I was so scared that I almost wet myself. I remember following her out to the hallway, in my Princess Tiana nightgown, clutching onto her. I cried and begged her not to go get the monster. I told her I couldn’t face it. She knelt down so that we were at eye level and said, “You will stop crying, right now.” Her voice left no room for argument.

I quickly swallowed my sobs and told myself not to be afraid. It didn’t work. My mom took my hand in hers and informed me, in no uncertain terms, that tonight I would fight the monster. We headed toward the hall closet, where she said she’d heard sounds earlier.

I pleaded for her not to go inside. But she went in anyway. It felt like forever before she returned. When she came back out, her hair was disheveled, she was breathing hard, and her eyes were wide with shock.

“I found him. Are you ready?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

She got on her knees again, so we could keep being at eye level. She interlaced our fingers and said, “Monsters are not new. They will always be here, and they will always come for you. How you handle them now is how you will handle them for the rest of your life.”

I wanted to run and hide under my bed forever. She studied the fear and uncertainty etched on my face.

“Child, there are hundreds of people waiting in the wings to help you,” she said. “Every one of your ancestors. All you have to do is use your voice and call to them.”

So I did as she said. I whispered, “Ancestors.”

Nothing happened.

“I don’t see them,” I said.

“You will, one day. When your voice is strong enough,” Mom said. “Until then, you still have a monster to face.” She guided me toward the closet.

My heart bounced around my rib cage like a Ping-Pong ball. I felt a chill zip along my spine, causing goose bumps down my arms. My fingers and toes had turned to icicles and I forgot how to let air enter my lungs. She read my fear and said, “Ayo . . . face it. Or face me.”

It didn’t matter how scary the thing in the closet was—my mom was far more formidable. I took a deep breath and ran inside the closet. The darkness engulfed me and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It was at that point that my shaking hands and I decided it might be best to face my mom instead of the monster. I turned the doorknob to escape, and my mom shouted out to me from the other side.

“Girl, don’t you come back out here till that thing is dead and gone.”