finish cooking.
Speaker 1: It was his turn tonight, and my stomach roared for
Speaker 1: his rosemary chicken. My sister, Stephanie, lay on her stomach
Speaker 1: in the living room coloring. Her golden blonde hair fell
Speaker 1: across her shoulders and waves, and she looked up at me, smiling.
Speaker 1: She extended what she had been working on, and I nodded,
Speaker 1: completely unimpressed. She sniffed at me and continued her sketch.
Speaker 1: My mother walked into the kitchen, pulling her hair back
Speaker 1: from her freshly showered face. Everyone gone, my father asked
Speaker 1: from the stove, My mother nodded, Yes, Spence, the house
Speaker 1: is ours again. Has so much better teaching yoga in
Speaker 1: the basement, so much cooler. I'm glad we finished the
Speaker 1: basement over the winter. My clients are relieved as well.
Speaker 1: It's a scorcher out there today. Mom, can you sit
Speaker 1: down so we can eat? I begged from my spot
Speaker 1: at the table. My mother turned to me and laughed, Matt,
Speaker 1: the hungry six year old this side the Mississippi. Why
Speaker 1: don't you ask your dad to hurry up? He's the
Speaker 1: one cooking. I placed my forehead on the table. Dud,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna die. Stephanie looked up from her coloring book. Matt,
Speaker 1: don't be crazy, You're crazy, I muttered, not looking up.
Speaker 1: Nah Ah, she said, sticking her tongue out at me.
Speaker 1: All right, all right, my father said, turning from the stove.
Speaker 1: In his hands, he held a steaming platter of chicken.
Speaker 1: Come sit down, staff, the food's ready, I ordered. My
Speaker 1: sister the side of the seasoned meat, causing me to
Speaker 1: salivate as she pulled herself up from the floor. My
Speaker 1: mother taking a place beside me, we all froze. As
Speaker 1: someone knocked on the front door. My mother and father
Speaker 1: exchanged puzzled looks. My dad placed the food down on
Speaker 1: the table and told us all to hold on a minute, groaning,
Speaker 1: and watched him walk to the front door. He peeked
Speaker 1: through the keyhole, and I saw him visibly tense, his
Speaker 1: whole body cementing like a statue. Spence, who is it?
Speaker 1: My mother asked. My father slowly turned back round to us,
Speaker 1: all blood draining from his face. His eyes were wide,
Speaker 1: and I saw fear dilate his pupils. He licked his
Speaker 1: lips and shot Stephanie and me a look. Spence. My
Speaker 1: mom pressed, her face contorted with concern. No, this can't happen,
Speaker 1: not again. I heard my father whisper, staring off into
Speaker 1: the distance. The door shook as another series of knocks
Speaker 1: echoed through the house. My mom stood, her voice cracking
Speaker 1: with contagious fear. Spence, who is it? What's going on?
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry, my father mumbled, catching his stomach, his
Speaker 1: face a pale sheet. I I I have to let
Speaker 1: him in. Before any of us could say anything else,
Speaker 1: my dad turned and opened the door. Dying sunlight blinded me,
Speaker 1: and I squinted to see who our unnounced visitor was Hi,
Speaker 1: I'm Tommy Taffy. It's good to see you again, Spence.
Speaker 1: I watched as my father slowly backed away from the
Speaker 1: open door. A man entered our house and shut the
Speaker 1: door behind him. My young mind tried to make sense
Speaker 1: of what I was seeing, but even at that young age,
Speaker 1: I knew something wasn't right with this unexpected guest. He
Speaker 1: was about six foot and had a shock of golden
Speaker 1: hair cut tight along his scalp. He wore khaki shorts
Speaker 1: and a white T shirt that said HI and red
Speaker 1: cartoon font. But that wasn't what caught my eye. It
Speaker 1: was his skin. It was completely devoid of pores, a
Speaker 1: perfectly smooth, creamy texture that looked almost like soft plastic.
Speaker 1: His face was a pool of gentle pink, his mouth
Speaker 1: a cheerful cut along his cheeks, revealing a white strip
Speaker 1: of teeth, But they weren't teeth, it was just a
Speaker 1: smooth edgeless row, like he had a mouth guard on.
Speaker 1: His nose was just a slight rise out of his face,
Speaker 1: like a doll void of nostrils. And his eyes, his
Speaker 1: eyes were twin puddles of sparkling blue shining out at
Speaker 1: us from his flawless, eerie face. They were wide, like
Speaker 1: he was in a constant state of surprise, and they
Speaker 1: shifted around the room to look at us in quick
Speaker 1: jarring motion. His smile widened and he raised a flawless
Speaker 1: hand to us at the table. Hi, I'm Tommy Taffy.
Speaker 1: It's good to meet you. I noticed he didn't have
Speaker 1: any finger, nails or skin defects, no wrinkles or bruises, nothing.
Speaker 1: It was like he was a living, talking, human sized
Speaker 1: doll spent. My mother croaked, recognition blooming in her eyes.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be okay, Megan, my father said, voice shaking,
Speaker 1: Just be polite to our new guest. Okay. The man
Speaker 1: Tommy cocked his head towards my father. Ha ha. My
Speaker 1: dad took a step back, raising his hands. I mean
Speaker 1: our new friend. The frozen smile never left Tommy's molded face.
Speaker 1: There was no humor in his strange laugh. It sounded
Speaker 1: like he was clearing his throat or imitating a really
Speaker 1: bad chuckle. It was too pronounced, each syllable sounding too deliberate.
Speaker 1: My father forced a smile onto his face. I meant
Speaker 1: he looked desperately at my mother, who offered him no help.
Speaker 1: Her body froze in an absolute fear. I meant meet
Speaker 1: meet your new parent kits. Stephanie, who was standing by
Speaker 1: our mother, frowned. He is not our dad, you are.
Speaker 1: Why does he look so funny, Stephanie? My mother hissed,
Speaker 1: gripping my sister's shoulder. Tommy laughed and walked forward to
Speaker 1: crouch in front of Stephanie. It's not nice to make
Speaker 1: fun of people who look different, is it. My sister
Speaker 1: looked at her feet, blushing. Tommy tasseled her hair. It's okay,
Speaker 1: buck up, kiddo, We're going to get along, just fine.
Speaker 1: I'm going to help your parents raise you. It's a
Speaker 1: big job being a mommy and a daddy. Sometimes mommy
Speaker 1: and daddy's need help. Tommy turned to my parents that
Speaker 1: ever present plastic smile stretching his face. I help their
Speaker 1: mommy and daddies raise them. Isn't that right? Spence? Meghan?
Speaker 1: Meghan pulled Stephanie away, as my father nodded nervously that
Speaker 1: that's right, kids, he did. Tommy smiled and turned to me.
Speaker 1: I was still sitting at the table, taking the odd
Speaker 1: scene in. I didn't understand what was happening. Didn't know
Speaker 1: who this weird looking man was or what he wanted.
Speaker 1: What he was saying didn't make sense, but my parents
Speaker 1: seemed to know him, so I kept my speculations to myself.
Speaker 1: And you must be Matt, Tommy said, walking over to me.
Speaker 1: I didn't look at him, and fanning my eyes to
Speaker 1: stare at my empty plate. I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.
Speaker 1: I could feel the strange man beside me, his presence
Speaker 1: filling my head. I licked my lips and filled my
Speaker 1: heart begin to race. I didn't like this intruder, or
Speaker 1: something about him felt dangerous. Tommy walked behind me, chuckling,
Speaker 1: his hands sliding over my slender shoulders. Oh, it looks
Speaker 1: like we have a shy one. That's okay, I'll help
Speaker 1: him with that, he said to my parents. His fingers
Speaker 1: dug into my skin and I winced, but kept my
Speaker 1: mouth shut. Don't touch him. My mother hissed, eyes going wide.
Speaker 1: Tommy looked up at her mouth stretched, ha ha. My
Speaker 1: dad outstretched his hand alarmed. Eh, don't be so rude, megan.
Speaker 1: Tommy continued to stare at my mother, who nervously lowered
Speaker 1: her eyes. Are you staying for dinner, Stephanie suddenly asked,
Speaker 1: breaking the tense silence, the eerie doll man let go
Speaker 1: of my shoulders, one of his hands sliding across my
Speaker 1: cheek and into my hair. Oh yes, I'll be here
Speaker 1: for quite a while. And that was how Tommy Taffy
Speaker 1: entered our lives. At six years old, I didn't know
Speaker 1: any better than to seriously question what was happening. Even
Speaker 1: though my parents acted unsettled at his arrival, their constant
Speaker 1: assurances that he was a friend pushed away any lingering
Speaker 1: doubt that I had. As the days turned into weeks,
Speaker 1: I began to grow accustomed to Tommy's presence in our house.
Speaker 1: My initial fear slowly receded to wary caution. I soon
Speaker 1: learned that Tommy didn't like company. Whenever my mom had
Speaker 1: her yoga classes, Tommy would pull her off into a
Speaker 1: corner and whisper something to her. I would watch all
Speaker 1: this with silent eyes. I would see my mother's face
Speaker 1: grow pale, and she would nod, whispering back unknown assurances.
Speaker 1: Then Tommy would turn that ever present smile plastered on
Speaker 1: his face and walk upstairs until the class was over.
Speaker 1: My parents told Stephanie and I that we weren't to
Speaker 1: talk about Tommy to our friends outside of the house.
Speaker 1: Tommy wasn't a part of our lives. I don't know why,
Speaker 1: but both my sister and I obeyed. Another thing I
Speaker 1: noticed was that Tommy never ate. He would sit at
Speaker 1: the table with us, but never partook in the meal.
Speaker 1: Stephanie asked him once if he was ever hungry, and
Speaker 1: Tommy just smiled at her silently and stroked her head.
Speaker 1: During the evenings, he would gather our family into the
Speaker 1: living room and give us a short lets on how
Speaker 1: to be a good person. My parents never spoke during
Speaker 1: these talks, just sat next to us nodding. Tommy told
Speaker 1: us not to make fun of others, to love our
Speaker 1: friends and enemies, and always help those in need. He
Speaker 1: told us that's why he was here with us to
Speaker 1: help my parents raise us. That we could come to
Speaker 1: talk to him if we ever had a problem at
Speaker 1: school or didn't know how to handle certain situations. It
Speaker 1: went on like this for a month, and that's when
Speaker 1: my mother lost it. August nineteen eighty nine, my father
Speaker 1: had just arrived home from work and I was sitting
Speaker 1: at the kitchen table during my homework. My mother was
Speaker 1: cooking dinner, and Stephanie was practicing her dance for an
Speaker 1: upcoming school play. She was going to be a ballerina
Speaker 1: and had three weeks to learn a few simple spins
Speaker 1: and twirls. She had been diligently practicing over the past
Speaker 1: few days, but just couldn't get it right. She was young,
Speaker 1: and her temper was getting the better of her. That's
Speaker 1: when Tommy decided to help her. He had been sitting
Speaker 1: on the couch watching her, when suddenly he rose and
Speaker 1: stood behind my sister, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.
Speaker 1: Let me help, sweebee, he cooled, his voice, carrying a
Speaker 1: cheerful note. My mother spun around from the stove, and
Speaker 1: I saw her visibly tense. She didn't like Tommy touching us.
Speaker 1: She gripped the wooden spoon in her hand until her
Speaker 1: knuckles went white, watching as Tommy crouched and cupped Stephanie's
Speaker 1: body with his He took her hands in his from
Speaker 1: behind and guided her arms and waist. His cheek pressed
Speaker 1: gently against my sisters. Tommy let her learn on her own.
Speaker 1: My mother said, her voice shaking. Tommy didn't even look
Speaker 1: at her. Just kept guiding my sister. I could hear
Speaker 1: my father coming down the stairs, freshly changed from a
Speaker 1: day of the office. Tommy spun my sister, and for
Speaker 1: the first time, she nailed the twirl, her little feet
Speaker 1: twisting her body in a complete circle. Tommy clapped his
Speaker 1: hands once and then leaned down and kissed Stephanie on
Speaker 1: the cheek. Good girl, don't do that, my mother shrieked,
Speaker 1: dropping the spoon, her face drained of blood. I jumped
Speaker 1: in my seat at the table and swallowed hard. I
Speaker 1: didn't know why my mom was getting so upset. He
Speaker 1: was just helping her. I also knew deep down that
Speaker 1: it was a bad idea to yell at the new
Speaker 1: member of our family. He was the gut instinct of
Speaker 1: a child, a gentle warning that rumbled in my head.
Speaker 1: Tommy stood. My father was standing at the foot of
Speaker 1: the stairs, now frozen, unsure what to make of the confrontation. Megan,
Speaker 1: what's wrong, he asked. My mother's eyes never left Tommy Spence.
Speaker 1: I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending everything
Speaker 1: is all right. We know what this monster is, we
Speaker 1: know what he did to our town all those years ago.
Speaker 1: I want him out of our house. My father's eyes
Speaker 1: went wide. Panic bloomed in his face. Meghan, he licked
Speaker 1: his lips, eyes darting back and forth at all of us.
Speaker 1: Don't be rude. Tommy has been a big help. My
Speaker 1: mom gritted her teeth. Stop that, stop pretending we want
Speaker 1: him here. I can't watch this. I want him out.
Speaker 1: Very slowly, Tommy walked into the kitchen and stood in
Speaker 1: front of my mother. He looked down at her, his
Speaker 1: perfect blue eyes shining like crystal moons. His voice was
Speaker 1: like frozen silk. Megan, would you come down to the
Speaker 1: basement with me. I need to have a few words
Speaker 1: with you. My mother took a step back. Get away
Speaker 1: from me, get away from my family. You're not welcome
Speaker 1: here anymore. She turned desperate eyes to my father. Spence,
Speaker 1: do something. My dad raised his hands in a gesture
Speaker 1: of helplessness. I could see he was terrified. Stephanie was
Speaker 1: watching from the living room, her lip quivering, eyes watering.
Speaker 1: I suddenly wanted to go comfort, but I felt glued
Speaker 1: to my chair. Come on now, Megan, just a quick word,
Speaker 1: fuck you? My mother spat. I gasped, heart dropping into
Speaker 1: my stomach. I never heard my mother swear before at it.
Speaker 1: It scared me stiff. Suddenly, Tommy grabbed my mother by
Speaker 1: the back of the neck, the smile never leaving his face,
Speaker 1: and yanked her to the basement door. Spence, stop him,
Speaker 1: help me, my mother screamed, helplessly, trying to remove Tommy's
Speaker 1: iron grip from her. Tommy shot my dad a look
Speaker 1: that froze him where he stood. I'm sorry, Megan, we
Speaker 1: need to do what he says, he cried. Stephanie was
Speaker 1: now openly crying, hands at her sighs, tears running down
Speaker 1: her face. I felt sick as I watched Tommy open
Speaker 1: the basement door and drag my mother down into the darkness.
Speaker 1: The door slammed close behind them. He was silent for
Speaker 1: a few minutes, and then then the screams began. I
Speaker 1: never heard my mother scream before, and the sound of
Speaker 1: it shattered me. My father ran into the kitchen and
Speaker 1: scooped me up into his arms, then snatched up Stephanie
Speaker 1: into his other one. He marked us upstairs to his
Speaker 1: bedroom and dumped us on the bed. We sat huddled
Speaker 1: like that for hours, none of us speaking a word.
Speaker 1: My mother continued to scream. Finally, long after the sun set,
Speaker 1: we heard the basement door open. Mom's sleeping in the
Speaker 1: basement tonight, Tommy called out. March nineteen ninety one. Two
Speaker 1: years passed after that night. My mother never resisted or
Speaker 1: talked back to Tommy again. When she came out of
Speaker 1: the basement the following morning, I expected to see her
Speaker 1: covered in bruises and blood, but I could see no
Speaker 1: visible signs of violence. I was too young to understand
Speaker 1: what had happened, why my mother now walked with a
Speaker 1: limp and would for the rest of her life. She
Speaker 1: didn't speak to my father for a month. Even then,
Speaker 1: it was just enough to get by, I'd asked my father.
Speaker 1: Crying a lot during those two years, I didn't know
Speaker 1: what happened to my family, but I kept my mouth
Speaker 1: shut and obey the rules. Listen to Tommy, don't talk
Speaker 1: about Tommy to others. Things went calm during those two years.
Speaker 1: Tommy continued to give us life lessons and be part
Speaker 1: of our home. No one but my family knew he
Speaker 1: was living with us. He was our secret, the dark
Speaker 1: star that hung above our heads. I learned to smile
Speaker 1: around Tommy, as did my sister. If he thought we
Speaker 1: were happy. He seemed more relaxed that night, my mother
Speaker 1: challenged him. That changed everything. Every couple of months, Tommy
Speaker 1: would assert his authority over my parents. He would test them,
Speaker 1: stretch the limits of their patience and nerves. Most of
Speaker 1: the time, my father and mother would humbly submit to
Speaker 1: whatever mine games he played with them. Most of the time,
Speaker 1: he would do or say something to Stephanie or myself
Speaker 1: always made me uncomfortable. Sometimes he would have us sit
Speaker 1: in his lap while he stroked our hair. Sometimes he'd
Speaker 1: sing strange songs to my sister about love. Sometimes he
Speaker 1: would make us take a bath together while he watched.
Speaker 1: I always put on a brave face during these times. Stephanie
Speaker 1: was young still, so she wasn't as bothered as I was.
Speaker 1: It was uncomfortable. I would look at my parents for
Speaker 1: guidance with pale faces. They would nod silently, and I
Speaker 1: continued in whatever activity were forced into doing. It was
Speaker 1: in the early part of nineteen ninety one when the
Speaker 1: next awful thing happened to my family. Tommy pushed the
Speaker 1: limits once again. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and
Speaker 1: looked at my racecar clock on the wall. The glow
Speaker 1: in the dark hands read two am. I could hear
Speaker 1: something in the hallway outside of my room. It sounded
Speaker 1: like someone crying. It was Tommy. I checked the dark
Speaker 1: corners of my room to make sure he wasn't there
Speaker 1: watching me sleep. When I was assured he wasn't, I
Speaker 1: pulled the covers away and slipped to the floor. I
Speaker 1: crept to my door and looked out into the darkness.
Speaker 1: I could see a figure standing on the floor by
Speaker 1: my sister's closed door, a person. I squinted in the
Speaker 1: black and realized it was my father, with his hands
Speaker 1: over his face. He was sobbing his back against the wall. Dad,
Speaker 1: I whispered. My father looked up and immediately showed me
Speaker 1: back into my room. I just stood there as my
Speaker 1: eyes adjusted to the night. My father's face was a
Speaker 1: mess of blood and bruises. Go back to bed, Matt, please,
Speaker 1: he cried. I took a hesitant step out into the hallway.
Speaker 1: What happened to your face? What's going on? Did Tommy
Speaker 1: do that? My father's eyes went wide and he shushed me. No, no,
Speaker 1: of course not. Don't say such things. Tommy is a
Speaker 1: He's here to help us be a better family. I
Speaker 1: walked closer to my dad and froze. As I passed
Speaker 1: my sister's door, I could hear muffled cries from inside.
Speaker 1: I could I could hear fear, Dad, I whispered, pointing
Speaker 1: to the door, what's wrong with Stephanie. My father wiped
Speaker 1: a trail of blood from his lips, eyes watering, anguish,
Speaker 1: stretching his features, Come here, man, I crawled on to
Speaker 1: his outstretched arms. As something loud banged against the wall
Speaker 1: from my sister's room. I jumped and my father curled
Speaker 1: me up into his chest. I could feel tears dripping
Speaker 1: onto my head as he fought back misery. Tommy's in there,
Speaker 1: isn't he? He said quietly. My dad stiffled, yes, sir.
Speaker 1: I looked up into his bloody face. What did you do? Dad?
Speaker 1: My dad tried to smile, but his face wouldn't cooperate.
Speaker 1: He he wanted to do something with your sister. I
Speaker 1: didn't like. I told him no. As he spoke, I
Speaker 1: realized I could hear my mother crying from the bedroom.
Speaker 1: My dad cupped his hand unt of my chin. We
Speaker 1: can't say no to Tommy, okay, remember that? My sister
Speaker 1: screamed from her bedroom. A shrill piercing cry that shook
Speaker 1: me to my soul. I gripped my father's arm. Why
Speaker 1: is he here, I whispered, Why can he just go away?
Speaker 1: My father was silent a moment, and then he lowered
Speaker 1: his mouth to my ear. Listen to me, Matt, this
Speaker 1: is very important when you grow up, do not have children.
Speaker 1: He follows those with children. I shifted in my father's
Speaker 1: arms as something was dragged across the hard wooden floor
Speaker 1: from the other side of the wall. My father gritted
Speaker 1: his teeth, more tears spilling. We don't know who he
Speaker 1: is or what he is. He came to our town
Speaker 1: when we were little boys and little girls, just like
Speaker 1: you and Stephanie. Your mother and I lived two houses
Speaker 1: down from one another. Tommy infested our street. I don't
Speaker 1: know how he was everywhere. Always he'd be at my house,
Speaker 1: but also across the street and also at your mother's,
Speaker 1: all at the same time. I don't know what he wants,
Speaker 1: what his purpose is. He just showed up one day.
Speaker 1: He just showed up. He couldn't go away. God knows.
Speaker 1: My father tried. Is that how Grandpa died? I asked,
Speaker 1: I never met my grandpa. I just knew he had
Speaker 1: died years before I was born. My father nodded, yes, man, Tommy.
Speaker 1: Tommy had to teach him a lesson. He had to
Speaker 1: teach the entire street a lesson after that, after that,
Speaker 1: why can't you just just kill him? I whispered, ever
Speaker 1: so softly. My father brought his mouth closer to my ear,
Speaker 1: his voice barely audible. We tried, We tried everything. We
Speaker 1: burned him, we shot him, we caught him into pieces,
Speaker 1: but it never worked. He always came back knocking on
Speaker 1: our door, and someone, someone had to pay. Someone always
Speaker 1: had to pay. If we didn't follow his rules, someone
Speaker 1: had to pay. Tommy was our secret. He was our
Speaker 1: invisible monster, hidden from the outside world. Deaths were covered up,
Speaker 1: abuse was buried under the rug because we knew. We
Speaker 1: knew if anyone said a word, Tommy would make it
Speaker 1: bad for whoever had to face his punishment. I digested
Speaker 1: all this with the understanding of an eight year old.
Speaker 1: The only thing I could think of was when is
Speaker 1: he going away? My father kissed the top of my hand.
Speaker 1: Three more years, the bedroom door suddenly opened and my
Speaker 1: father jumped, tumbling me out of his arms. Tommy stood
Speaker 1: in the darkness, his face perfectly composed, except he was
Speaker 1: breathing hard. His plastic looking face scared me. His two
Speaker 1: blue eyes glowing out of the black Tommy jabbed a
Speaker 1: thumb over his shoulder at the now silent bedroom. She's
Speaker 1: going to sleep like a log tonight, September nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1: We had one year left, one more year. I could
Speaker 1: almost see the desperation in my parents' eyes grow every day,
Speaker 1: begging the cawnd to advance. We were almost through the nightmare.
Speaker 1: I thought a lot about what my father had told
Speaker 1: me that horrible night in the hallway. Thought about but
Speaker 1: he must have gone through as a child, what he
Speaker 1: must have experienced. I wondered how bad things must have
Speaker 1: gotten for Tommy to murder my grandfather. I realized now
Speaker 1: that despite all the awful things Tommy was doing, my
Speaker 1: father's submission was keeping us alive. His agonized silence kept
Speaker 1: Tommy's wrath at bay. Looking back, can't imagine the mental
Speaker 1: torture he endured during those five years. Stephanie didn't talk
Speaker 1: much after that night. In March. I noticed her charismatic
Speaker 1: personality declined drastically, and suddenly she was an unsmiling, silent child.
Speaker 1: I don't think she understood what happened to hers she
Speaker 1: grew up. I think her minds slowly began to build
Speaker 1: a wall, locking that night out from her mind's eye.
Speaker 1: My mother and father seemed to be extra compliant that
Speaker 1: last year. They engaged in Tommy's nighttime lessons with added enthusiasm,
Speaker 1: and my mom desperately made sure Stephanie and I reacted
Speaker 1: the way that made Tommy happy. But I didn't make
Speaker 1: it out unscathed. Tommy was sure to make his mark
Speaker 1: on our entire family. I was sitting in my room
Speaker 1: with the door closed. It was almost dinner time and
Speaker 1: everyone was downstairs getting ready. I could hear Tommy laughing
Speaker 1: from the living room. I looked down to the magazine
Speaker 1: one of my friends at school had given me. It
Speaker 1: was a Playboy. We had poured over the pages at school,
Speaker 1: giggling and oggling over the naked women scattered throughout the magazine.
Speaker 1: I'd never seen anything like it. It was my first
Speaker 1: exposure to that world. Made my heart race in ways
Speaker 1: I enjoyed, and I felt something weird but pleasurable stirring
Speaker 1: inside of me. I had asked my friends if I
Speaker 1: could borrow the magazine, and he had let me. I
Speaker 1: adjusted myself in my bed and poured over the nude photos.
Speaker 1: Couldn't believe women actually let people take pictures of them
Speaker 1: like this. I felt something stir in my crotch as
Speaker 1: I turned another page. My heart was racing, and I
Speaker 1: felt hot and my cheeks flush. I was on the
Speaker 1: last page or I heard something from the doorway. What
Speaker 1: you got there, Matt? I put my head up, jumping
Speaker 1: the magazine falling to the floor. Tommy was watching me
Speaker 1: from the door. I hadn't even heard him open it. Nothing,
Speaker 1: I mumbled, snatching the Playboy up and shoving it under
Speaker 1: my pillow. Tommy walked over to me. I hadn't heard
Speaker 1: you come in, I mumbled, blushing. Tommy reached under my
Speaker 1: pillow and pulled out the magazine. It's not nice to lie.
Speaker 1: I've told you that. Why were you lying to me, Matt?
Speaker 1: I swallowed hard, heart thundering against my ribcage. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I was I'm I trailed off miserably. As Tommy thumbed
Speaker 1: through the pages, he glanced down at me. Do you
Speaker 1: like this? I knew I couldn't light at him again.
Speaker 1: I nodded my skin flush eyes on the floor. Tommy
Speaker 1: smiled gently. It's okay to be scared. Growing up is scary.
Speaker 1: You're going to be such a handsome young man. He
Speaker 1: stroked my cheek with his other hand. Have you had
Speaker 1: your first kiss yet? Tommy suddenly leaned down and kissed me,
Speaker 1: his lips engulfing mine. I let out a squeal of
Speaker 1: panic as I felt his tongue slip into my mouth,
Speaker 1: his grip tightening. His mouth tasted of rotting fruit and
Speaker 1: decaying meat, a rush of filth that invaded my taste buds.
Speaker 1: I just cried, staring up at him with shocked panic eyes.
Speaker 1: Tommy smiled and whispered into my ear. That's okay. He
Speaker 1: suddenly sat up, releasing me. Come on, dinner's ready. Shaking,
Speaker 1: I wiped.
Speaker 2: My face and let him help me off the bed,
Speaker 2: and I wasn't hungry.
Speaker 1: July nineteen ninety four. As the days marks closer and
Speaker 1: closer towards July, my family developed a silent optimism, a
Speaker 1: desperate plea to make this all stop, to make it
Speaker 1: all go away. My mother and father made sure there
Speaker 1: was no reason for any hard lesson. They bent over
Speaker 1: backwards for Tommy, begging through clamped teeth that we all
Speaker 1: make it to July without another incident. Only July third,
Speaker 1: we woke up to find Tommy Taffy. What's gone five
Speaker 1: years to the day. We couldn't believe it. He'd simply
Speaker 1: vanished overnight. We checked the entire house, my mom weeping
Speaker 1: tears of relieved joy that the nightmare was finally over.
Speaker 1: Over checking every inch of the house three times over,
Speaker 1: we met in the living room, embracing one another as
Speaker 1: a family. Tommy had moved on. The sentence was over.
Speaker 1: My father called out of work and we went away
Speaker 1: for two weeks to the beach. During those two weeks,
Speaker 1: I kept expecting to wake up with Tommy standing over
Speaker 1: me that horrific smile on his face. But he didn't.
Speaker 1: It was over. My parents did their best to rebuild
Speaker 1: our family, fill in the cracks that had been made
Speaker 1: during those long years, and I love them dearly for it.
Speaker 1: Some monsters just can't be forgotten. I don't know what
Speaker 1: Tommy Taffy was or where he came from. I don't
Speaker 1: think I'll ever know what was his purpose? Why did
Speaker 1: he do those awful things to us? I pore over
Speaker 1: the possible answers and come my head splits and I
Speaker 1: find myself crying. Some memories too much to dig up.
Speaker 1: Some things are just left dead in the past. But
Speaker 1: I haven't forgotten when my father told me in the
Speaker 1: hallway that awful night outside of my sister's room. I'm
Speaker 1: thirty three now I've remained unmarried without children. I can't
Speaker 1: risk it. I can't risk that monster coming back into
Speaker 1: my life. I've never understood why my parents chose to
Speaker 1: have kids. They both had been exposed to Tommy during
Speaker 1: their childhood, so why oh, I have Stephanie and I.
Speaker 1: Maybe they didn't believe he'd come back, but I believe it.
Speaker 1: And I'm terrified because you see, yesterday, yesterday, my sister
Speaker 1: gave birth to twins.