It is getting dark and cold. We march home in silence. I suddenly realise I no longer have the senses of smell and taste. There is a sudden violent sound of breaking bones behind us. We look back. Toni is a few paces behind us. There is a weird look in his eyes. We can’t believe what we are hearing as Toni opens his mouth. He is now speaking in Smiley Face’s voice. Smiley Face has possessed Toni!
“Hello, friends,” Smiley Face speaks through Toni.
It is the most terrifying sight I have ever seen. Two people reside within one body, and they have different voices, one for each person.
“Guys help me!” says Toni.
We all gasp, shocked.
“Andile, I think you should run home because mom seems to have made a bloody mess,” says Smiley Face while looking at me through Toni’s eyes.
“No! My family!” I scream.
“Guys, don’t let him take me!” Toni’s voice protests.
“Shut up! Evildoers!” Smiley Face takes over completely. He lets out a scary laugh and disappears into the forest in Toni’s body.
We all take off running in different directions. I run home and barge through the door.
“Ma!” I call out.
“Andile?” she answers from the kitchen.
I run to the kitchen. I am crushed by sadness because my mother is sitting on the floor. Next to her my 3-year-old brother Luke lies dead in a pool of blood. She is holding a bloodied kitchen knife in her hand.
“Luke didn’t listen, Andile. He didn’t want to sleep. I had to force him to sleep,” says Ma. “He’s asleep, I’m sure. He is asleep, Andile. Isn’t he?”
I can’t move. I just say, “Ma put the knife down.”
“No!”
“Ma, please. Put the knife down!” I sob.
“If I smile, you will not be afraid. Isn’t that what he wants?”
“Who? What are you talking-”
“Smiley Face!”
“No, Ma! No!”
Ma is wearing a sick smile. She raises the knife to her neck and laughs as she slits her own throat. I am knocked unconscious by what I have just witnessed.
***
The pain I felt when I lost my family is the type of pain I never knew existed. It’s like I am constantly crushed by a giant rock that I can’t move. Somehow I know this weight will be with me forever. I am tempted every day to just end it all.
Three weeks have passed. I haven’t spoken to any of my friends. I needed time and space to mourn my loss. I’ve not been answering their calls and text messages.
Toni has not been found. News of his disappearance has spread through our community. We are the talk of the month. Sindi, Toni, Ma and Luke – I’ve lost them all. Why hasn’t Smiley Face killed my other friends’ families? Am I the most cursed one?
I think of my pain, and something builds up in me. I decide I can’t live like this. I can’t let anyone else experience what I have gone through. I have to build Smiley Face’s tombstone.