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Join Date: Aug 2005
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"The Boy Who Never Smiled"
Title: The Boy Who Never Smiled
Genre: Fantasy/Childrens
Rating: G
Before you go on to read the story, let me say that this is some of my earlier work and is not as good as some of my newer material. This story is a childrens story, meaning there is no blood/violence/swearing in it (unfortunately). Also, this story is a "happy" story, (a little bit too happy) so if you're not into that kind of stuff, please don't kill me. Please rate/fix my story, thanks!
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The Boy That Never Smiled
One
This is the tale of a lonely boy that never—and I mean never—smiled. Everyday when he left school, he would go into his dark, untidy room and launch himself onto his bed. He usually cried for a few of hours, give or take one or two when he was exceedingly depressed or when he had a moderately pleasant day. After, he would read one of his many books for an hour, and then he would…well, I’ll get to that in a second.
The boy’s name was Luther Hammond, a slender nine year old boy who was neglected by his father and didn’t have a dime to his name. He dreaded going to school because kids would point and make fun of him and his large glasses, shabby clothing and messy red hair. Unfortunately for poor Luther, he had not a single friend to play with, or a mentor of any kind; Luther kept to himself and even avoided his father.
Luther’s mother died of heart disease when he was only three months old—before he even remembered her face, yet he was pretty certain she was a beautiful woman. Every time he went to sleep, he envisioned her in his dreams: long, scarlet hair just like his, striking green eyes just like his, and a bright smile he longed for. The funny thing is—and I kid you not, is that Luther likes going up to women that look like this and asking them, “Are you my mommy? You’re beautiful just like in my dreams.” Of course they were flattered, but they all told him the dreadful truth, which sent him blubbering for the rest of the day. Of course, Luther never faced realization, hoping one day he would come across her.
Okay, you’re probably wondering when I’m going to stop boring you and get on to the meat and potatoes of this story. Well it starts now, so you can stop wondering.
Two
Steam billowed out from the steaming piece of broccoli that stood in front of Luther. He and his father were about to eat their dinner, which consisted of a mammoth piece of broccoli and some baby carrots. Luther just gawked at his plate and felt like vomiting on the floor. His big, beefy father glared at him.
“What’s wrong, Luther?” his father asked, eyeballing him. “Is this not good enough for you? Sorry it’s not eggs and pancakes at Denny’s! Answer me when I’m talking to you, Luther! It’s very rude.”
A tear dropped from Luther’s eye. He slammed his fork onto the unstable wooden table, ran into his room and shut the door. A picture of his father fell from the ceiling and broke into a dozen shards.
Luther chewed and sobbed on his fluffy pillow. If he could see his father die at that moment, he probably would have liked it. I bet Luther thought that he didn’t even know his real father. Why else would he deliberately shout and beat Luther? Luther fell asleep within minutes, and forgot all about the episode with his dad. Besides, tomorrow was Saturday, which meant no school! That has to be something to smile about.
A powerful ray of light shone from the crack of Luther’s window and peeked into his room. One of his crusty eyelids opened, and he almost leapt twelve feet when he saw a spider crawling right near him. He smashed it into his mattress with his bony hand, and threw it out the window. He noticed how beautiful the sky was—beautiful colors of orange and pink conglomerated with brilliant yellow and turquoise.
Luther left his room into the short hallway and noticed his father was sitting on the couch, eating a large piece of chicken. Luther grunted, but his fat, deceitful dad didn’t hear a thing. Luther went into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet to wash off the spider gunk from his hands. When he finished, he noticed himself in the mirror—his glasses were askew and his face looked miserable. He took a long, deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.
Luther was about to go into his room and read an engaging book about wizards, but something caught the corner of his eye. There was a door at the end of the hallway that he never really noticed. A sense of curiosity jolted through Luther as he walked toward the mysterious door. Luther put his hand on the silver doorknob, which was icy cold for some exotic reason. He turned it and entered the room.
Unfortunately for him, the room was empty. Another fifteen seconds of reading time, wasted, Luther thought to himself. Before he left, he noticed a mini pendulum on the floor. Come on—you had one at one point of your life! You know those things with the five little silver marbles attached to strings that bounce back and forth when one hits the other? Luther picked up the pendulum, interested in what it could do. He plucked one of the tiny silver marbles (which were as cold as the doorknob) and released it, and watched in amazement as the ball bounced into the others, and sent the marble ball near the end into the air. He watched them like a tennis match, wondering which was going to stop first, but he surprisingly never smiled—I thought he would.
After a minute or so, the pendulum ceased, and the sense of curiosity wore off. Luther took the pendulum with him. He tried to turn the icy doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, an icy bolt surged through his body, and Luther panicked. The doorknob got colder and colder by the second. The pendulum balls bounced back and forth like crazy. Before he knew it, his world was fading out, and the room he was in spiraled out of control.
Three
Before Luther knew it, he was standing in a garden of daffodils, daisies and tulips. Large, skyscraper-like trees with rainbows of colors of leaves stretched upward for what seemed like miles. Luther noticed that there were cherries and bananas growing on the trees, which kind of baffled him. He also spotted that each of the trees had a door near the bottom, just like a house.
“I must be hallucinating…” Luther said to himself, still wondering how he got to this striking meadow. He had never seen anything like it—he had only read about places like these in books. Although it was all lush and incredibly beautiful, the scenery was very blurry.
Luther picked up the pendulum, stood up and walked across the endless bushels of flowers, and within seconds, clumsy Luther tripped. His glasses slid off his face and landed on the ground. Surprisingly, he couldn’t feel any pain from the rough fall like he did back in his world. He grabbed his glasses and rose from the ground. Luther was about to slide them over his face before something remarkable happened—he could see clearly.
More excited than scared, Luther dropped his glasses and continued to explore the meadow, with a clearer vision. While Luther thought he conjured up this fantasy world from his dreams, he decided to explore it and bask in its gloriousness before he woke up. It seemed so real….
Something was nearby. A trampling noise filled Luther’s ears, and left him frightened. Over the hills, he could see a lion galloping towards him. Luther should have made a run for it—but he knew it was all a dream, so he just watched as the lion ran swiftly like a gazelle. Before it reached Luther, it came to an abrupt halt and began walking slower. Then, it stopped.
Fascinating, Luther thought to himself. Something told him to confront the lion, and to not be afraid. He inched towards the huge creature, but it wouldn’t let him. The lion let out a thunderous roar, and Luther backed away slowly. It’s all a dream, Luther thought to himself. Once again, he walked towards the lion, and once again, it roared ferociously.
“It’s okay!” Luther said to the creature. As he walked closer and closer to the lion, like a curious cat, it walked towards him as well. When they met, the lion’s head lunged forward, and sniffed Luther. I’m not food, don’t eat me… Luther thought, now realizing this dream is becoming more like reality every second. He can feel the gusts of wind that the lion’s nostrils exhaled as it sniffed him. The lion purred, and nodded its head.
“…You like me? Am I okay?” Luther asked. The lion nodded its head once again. Luther gave a sigh of great relief. What an enthralling creature—it understood every word Luther said! The lion lied down on its stomach like a cat, and started licking its paws. Luther just watched until the lion stared back at him.
Luther met the lion’s eyes, and they stared at each other for around a minute. He must have been crazy, but he actually wanted to know the one thing that he asked all the time.
“Mrs. Lion…” Luther said, clearing his throat. The lion’s eyes widened, showing it was listening. “Are you…are you my mommy? You’re beautiful just like in my dreams.”
Four
The lion stared at him longer than it ever had. It seemed like an eternity—Luther lost himself in the lion’s mesmerizing brown eyes. The lion rose on all fours and gave a gentle purr, and nodded slowly. Luther’s eyes watered, and he ran up to the lion and gave it a big hug, like he would to his own mother.
That night, Luther rested on the lion’s stomach like he was one of her young. Luther decided to stay with his new “mother”, as this land treated him better than his world would. Before he dozed off into sleep, wondering if he would ever wake up or not, he put the pendulum down and realized that if he never discovered it, he would never be in this new world. It was a magical item he read in the books. For the first time, Luther was happy—he gave a wide smile and went to sleep. Never again should Luther be known as the boy who never smiled.
The End
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