The Innocent Culprit. Episode 1.

"The court finds the defendant guilty as charged and sentences you to..." These words were deafening to his ears; he wasn’t sure he was awake at that time, but he sure was. All he wished for was that this could turn out to be a dream, so sad that it was all but the reality. It was dawning on him that he had lost the most precious thing in his life—his freedom—along with his time, his dream of having a family, and so much more. He was a family man, you know, right from when he was a kid. His father always said he would make a great father, and he was sure of that.

The sound of the handcuffs clicking signaled his last taste of freedom. Well, all the time left for him to live now would be spent behind bars; what a sad way to live, but did he have a choice? They say life is like a wind; you can’t really dictate in which direction it chooses to blow. Maybe only God knows, but he was too ashamed to even ask God for help. And so he let fate decide his path.

His mother was the most hit by this nightmare; it was insane that the apple of her eye was now being plucked out of her; how would she survive when the most important thing in her life was taken away, never to see the light of freedom? This saddened her a great deal. But this crushed Owang’s heart even more as he watched his mother weep like a child in the courtroom. His father’s head was bowed all through the court session. He probably felt like a failure who raised a kid only to be the visitor to the state nineteen years later, a disappointment indeed! He had failed them. He wished he could rewind time. He wished he could reverse the events, to run away from himself; he wished for a lot of things. All his life he wanted to be the pride of his parents. He thought he had his life planned out, only to have it crumble right in front of him. The only question that lingered in his mind the whole time was, "How did I get here?’

His mind quickly raced to the onset of his ordeal—the time he joined Twanza High School, a very prestigious high school in his region. He had previously enrolled in a school near his village because that’s what his parents could afford. He deserved much better though; he had scored 453 out of 500 marks in his primary school national examination and had been called to join one of the most prestigious high schools in his country, but who would pay that huge amount of school fees when his parents were mere peasants? The decision to transfer was unanimously agreed upon by the villagers, who felt the need to help one of their own. Through their generous contributions, he got a spot in Twanza. A school of his caliber, at least that’s what the villagers thought.

In a school filled with Children of the Haves, Owang’’ had to find his niche. Lucky for him, he had a huge sense of humor. The other students thought he was funny, and just like that, he was a comedian born and raised. Despite not being able to measure up to their pockets, he still stood out. He had the brains, and yes, he could make people laugh. He had the power in his hands, so he used it to find his spot. He had a good time. The same place he had feared fitting in before became the place he was idolized.He loved it here.

This feeling was, however, short-lived when Kimani came into the picture. It was evident that it would later turn out that Owang’ had a thorn in the flesh, and he had to live with it. Kimani and Owang’ shared a class. He was a rather good performer when it came to academics, but above all, he was the kingpin in his class. His classmates had nicknamed him Ki-money because, just like the minister’s kid he was, he had the cash. Like they say, money runs the world, and Kimani was running his small world. The influx of Owang’ seemingly threatened his reign, and he had to do something. He hated how Owang’ effortlessly had the influence and was gaining the liking and company of his classmates. He was funny, and this was his currency, and he used it to the best of his advantage. Well, we all know that of all men’s desires, the desire to dominate outweighs them all. This was what Kimani wanted too, and he was willing to fight for it. The only way to earn this was to outright frustrate and humiliate his ‘competition," and just like that, Owang’ had earned himself a new bully... (To be continued)