Unhinged Love

Chapter Two

Inside the recreation facility, it was named Sauna Center. It was a haven. People of all ages loved it. Sauna Center had something for them. In fact, boys took girls they loved there for dates.

Standing outside, all was bare. The sun glared. Karen looked like a plantation with its plants at the flowering stage. The houses uniformly decorated the land. It had protruding colored rooftops blending perfectly with the color of the trees.

Another village was Karani; from that far, it looked delusive. The exact situation could only become visible once someone was inside. Its roofs looked half-beautiful, with houses covering gaps and hiding its dry land.

On the opposite side was another village, Soni. It did not matter. They should have bothered with what was going on in the other neighboring villages. They were not gossipers like Karani. Additionally, people called them lazy. They did not till land nor fish. And River Dédié did not look like theirs either. Soni did not care about making elegant homes. All they did was just live.

Two teens were fighting inside the swimming pool while throwing insults. One was John, and the other was Mike. John had flawless skin; he appeared strong. He had long hands that could easily overpower his opponent.

Mike, though annoyingly incessant, was weaker in appearance. He had a smooth forehead. His hairline was way up, and his sides looked even further up. It gave him a unique appearance that was relatively less attractive. He came from Karani, while John was from Karen.

"Poor," John insulted angrily.

"Dog," Mike replied.

"Even you," John hissed back as he tried to flee the pool. He scrambled away, trying to climb the pool stairs. John caught him by the legs and dragged him back to the waiter. He fell, splashing water and making a lot of noise.

John followed him and tried to knee him under the water on the groin. He could not scream. Andrew was on his own. He gathered the last of his strength and punched John's face. It caught him on the nose, and he started bleeding as he cried in pain.

"Stop it!" a young man shouted as he rushed to the scene. He had just arrived at the Sauna Center only to find his friends wrestling.

"Didn't we agree we'd be comrades?" the young man continued. His name was Oliver. It was just two days since they swore they would never fight again. The fights were rampant. They would fight in the streets, at the Sauna Center, by the river, and at school.

The children were schooling together at Mijini School. Located in Karen, children from Karani were hardly found there. And those found had sponsorship. Andrew was one of them. They could not afford it. Barely days ago, the school had a rampage. A naughty kid kicked the lunch of a fellow after a small argument.

The kid coming from Karani was left without food. He got angry and attacked him fiercely. Children from Karani had been planning such a thing. An attack on one would mean an attack on all.

They quickly mobilized their colleagues since it was lunch, rushed to the scene, and kicked the kid. He received all manner of beatings. Fellow students from Karen had to join in defending their boy. Soon, it was an ugly brawl.

Teachers rushed to the scene. The naughty kid was coughing uncontrollably. They rushed him to a hospital, and he was pronounced dead three hours later.

His wealthy parents did not take it lightly. They ensured the parents were arrested for their child's behavior. The following day, Oliver stood up. He had a magically deep voice. A simple statement from him sounded like a command. He had leadership instincts yet never bothered. He was younger than he looked. He was the youngest in his class.

Oliver had a particular scar on top of his eyelashes. It was when he was a small kid he went to separate other fighting kids and got a beating of his own. It left him rolling in pain, though he felt proud he stood up for others.

John and Andrew were the best of his friends. But they have been fighting for years. Recently, when they swore to keep peace at school, he forced them to shake hands. John did not like him as much. He felt Oliver was presumptuous and considered himself their leader. Moreover, Oliver preferred Andrew.

That day, Oliver had the most enormous task. After the vow, how was peacekeeping going to be? Perhaps they would never be at peace with each other.

"I can't be a comrade with someone who insults me." John was the first to defend himself.

"Neither can I with someone who regards me with contempt."

"You started it."

"I will do it again."

Separating Karani and Karen was the most complex job. The two poured scorn on each other as Oliver glared on. Just as John rushed to lash Andrew, Oliver got irritated and hollered.

"John!" Shouting his name was enough. His deep voice produced an intense reaction in John's mind. Oliver had a commanding voice, but on that day, it was mixed with anger that could squeeze someone like a wine press. He turned to look at the commander and met with his glare.

He receded slowly, putting his tail behind his legs. He started walking away unhurriedly. He hated himself for obeying Oliver. Oliver was younger than him, yet he was always under his authority. He vowed in his heart to fight Oliver in every way possible.

The day was spoiled. Oliver could not stay here anymore. They quickly left with Andrew. At home, he stayed with an uncle. He had no parents. His mother died of a disease that had no cure. His father was initially a respected village elder. He had always sold hope to the people of Karani. But things quickly took a wrong turn once his wife passed on.

One day, the villagers accused him of witchcraft. They lynched him on the spot to death. Oliver was there and witnessed everything. The poor boy did not cry on the spot; he did not understand what they were doing. He thought they were playing.

The murder took place in the evening. At twilight, when the villagers had left. He was there alone, moved closer to his father.

"Daddy, wake up." He spoke to his father, unaware of what had just happened. He repeatedly called out to the father, shaking him from his shoulder to head. After a while, he became lonely and began crying. A witch was considered cursed. Villagers wouldn't dare come even to the aid of the kid.

When the police arrived, the captain, Haran, pitied him and went with him to the station. The kid had nowhere to go. He adopted him as his son. Haran had two daughters who were two years apart, Charity and Hellen.

Haran was a wealthy man. Besides being a police captain, he owned a ranch full of cows, sheep, and horses. His wife did not welcome him. How could he bring a cursed boy to their home? Oliver, however, got along with their daughter, Charity.