Lektoya

Okay, so my grandmother is from Poland. Like, rural Poland. Like, she raised sheep and grew potatoes growing up. Old-country shit. Anyways, she and her family immigrated to America just before WWII and settled in New England. They’ve stayed there ever since.
I was raised not far from my grandma’s home. I visited her often, and she loved to tell me stories about Poland - the landscape, the people, as well as the occasional spooky story told around the fireplace. There was this one story, in particular, she told me about a monster called the Lektoya, which apparently translates to “toy thief.”
Now, from what I remember from the story, it’s this ancient myth dating back to pagan times. The Lektoya was apparently a creature that lived in the forest and stole children’s toys. Why? Well, my grandma told me that the monster used the toys to lure children into the forest and eat them. She even claimed she saw the beast with her own eyes when she was a child.
Naturally, as a seven-year-old girl, this terrified me. But to be honest, I forgot all about the Lektoya story. My grandma passed away a few years later, and life moved on.
So this is where the story gets hard to swallow, but you have to believe me. For the sake of all the innocent children out there.
I have a six-year-old daughter named Lucy. Lucy’s favorite toy is a little doll that she calls Pippa. My mother gave it to her when she was an infant. Pippa goes everywhere with Lucy, and Lucy can’t go to sleep without her.
A couple nights ago, Pippa went missing. I didn’t think anything of it. I figured Lucy just left the doll somewhere and forgot about it. I assured Lucy that we’d find Pippa in the morning, and I put her to bed.
About halfway through the night, I heard the back door slam shut. I immediately checked Lucy’s room but she wasn’t in bed. At this point, every ounce of me was freaking out, so I sprinted to the back door.
My backyard borders a forest. In the middle of the yard, walking slowly towards the trees, was my daughter. And suspended in the air, just on the edge of the woods, was her doll, Pippa.
Lucy was walking like a zombie towards the doll, which hung lazily from what looked like the branch of a birch tree. I ran into the backyard, yelling Lucy’s name, but she didn’t stop. 
By the time I reached her, we were both at the edge of the woods. I could see then that Pippa wasn’t being hung by a branch, but by a massive claw.
The creature that emerged from the forest was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I never hope to see it again. It had misshapen, humanoid limbs. Bleach-white skin stretched tight over a rigid skeleton. Its hands ended in long, sinewy fingers adorned with sharp, black claws. Its mouth was row upon row of jagged teeth, dripping with saliva. But none of the monster’s figure was as striking as its eyes.
They were enormous. 
Giant, round pools on either side of two slits of nostrils. The eyes were a consistent color — so shiny that I could see my own reflection in them. They were magnets, and the eyes called to me, like a voice in the back of my head. 
My mind raced back to my grandmother’s tale, and I knew that this creature was the Lektoya. 
I tried to pull Lucy away, but she was frozen to the spot. I think the eyes held her in some sort of trance. In a fit of manic instinct, I reached for the nearest weapon — a broken tree branch on the ground — and swung it at the monster’s face.
I drew blood, and somehow severed the connection between the Lektoya and Lucy. The creature dropped Pippa, and I snatched the doll off the ground. I don’t know why, but I think I knew my daughter would need her doll in the coming days. 
Then we ran, while the beast howled. I shoved Lucy into my car and drove. 
The next day we packed up all of our things and moved out of that house. I’ll never go back there. Lucy is traumatized. She won’t sleep, not even with Pippa.
I’m writing this as a warning to all the parents out there. The Lektoya is real. I don’t know how many there are, or where they live, but I know they’re out there. So please, if your child says they lost their favorite toy, just remember: Beware the Lektoya.
Note: The attached image is one that Lucy drew. She’s tormented by this monster and won’t stop drawing it.
Category:Beings