Raeesa

One cold day, August 31st to be precise, a family of three lived in pain. Johnny, who was a ten year old, lived with his mother and father. He was a kind boy who ate all he could from the large, bitter portions his mother would make, for she didn’t have enough money to buy some vegetables. He was fortunate, for the water and tea he could drink, the family he had, the nasty food he could eat and the house he had. There were two bedrooms in the upper bit of the house and you used broken stairs to get up to the rooms. In Johnny’s room, he had five drawers, a set of blunt crayons and a scrap book. His bed was just a cloth, blanket and a cushion with a hole in. He also had a little lamp and a window, that wouldn’t shut next to the makeshift bed. The cottage was shaband broken because the family had become poor when Johnny’s father got fired from his job. Johnny had neat hair, which was styled his mum and he wore some scrappy black jeans. He wore a striped jumper, that had a hole in the arm and so he wore his old school shirt underneath. He also had a pair of black Velcro shoes and some green trainers.

It was September 1st and it was a rainy day. Johnny dozed of while he walked down the stairs into the kitchen. There on the table was some out of date cornflakes, some smelly milk, a bent copper spoon and a steel bowl. His father joined the coal miners, so he had to have his breakfast early and quickly go. Johnny got himself some cereal out and he sat down on one of the stools. Johnny munched on it and walked away.

That evening, Johnny’s father was going to come back at seven like all miners, but his boss said he can go back at six since he was a beginner. His mum had fixed some leftover salad, water and a small portion of tasteless meat. That minute, they waited for the door to open. The clock read twelve, but Johnny knew it was broken, so he quickly found a watch belonging to his father in the shed. Johnny turned on the radio when he came back and sat back down next to his worried mother. He stroked her hair and stared at the watch. 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 7:00, 7:32, 7:55. “Where is he?” his mother sobbed. Johnny went to the phone and was just about to put in a 20 pence when the phone rattled. Johnny picked it up.

“Hello. Is this Mr Carter’s wife?” a voice shakes through the phone. His mother stared at him.

“No it’s his son, Johnny Carter. I’m afraid my mother’s a little busy. Is there a message about my father? He is rather late. I’m very worried,” Johnny replied.

“Oh Johnny, I’ve got to tell you something. Pal, your father has … urm … died. He was mining some coal and he removed his helmet because he was itchy, but the miners who were working above him hit the coal too hard and it fell onto your father’s head. Young Paul listened to your father’s heart, but there was no pulse. He did CPR for a bit but it was just useless. I’m sorry.”

Johnny stared into the scared eyes of his mother. He dropped the phone into it’s socket.

“Hello. Hello?” the voice called, but the line died.

Johnny sobbed and sobbed. His mother asked him what was wrong.

“He has died mum. We’ve lost him,” wept Johnny.

His mother looked around and lay back onto the ripped sofa. She leaned her head onto the armrest and fell asleep. Johnny dried his eyes and walked back into the kitchen where a foul smell filled his nose. He was too upset to bother that the food had rotted and needed throwing away. He grabbed a glass of water and some tissues and put them on the table near his mother. He then realised what had happened to the food so he threw it away and washed the dishes. He took out the bin and put in a new bag. What was going to happen to him and his mother? He stared sadly at the full moon praying to God….