The Raft: A Short Story: The Raft Collection, #1

By Maya Goode

The innocence of children is lost on the children

The Raft is a story about Chanelle, a young abused girl looking to escape just like the heroes in the books she relishes.

We may dream of childhood as a state of joy and innocence, but children inhabit the same world adults do. The Raft is the first in a  series of short stories where Maya Goode explores childhood with an unfiltered lens. From abuse, mental illness and suicide to first love and unending compassion.

This is a short story of 4,800 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maya Goode
• Release date: Jun 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533758019

Book preview

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For Josh and Annie

THE RAFT

The lock on the front door clicked, and Chanelle shoved the book under the twin bed. She closed her eyes and slowed her breath like she always did on mornings like this. It didn’t work, and Papa came in her room anyway.

It was late morning when he finally left and stumbled into the living room. Listening against the door, she heard the television start with a fit of static and the refrigerator door slam. Chanelle dragged her book from a hiding place beneath the mattress between the slats then, cracking the door, she tiptoed into the hallway so she could watch the living room without being seen.

The school librarian had given her a tattered copy of The Odyssey along with several other books when she was cleaning at the end of the school year. Chanelle released her brain on an adventure as her fingers turned the well-worn pages. After a month of reading the books over and over, she’d memorized the dog-eared pages and savored the dusty smell strong enough to cover the scent of spice and beer. The other part of her brain listened. When interrupted snores disturbed the air around the couch, she tucked