Chapter 4: Commotion

"Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another." Marquis de Condorcet

"It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship." Norman Vincent Peale

"We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about." Joseph Campbell

"To add value to others, one must first value others." John C. Maxwell

***

Who would not immediately rush to the direction where the far cry of a woman resonated? Everyone who had heard the scream for help quickly ran to her aid. Every islander came.

People had gathered in the knee-deep river where they witnessed the cruel fate of a fine lady in her sundress. Blood had mixed itself with the flowing water streaming towards a one-meter-tall fall that leads to the shore and meets the sea. The river was located near the mountain where the supposedly prohibited entrance was at.

The horrified expression on everyone's face when they got closer to the woman who seemed to be lifeless, and half of her body was submerged in the water. Because of the huge amount of blood in the water, the other half of the woman's body was not visible to the naked eye of the curious islanders.

Concerned people went near the body, holding the body, then somehow easily lifting her out of the water.

"Uwaaaaa!"

Both of the men who helped carry the body were taken aback, instantly dropping the body of the woman back into the river.

"H-Her body!" The man uttered pointing at the body. "Half of her body is missing!"

"What did you say?!"

Since people do not like anyone from Xenia's family, he chose to watch and listen from up the tree, far from people. While his friends get to squeeze in the forming crowd, Xenia was just there alone and wondering by himself.

To see if what the man said was true, another man tilted the body, and everyone gasped in shock and disgust. Her guts were missing, and from the looks of it, half of her body was sliced by a super sharp blade.

"Does anyone know who this girl is, so we can inform her family?"

It was not that long until someone began to cry in the back of the crowd, putting herself through the flock of people, splashing water all over as she loudly wept her daughter's name.

"Myla! My daughter! Ahhhh!"

People tried stopping her, for the body was being carried away from the crime scene, but she persisted, squirming and struggling to free herself. She managed to escape their grasp and stopped the people from taking her daughter away.

"What did they do to my Myla?! Who did this to her?! Someone catch that damn murderer!"

They understood the pain of a mother who had lost a child. Therefore, they let her cry her eyes out with Myla's dead body on her lap.

Franzia and the other kids were shooed away by the adults and reprimanded because of their insisting behavior.

"Bleugh!"

Zeb threw up. He could not handle the amount of disgust he saw. The image of the dead body with her flesh inside her body would haunt Zeb in his sleep.

His older sister was there to assist him, patting his back to ease the feeling.

All of them immediately rushed in the direction where they heard the scream. But considering the distance from their playground to the river, it took them nearly 3 minutes to arrive. So, it was not a surprise to not see the heartless being that killed Myla.

"Mrs. Samara, we need to bring your daughter to the church."

People who died would be brought to the church to pray and bless her soul before cremating them. The Balmackians can't create graves for their loved ones because of the small land the island possessed. Most of the island's mass is occupied by the mountain, and burying them in the mountain does not sound so ethical for them.

"Grenoble," the poor old lady uttered, calling the name of the town's chief. "Please! Please capture her killer!"

And Samara, therefore, let go of her daughter's body, leaving it up to the kind townspeople that helped deliver Myla's body to the only church on the island.

Sincerely, Grenoble showed his condolences and left Samara with a short reply: "I will. I promise."

Some chose to stay, those that were in charge of investigating the crime scene while the kids went in Xenia's direction. Most of them were still in shock about the situation. A while ago, they were just playing, and now they saw a murdered girl for the first time.

At that moment, all of them knew that their encounter with the first victim would mark itself for the rest of their lives.

"The image is still stuck in my mind."

Jack shivered at the thought, his whole body trembling every time he remembers.

"Isn't Myla Joriel's girlfriend?" Asked Arlan.

Pack replied with one of her brows raised on him, "they are not together. Joriel is just one of Myla's persistent suitors. Myla clearly has the hots for someone else. She is a beautiful woman, after all. Someone like her would not choose to settle with a low-income guy like Joriel. Also, he is quite the hotheaded type of guy."

"Is that true, Franzia? Aren't you close with Myla?" Xenia recalled seeing Myla and Franzia hanging out together a couple of times.

"You could say we are friends. She would tell me that all of the boys and even some adults are after her. However, she did not mention anything about having a boyfriend or liking someone. Although what Pack said about not settling with that Joriel guy."

"So, do all of you think Joriel is the murderer?"

Mack, who had been silent for a while now, caught everybody's attention.

"Check this out, guys!"

"Hey, kids! What are you lots still doing here?! Go back home!"

"Tch! That brat from that family is there. Keep your distance. You don't wanna get yourself cursed."

Degrading looks were shot in Xenia's direction. Upon seeing him among his friends, the adults chose to leave them alone after telling them to go away.

Going back on what Mack discovered, they saw a clean linear cut on the ground.

"Doesn't this look like it got pierced by a sharp blade? The tip must have gone 4 inches deep."

Taking a closer look at what Mack was pointing at, it does look like it got stabbed by a sharp knife.

"Judging how perpendicular the cut is—if this was caused by the time Myla got split in half—does that mean the killer's blade slipped out of his hand at the exact moment they completely sliced Myla in half. Then, the blade propped on the ground, creating this cut we are looking at now."

At first, Xenia's friends were surprised at how observing and imaginative he was. As someone who came out as an outgoing and playful fellow, the Xenia of today was showing drastic changes in his friends. And they all

seem to think it was because of the ball hitting him hard in the face.

"Dude, you're sharp! But wouldn't the strike on the ground be blunt if your calculations are correct?"

Zeb was back on track after feeling slightly better. He had vomited his breakfast and was now feeling hungry all of a sudden.

"Listen to this," Arlan gathered everyone, forming a circle and whispering to his friends. "What if Myla went to the mountain and stumbled across the Sulten Tribe, which then chased her to death? How does that sound? Seems plausible, yeah?"

Xenia and the other kids wished to investigate more about the case, acting as if they were real inspectors and investigators, but more adults returned to the crime scene shortly before the kids could inspect the trail leading to the prohibited entrance.

"All of you kids, go home! This is no place for you lots to play at. And your parents must be looking for all of you since news circulates fast on this island."

They don't get to say something to the adults. Xenia and the rest of the kids went back disappointed and craving more information. Their playful minds and broad imagination was running wild.

"Such a shame, man! We are there, and clues might be there! Why do adults have to get in our way?"

Mack was frustrated, and dissatisfied with the turn of events because he was thinking of solving the mystery right that instant.

"It is really outside of our control and concern. Playing detectives and trying to solve this case is something we should forget about. After all, we are all just kids. If it was really the Sulten Tribe that killed her, isn't it best we leave it to the adults? What can a bunch of kids do against those barbaric tribesmen?"

"Franzia is right. I think it is best if we leave this for the adults to solve," Packs second the motion, trying to convince the boys to stop what they were planning to do.

However, the persistent boys had made up their minds.

"What do you guys say we investigate later at night, yeah? We are not gonna enter the mountain. We will just be inspecting the area, looking for clues."

"That's a great idea!"

"Let's do that!"

~