Green Door

I wrote this story for Creative Writing I. Also, this story was published in the Minstrel!

Sammy is fumbling down the corridor of his parent’s two story house. The doors blur as the toe of his sock is caught on a protruding nail. His slim frame tilts towards the wood planks, but his arm jerks out, breaking the fall. The sock is released and Sammy is up and running again. He searches frantically for a place to hide. He can smell the breath of his father as he staggers up the stairs shouting his name. Sammy’s stomach lurches like the turbulent waves of a violent storm as he darts behind his bedroom door. The room is dark and the curtains are still broken from his father’s last episode. Just past the window, the light of the stars produce just enough light for Sammy to see the shadow of his father enter his room. Sammy leans deeper into the corner. He can hear his heart racing wildly as his father comes further into the room. His round hairy arm comes into view. Sammy winces. The arm reaches around the door and before Sammy can react; his father has a firm grip on Sammy’s shoulder. The pain in his shoulder is severe, but he knows that to cry out in pain will only make it worse. The hand comes down and lands hard against Sammy’s small frame sending him crashing to the floor. Sammy scrambles to his feet, but before he can catch his balance he is struck across the head and the room turns completely black.
The sun intrudes; it illuminates the room revealing what the darkness once hid. Speckled across the walls are hundreds of tiny brown footballs. The light travels down the bed posts and comes to rest on the empty pillow. There on the floor lies the body of a nine-year-old child prodigy. Sammy begins to stir. He wakes with a pounding headache and he can not remember where he is. The light hurts his eyes and he goes to cover them with his right hand, but draws it back quickly in pain. His shoulder feels like it is on fire. Suddenly last night comes rushing back to him. His mind is spinning; what day is it? Just beyond the window he can hear the horn of the school bus. He scrabbles to get his stuff together. He softly passes the room where his dad is sprawled out on the bed breathing heavily and reaches the door just in time to wave to the school bus driver to let him know that he is coming.
Later that day, Sammy arrives home from school and heads for the garage. The garage is his domain; his parents rarely enter the garage. He shuts the green door behind him and his body collapses in relief. He sinks into a sitting position against the door and allows for his body to cool against the rough stone floor. His eyes close, and he is just about to drift into a light slumber when his body is snapped back to attention as he feels a shadow pass over his face. His nostrils are filled with a putrid smell, but he knows that garbage day was on Monday. He opens his eyes and is alarmed to see two chocolate brown eyes staring back at him. With a jolt of surprise, Sammy suddenly realizes that the chocolate brown eyes belong to a man. The man shifts his body weight and raises his finger to his lips. Sammy just stares. The man saunters back to the table where he has a chess board set up. He motions for Sammy to come join him. Sammy slowly makes his way over to the table and takes a seat across from the man. The man begins the game by moving the white Queen’s pawn forward. He doesn’t talk much, but Sammy doesn’t mind -- he is just happy for the company. Sammy becomes thoroughly engrossed in the game. With every move that Sammy makes the man grunts in approval of Sammy’s choice. With each white piece that Sammy conquers he becomes more confident and forgets that a stranger is sitting across table. The stranger is a man of large stature, who wears a trench coat that is three sizes too big. It is soiled to the point that its original color can not be discerned. On his right wrist is a loosely fitting watch . His jet black hair is permanently stuck in a chaotic mess of curls. He is unshaven and leaves his left hand in his coat pocket. Sammy recognizes that he is a homeless person, but he does not care. He continues to play.
Sammy is just about to move his bishop into position for check mate when the green door bursts open. There in the doorway is a man whom Sammy barely knows. It is his obnoxious father and he looks like he just woke up. At his side, Sammy’s father is loosely holding a rifle in his hand. He leans heavily on the door frame and coughs into his red hanky. Sammy jumps out of his seat alarmed and runs to his father’s side. He grabs his father’s arm and tries to lead him out of the garage. His father jerks his arm away and pushes Sammy outside the green door and bolts the door shut. Sammy bangs on the door screaming at the top of his lungs for his father to let him back in.
“Don’t hurt him dad. He didn’t mean any harm.” Sammy sobs from outside the green door. Sammy can hear his dad’s voice talking to the homeless man, but he can not make out the words.
“So you like to play with little boys, eh?” says Sammy’s father to the homeless man. “You think that you can play with my son do you? I’ll teach you to go after little boys…”
BANG!
Sammy runs around the side of the garage to where there is a window. He reaches the window in just enough time to see his dad squeeze the trigger and watch the bullet pierce the body of the homeless man. The bullet throws his body backwards and he lands on the chess board and all of the pieces are scrambled on the floor. There his body lies amongst the strewn queens, bishops, and pawns.
The body is taken away and Sammy is left shivering outside the garage window. It doesn’t take long for the police to show up. An officer walks over to Sammy and rests his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Son, I need you to come with me now. Everything is going to be ok. Your father has been taken into custody,” says the officer.
Sammy climbs into the back of the officer’s patrol car, but before the officer closes the door he asks, “Sir, can I see the homeless man one more time? I never got to say goodbye to him.”
Against his better judgment the officer takes pity on the boy and drives him to the morgue. The officer takes him outside the viewing window and then leaves the boy alone. It is just Sammy and the body of the homeless man. Sammy moves closer until his body presses up against the glass. Finally, Sammy speaks in a hushed tone to the homeless man, “Did you fear him?”