This is another story with just the beginning that's mostly background. I got stuck on how to continue because there's so many ways this story can go, it's limited on what type of monster it can be, sort of, but I couldn't figure out how to take it forward in a way I liked. Here's the unfinished story:
You know those stories you’re told as kids, the ones about the monsters in the woods. The creatures that lurk around at night or even about that one haunted house in town that you’re told to stay far away from. They’re supposed to be myths, legends, just stories so that you’ll behave and stay safe, far away from the dangers that they’re dressing up as worse than they are. For example, the haunted house could just be home to a tragic history or dangerous chemicals or molds, fungus. The creatures at night are to discourage you from wandering around unprotected at night when there is no one around to notice if you’re taken or attacked. It really could be a wild animal that ventures into the city at night for food and you just happen to get in the way. I’m getting off topic but the point I’m trying to make is that the stories serve a purpose and are usually true to a certain degree. The story I remember most from my child hood is about the creatures that lived in the forest just beyond my fenced in back yard. You see, my house was on the edge of the forest and I loved to explore it during the day when I had the time. My mother told me about a monster that lived in the woods but couldn’t cross the boundary of the forest, so stay close to the gate. Another important fact about this particular monster was that it lived in the water but could leave its home for short periods of time. She used to tell me not to wander too far and to stay far away from the pond, especially if it was raining. But, I loved the forest, the trees, the quiet, and the occasional rustle or thump from the bunnies I frequently saw. One day however, after a particularly horrible day at school, I sought solace in the woods in a hollowed-out tree I found on one of my adventures exploring and learning the woods. It looked like it had been struck by lightning many years ago. It was charred but the vegetation that grew in the years since covered a lot of the damage done. The tree itself, before the lighting, was weird as well. It wasn’t straight like the others, its branches curved oddly, and the trunk was thicker than the other trees in the forest. The place gave me the heebie-jeebies the first time I was there, but it slowly eased away the more time I spent there. It became my safe place; the only downside was that the pond was closer than I would have liked, and had my mother known she’d never let me go there again. The pond was a place I’d only visited a view times before, I tried my best to follow my mother’s advice and stay away, mostly because I wasn’t a very good swimmer.