The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

124 Redvalley and Bluevalley

Kenny stared at the rearview mirror on the car ceiling, peeking at the leader who had a depressed face. The brown-haired man, still holding his head while staring at the road through the car window. It was very hard for him. Kenny could see that.

***

– Flashback –

In Handway City, there were two roads that stood side by side. The street names were Redvalley and Bluevalley. Even though they were located in the same area, the two streets were like two brothers who have very different fates.

Bluevalley was a street that had many shops selling liquor, fine clothes, sharp weapons, and night stalls full of prostitutes. The street was like a paradise for night people. A lively street filled with lots of young people and having fun people.

While, Redvalley was a street with many shops that mostly sell simple groceries, secondhand clothes, and cheap food. Most of the shop buildings had become one with the houses of the owners who were families with lower to middle incomes. The buildings also looked shabby that making fewer visitors interested in visiting the street.

Although different, the two streets have one thing in common. They were both controlled by a gangster group named Apollo.

To Apollo, Redvalley Street was their stepchild. Because Bluevalley Street provided a much larger profit for the group. And it was not only that. The street had Apollo’s enormous treasure. It was Paradise Cave which had changed its name to Underground Cave since the RJC took over.

For years, the entire population of Redvalley Street lived in suspense. Being in the shadow of Apollo who suddenly came to colonize their residence and was charged by a security fee that was burdensome because it was not commensurate with their daily income and expenses.

.....

Among those miserable residents, there was one house that used its first floor as a tavern selling various processed seafood. In that house, lived an old woman with a husband and wife couple and their two teenage sons. The family lived in very poor economic conditions.

Emily Douglas was forced to live at her mother-in-law’s house with her husband, Garfield Douglas. Emily herself was a widow with one son who was married to a beautiful green-eyed man. Yes, she knew Garfield was not a rich man. But he was a loving and caring man who can accept her and the child she brought.

For several years, despite their low economy, they lived happily on the Redvalley Street of Handway City, raising their two sons who were three years gap of age, until the day when their lives were suddenly thrown down by fate with the arrival of a gangster group named Apollo.

Apollo, a gangster group that had a great number of members. It initially controlled Bluevalley Street, which was mostly empty land. They built a night empire there. After Bluevalley was successful, they wanted to dominate Redvalley as well. But none of the civilians on the street were willing to sell their houses at a cheap price to Apollo’s request. Finally, Apollo used a cunning way, namely by colonizing the street.

Apollo’s group often wreaks havoc on Redvalley Street. At will, they enforce a deposit withdrawal system with the excuse of security, even though it was them the ones that made the street unsecured. They were the culprit of the terrorized civilians. However, the civilians could not defend themself because they were just ordinary people of the lower class and the police never paid attention to their reports.

Over the years, Apollo colonized Redvalley Street. Making the business of the residents declined further because the cost of security service was too high. On the other hand, more and more visitors were reluctant to visit the slum street, making everything get worse.

At Emily’s family home, things get worse when her husband, Garfield, was fired from his job due to being slandered by his coworker. Due to the growing economic pressure, Garfield’s character slowly changed as he fell into depression. He often came home late at night from visiting Bluevalley Street and having fun with the prostitutes there. He always comes home drunk. That was not the only change Garfield had gone through. He even often beat his own wife, saying that he was married a burden because Emily carried a child that didn’t belong to him.

Emily’s two teenage sons couldn’t do much. Their eldest son, Jack Douglas, was just in the first grade of high school, while their youngest son, Marcel Douglas, was in junior high.

Jack and Marcel were forced to be trapped in a predicament. Because the father was no longer working, it was their mother and grandmother who now have to work hard to support their family. Their old grandmother could only open a tavern with the help of her two schooling grandchildren. Meanwhile, the mother was forced to become a maid in a wealthy family’s house.

“When do we get rich?” A fat boy asked as he stared at a luxury car that was stopped in front of an expensive clothing store.

“Don’t think about rich, Marcel. Think about how our family can live as peacefully as we used to. I think that’s enough.” Jack replied as he continued to wave a few rolls of newspapers in his hand, so that what he was selling could quickly be sold out. They were standing on the side of a big busy road.

“Yeah.. But there’s nothing wrong with being rich either. I can wear nice clothes like them. Ride a fancy car and live in a nice house.” Marcel mumbled to himself, “No need to get up early to deliver milk around.”

Jack smiled at his little brother and head-patted the boy who was shorter than him, “I’m sure we will change the future someday. It’s not just our family, but everyone on Redvalley Street that suffering like us.”

Marcel wiped the sweat that pooled on his forehead because the sun was scorching hot that summer, “Why do you want to help other people, Jack? We are even still living in misery,”

“Your heart will feel full if you can share happiness. If you want to be happy, wouldn’t it be great if the people around you are happy too?” Jack replied.

Marcel nodded slowly while thinking, “What’s the menu for tonight’s dinner? I hope grandma’s foods could be sold out today so we don’t have to eat leftovers anymore.”

“But you still like that food, don’t you? You eat until you get so swollen.” Jack laughed.

Marcel couldn’t help but snort in annoyance, but then he laughed too. Even though he lived in poverty, Jack always accompanied Marcel’s days. They fought together. In this world, only Jack could understand the boy’s feelings.

After working several jobs to dusk, the two brothers returned to their home. But they found the mother was lying weakly in bed with their grandmother by her side. It turned out that their mother passed out at work. This was not the first time this had happened. It was the umpteenth time in these three months.

Their suffering did not end there. Suddenly, a friend of his father came with bad news. Their father, Garfield Douglas, had died from an alcohol overdose and was involved in a fight at the club on Bluevalley Street. That was not the ending. Because the father often went out for fun, it turned out that he had a lot of debt out there. It was known when a debt collector came to their house a few days after his father’s funeral.

Now, not only have to pay security deposits and survival costs, but the family was also in debt which was quite a lot and continued to interest.

Jack and Marcel were just two innocent teenagers. They should study and play with their peers. However, due to economic problems, Jack was forced to give in to dropping out of school so that his younger brother could continue his studies. Both of them had to work very hard, from early morning until late at night.

Over time, their economic condition was getting worse. Their grandma’s tavern was getting ramshackle and ugly. Their mother could no longer work as a maid because of her poor health. She could only walk around to deliver milk in the morning and then help the grandmother in the tavern with a weak body.

Marcel, who had a fat body was often the object of bullying in his class. It was made worse because his clothes were so shabby and even had some patches. Everything that stuck to Marcel’s body was old cheap stuff. His shoes and socks had holes in them because he couldn’t afford to buy new ones. He had to write using a pencil that was already very short because it was too difficult to buy a new one.

One night, Jack and Marcel were chatting alone on the edge of an empty lot at the crossroads of Bluevalley and Redvalley. Whenever they were free, they sometimes really liked to sit there, figuring out how different the two streets were as if looking at the earth and sky. Bluevalley Street was brightly lit and full of laughter, while Redvalley Street was dark and full of tears.

“You look skinny,” Jack said to his brother who was sitting cross-legged on the grass, looking at the two roads.

“I’m on a diet,” Marcel replied curtly.

“Hm.. A person who likes to eat as you can diet?” Jack said jokingly, then, he let out a long sigh and patted his brother on the back once, “Your school is hard, huh? Sorry, I can’t give you nice clothes yet. Sorry if you have to hold back your hunger at lunchtime.”

Marcel shook his head, “You’re not the one who should be apologizing, Jack. I should have been stronger to protect myself.”

Jack smiled faintly, “No matter how strong you are, you are still my little brother that I must protect.” The answer made Marcel smile.

“Both of you. What are you two doing here?”

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