Monster #4

The Red Sofa loved a new home. The feel of the carpet beneath its feet, the odor of freshly painted walls, and hopefully, cable television. As a sofa there really wasn't that much to do, other then to watch television all day and hoping the owner would tune to a good channel. It loved cooking channels and talk shows. The only other thing it hoped for was that the inhabitants be messy enough to drop the occasional peanut or popcorn into its nooks and crannies. It really didn't require much food to survive. After all, it rarely had to move. It did remember trying to eat a cat, and spitting out furballs for about three months. It hated guinea pigs and rough children, and occasionally slyly dumped them on the floor, when no one was looking. It loved a good vacuum, and the feel of new linen over its form.

But few things last forever. After serving as the prime piece of furniture for a nurse, the Red Sofa was moved to the Salvataion Army, where it could no longer follow the adventures of the afternoon soap opera, or the talk shows. It lay there for months, before being adopted by a poor couple who paid entirely too little for it, they thought. The couple fought often, and the Red Sofa often found itself the unwiling target of pots and plates, and the pants-wearer of the family had a very bad habit of stubbing out cigarettes on it. Furthermore, they did not have cable, and the reception of their tv was akin to watching a snowstorm while being deluged by random noise.

The condition of the Red Sofa gradually plunged, as though reflecting the state of the current family it stayed with. The color paled from it, it smelled of beer and cigarettes, and there was a hole on its left side that was increasingly growing. One day, as the two had argued, and the cigarette stub once again rested on the side, it decided it had enough. It let the cigarette burn, and soon it was afire. Before long , it was burning, and the whole apartment burned with it.

The Red Sofa, however, didn't just end. It woke up, to find it was fresh and new. Blazing bright red and new, and surrounded by other furniture, even old friends from other homes it had shared. They shared time in furniture heaven, and there were even televisions there in that furniture heaven.