WINNER OF OCTOBER CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

THEME: HORROR

WINNER: Lilly Myers ‘24

Good Boys and Girls Always Smile

“I was trying to be a g-,” were Timmy’s last words the night that the 6-year-old boy, disappeared. Timmy was always trying to be a good boy, and he always smiled. He knew if he didn’t smile something terrible would happen to him. It’s almost like he felt a presence lurking him every time his smile faltered. It was a bitter, bland morning, in California after that previous night. Police and search dogs were out all night, looking for him and missing posters for Timmy were everywhere. Charley and Dani, his parents, were sitting at their kitchen table watching the news, with exhausted eyes and grimaces brandishing their faces. They had no memory from last night and were worried about their kid. All they vaguely remember is that they were smiling when looking at each other, then claimed everything went dark after that. When they left there was a sign on their door that they don’t remember putting there. It read: Always smile. Charley and Dani got in the car confused and headed downtown.

When they arrived, they were being interviewed by persistent reporters asking questions such as, “How do you feel about losing your child,” and “Do you think he is dead?”

The parents gave halfhearted responses, and they had circles under their bloodshot eyes. “Do you think he’s dead Charley?” said Dani. Charley gave a gloomy look and began to get into his car to escape the reporters. Dani ran in a café, bought a coffee, and followed Charley into the car. They drove home only to be awaited by their cat pacing the door. Something was wrong, so they let the cat in immediately only for her to throw up everywhere. Except, something glossy caught Charley’s eye. He picked it up and it was a memory card from a camera. Curiosity sparked so they inserted it into the camera in their son’s room. Staticky noise comes blaring from the camera, and only then do they hear their voices:

“Timmy son, we know you’re in there come out please Timmy we aren’t mad we just want to see you.” Bam, Bam, Bam- the sound of a gunshot is heard hitting the door, and they hear Timmy say these words, “No, please no mommy. Don’t let Daddy do this. Help me, please.” The camera flashed to the dad pealing Timmy’s skin off with a knife, the mom now recording all of this. “Honey, want to help me show Timmy why he shouldn’t be a bad boy in school,” said Charley. “Just kill him, Charley, the boy was a brat anyway,” said Dani. The camera zooms into Timmy and you can see the little boy has no skin left whispering,

“I was trying to be a good boy mommy,” Charley then rips Timmy’s teeth out but there’s a flash of black, and Timmy almost looks possessed. Immediately then everything goes silent except a faint cat meow, and the footage immediately goes black.

Charley and Dani look at each other, fearing what they just watched. Then slowly an eerie smile comes across Charley’s face, and he says, “Our son deserved it, oh what it felt like to feel his burning hot bloody skin in my hands.” Dani looks over frightened but then she too slowly forms a smile across her face saying, “Oh Lord of Smiles, we have served our purpose, we collected you the smile of our son, now give us our gift.” Lightning strikes and then the parents drop dead. The door creeps open and Timmy walks in skinless removing the mouth from his mom and inserting it into himself. He smiles saying, “Mommy and Daddy haven’t been good now have they.”