He Didn't Even Say Goodbye

• Sara Raheel , Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2022

A loud scream echoed in the silent hall. Breathing heavily, Kenzo let the body of the man slip from his hand. He turned and sprinted into the bathroom, blood dripping from his knife. Locking the door and taking off his jacket, Kenzo grabbed some tissues and wet them. He started wiping the stains of blood off his jacket. After he wiped the blood off his jacket, he washed the knife making sure there was no sign of it being used to kill someone. His head was full of the nightmarish scream of the man as Kenzo slit his neck.
Kenzo exited the house, hoping no one saw him walking away from the crime scene. Heart beating fast, Kenzo ran all the way home. He checked the time on his watch. 10pm. Good he wasn't late and his mother wouldn't suspect a thing. Still he hid the knife even though he knew his mother wouldn't be home. Creaking the front door open, he peeked inside.
He went into the kitchen and saw his mother cooking.
"Hello Kenzo," his mother said smiling.
"Hey mom," he said smiling back.
"What took you so long?" she asked placing food in front of him and sliding next to him.
"Uh- nothing important," he said looking at his food. His mother bit her lip but didn't ask more questions. They continued eating in silence.
A small ping came on his phone. Picking it up, he read the message. It was from them. He dropped his phone his heart pounding. Rereading the message, Kenzo felt his heartbeat stop. They wanted him to kill... no he couldn't.
His mother broke him from his thoughts.
"Kenzo," she said in a warning tone, "No phones allowed on the table." Kenzo nodded his head, his thoughts feeling messed up. Why did they want him to kill her? Why her out of all people. That was the last person they wanted Kenzo to kill. Then the favor that Kenzo owed them would end. Still Kenzo felt empty.
"Night mom," Kenzo said putting his plate in the dishwasher.
"Night honey," she said smiling softly.
Kenzo ran upstairs and closed the door behind him.
'Can I not kill her?' he texted them.
'No you have to kill her or else we'll kill you ourselves' the reply came.
Kenzo panicked. He didn't want to kill his mother. She was all he had. And she was engaged to someone. He didn't want to kill her. There was only one thing left to do. Something he didn't want to do. Something he feared doing. He got up. No way he was going to kill her. He'd erase himself from the world to protect her.
He got up and ripped out a page from his notebook.
Inside he scribbled, 'Hey mom. I'm really sorry that I'm doing this. Remember I love you. Goodbye" He grabbed his knife and slit his throat. Red poured from his neck and seeping through his clothes.
Later when his mom came into the room, she saw her son's dead body on the floor. "But he didn't even say goodbye" she gasped...