Disguised by a Raging Smile

By Mirika Mayo Cornelius

Disguised by a Raging Smile (a latchkey story)

It happened in 1984.  Her mom was gone, and she was left all alone in the house for only a few minutes.  This was when her life changed, and everyone outside the home heard her screams.  This was the life of innocent Katy Rose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mirika Mayo Cornelius
• Release date: Nov 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540195906

Book preview

DISGUISED

BY A

RAGING SMILE

a latchkey story

A THURSDAY IN 1984

It happened the day he took the knife from the counter and grazed it against the kitchen sink.  The sound pierced his ears, and he quickly put it down to go play with the children outside.  The knife, being placed with the heaviest part of the handle hanging off the edge of the counter, fell to the floor. The noise failed to distract him as he ran out, and there the knife lay, out of place, just like everything else that day.

She entered, smiling at her little brother as he ran past her in the yard.  He'd been at home, a latch key kid, before she even got off of the school bus.  She was happy to see him and that he'd made it home safely from the long journey he had walking, not alone of course, but with his other friends from the school.  As she walked inside, her smile faded as she dropped her book bag on the sofa, and what a grand sofa it was.  Her mother had it ordered in with some money she'd won from playing Bingo with the girls every Thursday.  Tonight was a Thursday night, and her mother wasn't expected to be home the same way it wasn't expected that her father be home.  Unlike her mother, he was dead.  He'd been dead for a long time.

The living room was a complete wreck, and it also wreaked of dirt, oils and food, obviously from the kitchen trashcan.  Therefore, she walked into the kitchen, just like she did every single week, especially on Thursday, to begin cooking food and getting the place cleaned up, as if she was a parent, so that she and her little brother can have a decent night despite their missing mom.  She would be back home soon, soon being Friday morning.  It's quite alright because she and her brother are accustomed to it.

Missing the knife that had fallen onto the floor and landing at the corner of the counter, she walked toward the smelly trashcan, lifted the bag from it and took it outside to the backyard.  There were weeds all over, and she realized that her mother forgot to put the dumpster out on Wednesday when she opened the dumpster to find it completely full. 

Mom, she sighed, but lugged the