WRECKED. APART

Every Journey Start With a Desire

‘What the heck Chege, what have you done?’ Mutai shouts angrily, he furiously charges towards Chege who is staring at a fleeing horse, ‘What I was going to do with Shiro is none of your business’ Mutai continues. ‘Why would you do that to an innocent soul like her, seriously Mutai your father was a priest didn’t he instill some morals in you?’ Chege cautiously demands an explanation as he slowly moves away from Mutai who has already folded his sleeves and throwing fists towards Chege. ‘Listen to me Mutai, it doesn’t have to end this way, we can solve this amicably’, Mutai doesn’t listen; he wants to teach him a lesson about minding his own business. Both Mutai and Chege are in love with Shiro, they wanted to be with her. Mutai throws a punch and it’s dodged and he staggers away, Chege takes advantage of his loss of balance and kicks him in the groin, he falls clenching his stomach in pain. ‘You don’t kidnap and r**e women because they don’t love you, you are a disgrace to society’ Chege shouts in his ears, he spits on his face and walks away in disgust.’ I am going to find you and when I do am going to make sure you curse the day you were born’ Chege turns back looks at him and shakes his head, ‘You are going to pay for this’ Mutai insists, ‘I will be waiting’ Chege walks away, he stares at the horse in the golden yellow horizon, as the sun sets the horse disappears with it. ‘She is mine, isn’t she?’ He whispers to himself.

Shiro is governor’s daughter; she is every man’s dream woman. She had been named the most beautiful woman in the county for three years in a row. She recently was named the beauty of the decade in the country. She is the true definition of African beauty. Her hair long and silky, people wonder how, whoever created her knew exactly where to place her small pointed nose, her big round brown eyes, and her big pink lips. Some people thought she was one of the Egyptian goddesses who lost her way while traveling to Ethiopia. Her hips like an angel are sent by God to descend and curve them every night because they are refreshing sights every day and time. Her legs am going to stop there, her skin, she probably has the secret formula for a skincare routine that every company has been trying to grasp for the last one or so century. Many people speculated that she won them because her father is the governor and he is very wealthy but apart from the fact that he is a corrupt politician just like most African politicians she was really beautiful and had worked so hard to have something that was her own that was not linked to her father. It is in these competitions that she met Chege a while back when they were in high school. They clicked but nothing happened until later in life. They stayed in touch and they were very good friends, at some point, Chege was the creative advisor to her team. They won a lot together. Chege believed in love at first sight and the moment she met Shiro he knew she was the one. He did not go for it because he wanted her to feel the same way first.

* * *

Otis a very friendly is a very friendly young man in his mid-twenties; he is employed as a watchman in the governor’s residence. He is relaxed under the shade listening to a radio favorite program, he chuckles from time to time. He hears steps from a distance away; he lowers the volume of the radio and listens keenly. ‘Maybe that is Chege, those steps sound like horses’ and the only horse I can think of is Fafi, Chege’s, he must be very lonely by now. Maybe he found her and he is bringing her home finally. I hope is the one who rescues her. Maybe this time Mr. Kamau will notice his zeal for his daughter.’ His thought is cut short by a knock at the gate, he hurriedly rushes to open it. He peeps and sees Fafi and starts talking aimlessly, ‘yoh, Chege did you reclaim the mother of your kids, or are you going to give her up like a lazy and tired warthog.’ Otis shouts happily. ‘What is Chege doing here,’ a hoarse voice of Mr. Kamau barks behind Otis, ‘He is one of them’. The gate widely opens and to their astonishment, Shiro was climbing down Fafi. Everyone was temporarily a statue. How did she escape from the cruel kidnappers, these people have killed several children from wealthy families after they failed to pay the ransom they had asked for, it had been the same case for Shiro, her father had planned everything and was to hand over the money the next day. Mutai played this card to avoid suspicion, he was planning to r**e her record the act, and use the video as leverage to avoid being reported to the authorities but Chege got to him in time.

Mrs. Wanja rushes and hugs her daughter while sobbing; she has not slept for the last one week worrying about what might happen to her daughter. They hold onto each other crying, they don’t know what to do. The tears of joy flood Mr. Kamau’s eyes but he quickly wipes them away because from his community men are not supposed to cry for whatsoever circumstance. He embraces the mother and daughter firmly. ‘Who did this to you, my little girl, whoever he is going to pay dearly for touching my little girl.’ Mr. Kamau asks her smoothly. ‘Is it that good for nothing Chege?’ Shiro just continues to sob lying on her mother’s chest. ‘Let her rest, she will tell us everything later.’ Mrs. Wanja intervenes. Mr. Kamau nods and shows them to the house. Otis takes Fafi to the stables. For the first time in a while, the governor’s residence seems calm. Shiro takes a shower eats some fruits and drinks water for her dehydration and rests in her bed.

Later that night after Shiro has rested for several hours, her father and mother visit her in her room to try and know who had kidn*pped her. Mr. Kamau seems angry to whomever who took his beloved little girl as he always refers to her. He seems convinced that Chege had something to do with this a*******n. ‘Who did this to you, I want him to face the full force of the law so he can learn a lesson’ he asks. ‘Nobody can be cruel to my daughter, they have to know what am capable of’, Mr. Kamau continues with his threats. ‘Tell your father who did this to you, he has to be punished’, Mrs. Wanja joins in to try and convince her reluctant daughter to speak. ‘It’s Mutai’ she says faintly. ‘The manager of Mrs. Angela’s ranch.’ Mr. Kamau is in disbelief, Mutai is the son of the area’s priest, he is his friend and they have done several projects together, he considers him a son he wanted. He believes in his forefather’s ways of life and arranged marriage is one of them. He had talked to the priest to have Mutai marry Shiro, to him whatever he decided as the head of the family was the final verdict. ‘Are you sure of what you are saying? Seems like they hit your head you can’t remember well. Mutai is a good man, raised by a priest himself and a good friend to me I know him very well he cannot do that to you.’ Mr. Kamau tries to reassure himself.

‘I know what and who I saw dad and it was Mutai, he even wanted to r**e me,’ Shiro tries to explain while crying, ‘I am your daughter, you should believe me without questioning me’ she continues crying. ‘Why are you so obsessed with Chege, what do you two have against each other, there is too much hatred between you two. He saved my life and all this is Mutai’s doing. You swore to make whoever responsible pay. Now you know who be a man of your word.’ She concludes and looks the other way. Her mother gets on the bed and cuddles her. Her father is confused, ‘I will have a private detective get into this matter right away’ he says as he leaves the room. Shiro sinks in her thoughts and seems far away as her mother tries to comfort her. Mr. KAMAU rules the house with an iron fist, even his wife cannot question his stance on something.

* * *

‘You thought you would escape just like that after playing the hero Mr. Batman, you saved the day though but am wondering who is going to save yours, sorry, did you say no one then no one it is’. Mutai laughs as he points a gun at Chege. He constantly laughs out loud to ridicule Chege. From the look of things, there has been a fierce fight between these two over the last couple of minutes. Mutai has come over to Chege's home and threatened to kill him. He was bitter about him poking his nose in his business and ruining his plans. ‘Shiro is mine and absolutely no one can take her away from me.’ He shouts at Chege. During all these confrontations and arguments between the two men, Mutai does not notice a car approaching Chege’s driveway. Mr. Kamau’s shiny black BMW SUV’s engine stops and Mr. Kamau and Shiro alight. Mutai is pointing his gun at Chege. Mr. Kamau quickly calls the police, his security and approaches the scene, Shiro had already rushed towards the two men to try and diffuse the situation. ‘OH, she came; you two must be the Rome and Juliet of the modern age, aren’t you?’ Mutai asks as he cautiously moves away from Chege so that he can in a better position to shoot all of them. ‘Your hands where I can see them you two, don’t try playing hero like your friend here and you won’t be hurt like he already is’ Mutai warns. The governor is dismayed; he doesn’t know the right words to use to get him out of this situation. ‘There he is daddy, your holier than thou Mutai, the son you always wanted to have’ Shiro scorns his father. ‘Shut your mouth or am going to shoot you Shiro’ Mutai shouts. ‘Nobody talks or moves’ he instructs.

‘Listen to me Mutai I will get you out of this mess if you just relax and we solve this like two adults, just put your gun away and trust me.’ The governor tries to intervene. Mutai looks at him in disbelief, ‘You are not worthy of speaking about trust Mr. Kamau, you promised me her, and you never kept your word, you are a liar and I should shoot you first, you are the reason all this is happening,’ Mutai continues to shout. ‘You promised him what?’ Shiro asks. ‘You gave me out without my consent like am some cow or goat daddy’ she looks at her dad and shakes her head, she has been through a lot and nothing surprises her anymore. ‘You’re my daughter and you do as I say,’ the governor barks, ‘No need to be an angry old man because you will be dead in a few and go burn in hell where you will have a right to be angry with the bad life that you have lived.’ Mutai chuckles rub his nose and laugh off the obvious tension in his voice. He continues arrogantly, ‘You people love playing Heroes, don’t you? Now you’re all going to die and you don’t even like each that a move Jesus would love.’ He continues to tease them, he had temporarily forgotten about Chege who had already risen from the ground he was lying on, is on his knees beside him. ‘Now it’s time, your Excellency Mr. Kamau Mwangi the governor of Kiambu County, and your daughter be executed after I have sentenced you to die by headshot.’ He chuckles, ‘Being a judge is a very cool thing don’t you think? Sentencing people to whatever punishment you please unless of course, they bring a heavy bag of cash, either way, it’s a win-win situation.’ He pauses for a while scratches his head and points his gun at the governor. ‘You what they say about liars governor, I know you believe they should be eliminated in the society with their offspring’s altogether to cut the circle.’ He c***s the gun, the sound of the alignment of the next bullet that will come off the nozzle makes the governor tremble he knows the bullet’s next residence is his brains. His life flashes through his mind. So much happens in a blink of a second that he is yet to be shot.

Chege being the good man he has always believed to have become quickly gets up and rushes towards Mutai, spears him and they all fall to the ground. The gun flies away from Mutai’s hand. Both Shiro and the governor freeze while the two energetic men fight each other. Mutai has the upper hand because he has already beaten Chege earlier on and he had sustained some injuries. He knocks him with his knee and Chege loses his balance he quickly takes the gun aims and shoots. For a moment everything seems silent and in slow motion. Shiro screams, everyone is hesitant and the governor uses this opportunity and runs to his car, starts the engine, and drives away, he leaves his little girl whom he swore to do everything for behind, Shiro rushes to Chege and tries to stop the bleeding. Mutai on realizing what he has done he flees the scene. The bullet had severely torn Chege’s muscle on the right shoulder, he is losing a lot of blood and Shiro tries her best to stop it. He tries to talk but words can’t come out. His face is horrifying, veins allover and pain is displayed his jawline which everyone considers hot, is covered in blood. ‘Stay with me babe, please stay with me don’t you leave me, focus on my voice.’ Shiro sobs, police siren can be heard from a distance away. ‘Help is coming, please stay with me.’ She tries to reassure the dying man.

During the escape, the governor comes across the oncoming police force armed to the teeth to come to save the day, only that they are too late, the only thing they are good at when addressing the serious matter. The police in this country seem to care more about beating the rioters who are fighting for their rights and protect the Politicians an’s who are thieves, murders, and liars. The governor stops them midway, comes out of the car, and shouts, ‘they have my daughter and they have shot a good man. They are armed,’ the leader of the police reassures him, ‘don’t worry sir my team and I came as fast as we could, we will bring your daughter home safe and sound.’ The captain consoles the governor. The reporters from the Daily Nation have already gathered around the governor, they have some juicy news for the nation. The governor just like any politician would do takes the advantage of the moment. ‘These are votes.’ He says to himself, ‘I might be getting another term here.’

As the governor addresses the media the police reach the crime scene, they Chege unconscious and his girlfriend soaked in blood. The captain quickly confirms if he is still alive and calls the medics. Chege is taken by ambulance and rushed to the hospital, Shiro goes with him. ‘He is a lucky man, I have to say.’ The captain notes. ‘ that bullet missed an artery by barely by an inch.’ The governor seems to have quite a story with the media, no one could tell that he was almost wetting his pants a few minutes ago.

* * *

‘GOVERNOR TOSSES HIMSELF ONE ON ONE WITH JAWS OF DEATH.’ The Daily Nation headlines read. They spoke highly of a superhero governor who threw him in danger for the sake of his netizens. “Mr. Kamau, one of the most popular governors could not take the kidnappers nonsense anymore, he was tired of goons terrorizing his law-abiding citizens”. The newspaper explained. “they took his daughter and he decided to personally look into the matter, before leaving to the place they camped the governor alerted the police captain who together they rescued the governor's daughter and another man who was shot before they arrived. The man was rushed to the hospital and is currently recovering and in good health.” The newspaper explained. Shiro does not know what to say or believe after reading the newspaper. She flips it away. She does not know what to say. Why would my dad do this? Many questions run through her head but she does not have answers to them. Her deep thoughts are interrupted by and a handsome mid-aged man with a goatee. ‘Are you Shiro Kamau?’ he asks. ‘Yeah, what can I do for you?’ she responds. ‘I am Dr. Abdi, I was the lead surgeon in Chege’s surgery, and it was successful, he is ok and you will see him when they move him to the ward’ he says cheerfully. ‘Thank you, sir, he is my fiancée and is relieved by the news. We are going to get married later next month.’ She replies. ‘Oh congratulations, that’s amazing. I am sorry about what happened to you two’ he concludes shakes her hand and excuses himself.

Mr. Kamau after lying to the press the previous day he decided to go home and rest. That night he did not find any sleep. He wanted to make sure that the marriage between Shiro and Chege never happened as time was running out. He did not want to be a father in law to Chege. He had issues with his family, they never got along. He was the main suspect in the death of Chege’s parents many years ago when Chege was just a toddler. Although he bribed his way out of the case he was indeed the one who ordered them killed. He hired a hitman from one of the local gangs to make it look like an accident or misunderstanding between a leader and gang leaders. He was trying to eliminate opponents for the gubernatorial seat and since he couldn’t bribe him out he opted for the easier way. Chege’s father was the most popular of all the candidates and local research showed that he was going to gather more than sixty percent of total votes.

These tough memories played again and again in his mind. He remembered the whole ordeal as disturbing as it was. The calls he made to the right people to do the job. ‘I can’t be related to that kid, what if he finds out what I did. My daughter already hates me I can’t do any more harm to my little girl.’ He thought. He wanted to make her daughter believe he loved her but this was hard for him to do. He started thinking about an easier way out. ‘If I want this young man out of my daughter’s life I will have to improvise.’ He continues with his thought as he scratches his bald head. ‘Maybe taking him out might be the best idea.’ He smiles his mobile phone out searches through his contacts and dials a number, he has not called this number for some years, he is even surprised that he still has the number. The phone rings for a while and then a hoarse voice speaks from the other side. ‘Mr. Governor what can I do for you, it has been a while, sir. You can even buy an old friend a beer downtown’ the man on the other end receives the call jokingly. Governor in a nervous voice, ‘How are Kiongozi, it has been a long time, and there have been so many errands to run in the big office you, you didn’t surprise either. That’s not a way to treat an old friend.’ They both laugh out loud. ‘I have seen you are overworking, you are even hunting down criminals on your own.’ The man teases. ‘I was just trying to be a good father you know.’ Governor responds. ‘So, how may I be of help to make your work even easier?’ The man continues to ridicule the governor. He knows whenever he calls him he needs some dirty work done.

‘This one is one the easiest,’ the governor notes, ‘There is a young man I saved yesterday I believe you have heard about him.’ The man on the other end of the phone clears his throat and tells the governor he knows about him. ‘He is a pain in the ass just like his father before him; I want him to quietly disappear without a trace, no mess up like last time. Two hundred and fifty grand will be wired to your account today and the same amount after the job is done. I hope you understood me. No messing around. The job better is clean. He is in a hospital in Kijabe; know how you will get to him. That man is resilient and tough so you better be careful. He survived a bullet in the neck or wherever they are saying he was shot by Mutai. He was the savior I just twisted the story a little bit to work in my favor, you know what they say about clever men, oh well I happen to be one of them.’ The governor authorizes. ‘It’s going to be perfect, sir, and am going to handle it myself. You know we should…’ the governor hangs up the phone and smiles mischievously. He felt relieved. Now he might the governor of the year in the country after such a ‘brave deed’ he had portrayed to the world. He sits upright and switches the television on and relaxes. Then a thought crossed his mind. What about his daughter what if she finds how cruel he is, will she ever love him? What ifs she hates him and never wants to see him again in her life. ‘I am overthinking and it wants to steal my joy, I won’t let overthinking steal my joy.’ He consoles himself.

How could his flesh and blood hate him because of an orphan boy? What if she reads the newspaper and discovers what he did? How will convince her that he was not part of the people who conspired and killed Chege? He was in a dilemma, if the thugs succeed he will be suspected by his daughter, if they fail he will lose his little girl to one of his enemies. He called the man again and ordered him to kidnap his daughter and take her to a different place. She should not know that Chege was dead until he ‘rescues’ her again as he claimed. He rose from his sit poured himself some wine sat back and said, ‘I am such a genius.’

* * *

‘How comes Chege survived.’ Mutai laments, ‘I shot him myself in the neck.’ He says to himself as he stares at the newspaper. ‘Anyway, he got shot for governor and now the governor is the hero of the day. This man is such a traitor; nonetheless, it’s none of my business all I have to do is disappear.’ He quickly packs his essentials, things he will need on this run before things cool down first. The police are all over the place looking for him. He has escaped them narrowly on his way to his home. He grabs everything quickly takes a last look around his house and rushes off to his Ford truck. He drives off to a place that has no idea where as far as he stays out of prison he is good to go. The police arrive at his house too late as usual. People even wonder if being late is something they are taught during their training. Mutai has slipped their fingers.

* * *

Chege is moved to the award so if had any can see him, Shiro is allowed to stay with him in the ward. He has not yet regained his consciousness. Shiro sits there and stares at the love of her life laying there almost lifeless. Her mind went back to when they met way back in high school. How they met in drama festivals where she had qualified to represent her school as a model. Everyone seemed scared about her, maybe because of her father or as some said because of her beauty. That afternoon after her performance, a skinny boy with a base not propositional to his body approached her and commended her for her brilliant performance. Nobody has ever done that to her. She wanted to know this boy more. That afternoon they spent together was the genesis of a lifelong relationship, he made her laugh, he made her feel normal a thing she had never felt in her life. Everyone stared at them, many questioning how a malnourished boy could laugh with this angel. She chooses happiness at a young age. She learns to focus on what makes her happy, and this boy was her happy place, she wanted that. She wanted to hold onto that until the end of time whenever that was. Although her school was across the country, she later learned that her home was not far apart from his. Her father and mother were busy and this gave her time to go and see his newfound little prince. Whenever they were in a position to be together they were together. This created a bond that could only take death to break.

They parted ways for a little longer when Shiro went abroad to Leeds University for a modeling short course. She was reunited with her high school lover who was still doing well both in his software engineering career and in his search for answers for his family’s demise. He bought a home that initially belonged to his father as a recreation center when he was off duty. He hired private foreign detectives to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Shiro had her suspicion but kept it to herself. The investigation was not a walk in the park considering the murder have been committed twenty-four years ago.

‘Do you mind taking a rest and maybe a shower miss?’ Otis pulled her out of her deep thoughts.

‘Hey Otis, how are you? I won’t mind, I am tired and sleepy but I don’t want to leave him alone before he regains his consciousness. I will manage it.’ She yawns and laughs it off.

‘I know you will but you need to at least take shower and freshen up, I will cover for you and then he will be all yours, don't you think? ' Otis reaffirms.