Cause and Effect

Note: This story touches on topics related to physical violence, domestic violence, and/ or death/ murder.

“Curb your anger. Restrain your emotions.”

“You can’t be serious; you’re saying this is my fault?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then what the hell are you saying?”

“There is only one enemy at play here and it is not you. We have been robbed and deprived of our birthright. It will not stand. It cannot stand. But when you lash out and react like an animal, you harm our cause. Don’t you see?”

“You’re right. I lost control and I apologize.”

“Take heart, dear brother. Do not heed the words of an outsider. He charmed his way through our home; wrapped his tentacles tight around our father; and now upon father's demise, has claimed our birthright and everything that comes with it for himself, relegating us to the background.”

“It hurts.”

“I know.”

“This will not stand. This cannot stand.”

“We're gonna come up with a plan. We will set the wheels in motion. There’s absolutely no reason to allow the words of that goon to hurt your heart.”

“I know. I just couldn’t sit there and watch him spew lies. He aided father till death? What about us? What about our struggle? What about our sacrifices?”

“Even in death, our father wreaks havoc. Choosing to disregard his blood for an outsider; how could he be so cruel; so careless? Now he has sowed this seed of malice. He has forced us into this predicament. We must take what we want.”

“Why did he do this?”

“Why did he ever do anything? He was a very difficult and wicked man; power-hungry and obsessed with being in control. He only ever cared about increasing his wealth, extending his influence.”

“We were always at his side; loyal to the bone. In those days, next to myself and you, I loved him most. I would have done anything for him.”

“As would I…”

“And we did.”

“Yes, we did.” 

“Ten years, we served him dutifully and this is how he repays us? Striking us out of his will?”

“Towards the end, he became confused.”

“Towards the end, he let in a leech; a parasite. If only mom…”

“Oh please don’t be ridiculous. What of mom? That woman always put her needs above ours, even while we were infants. She left. I mean I wasn’t surprised by that at all. And if I’m being truthful, she was never really there. What kind of mother abandons her children knowing fully well what we had as a father? Tell me…”

“The farm.”

“The farm. Do you know how hard I worked to make sure he didn’t bruise us; or work us to the bone; the number of times I pleaded with him to let us out of the fields? I had to protect us.”

“I won’t ever forget the times you came through for me, brother.”

“Nah, that’s okay. That’s what big brothers are for. Besides, I came through for us.”

“All that mattered to father was that wicked farm with wicked trees bearing wicked roots.”

“Not even after the boom did he ease up on us. He might have let the farm go, but he would not let us go.”

“We made him who he is. We put him on the map.”

“Was. We made him who he was.”

“Right. Was.”

“I still remember that day. The day that changed everything. I remember working so hard on those stumps, I nearly collapsed. I remember him screaming at us but I don’t know why.”

“I was so scared that something bad would happen. But we had to eat.” 

“We had to eat. The balls of sweat got into my eyes and when I tried brushing them off with my dirty hands, it stung.”

“You cried too.”

“I know, genius. Anyways, on the ground, after I’d calmed down, I looked to my right and…”

“A shiny light struck your eyes. I know this story.”

“Would you just not interrupt me for heaven’s sake? A shiny light struck my eyes. And there it was. The answer to our prayers. That stump had never looked so nasty, so wicked.”

“Those trees had never looked so nasty, so wicked.”

“It’s crazy; I had no idea how much those rocks were worth.”

“Or that our land was so abundantly rich in it.”

“We should have kept that secret to ourselves. We shouldn’t have told him.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like he became a completely different person.”

“That was only for a short while after the boom. We suddenly had all that money and he loved us.”

“I thought it would last; I hoped it would last but…”

“I never expected it to last. I’m just glad we didn’t have to work those fields anymore.”

“You think he would have taken mama back?”

“Not on God’s green earth.”

“The period after that was the best time.”

“It sure was.”

“I got those boots I wanted so bad; the ones with the inscription on both sides. Those were some damn good boots.”

“I got my own room finally, after the remodel.”

“I’m upset that that love didn’t last.”

“I wasn’t prepared for what came next.”

“Neither was I.”

“We shouldn’t have been out there, in the backyard. We shouldn’t have told him we found more rocks. We shouldn’t have told him we found them in the neighbor’s yard.”

“The look on his face; I thought someone had died.”

“When he would go out, and we would sneak out to play with that kid, Henry Schmidt was it? I enjoyed that.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“How he found out is beyond me.”

“Having that all end so abruptly affected me a lot. We didn’t have anyone else to relate with. Then we had to hate them.”

“All because they had rocks too.”

“Then came the silent years.”

“I’m glad he laid off the corporal punishments. Maybe it’s because we got bigger?”

“You think? I couldn’t tell what went through his mind at that time.”

“I think we found comfort in his withdrawal.”

“We had learned not to expect warmth and that coldness was kinder than the unbridled rage of our earlier years.”

“Yeah, I guess. Do you think our lives could have been different if we somehow found a way to leave, earlier? Before all the death?”

“I don’t think we could have left then. He was always in control. Even when we got older, you know, he had his hooks deep in us already.”

“Surely we could have resisted? Said no?”

“That didn’t happen though, did it? Instead, we carried out every whim of his. To this day I have nightmares. Those people deserved so much better.”

“They got a shit deal. Tough.”

“Those rocks changed our lives. Father broke our lives.”

“Sometimes I see their faces in the distance, late at night. Nothing really helps.”

“I understand how you feel, brother. We did what we had to do to protect our lives.”

“You think he would have, could have, come for us?”

“I can’t say.”

“We got out, though.”

“We did. And after all that, this is how he repays us? When did Josiah become a part of his life?”

“Come on; it’s been twenty years. We never went back. I heard his last years were painful. Josiah helped take care of him.”

“Painful? I doubt that man could feel pain. We were the ones forced to sow the seed; bag the trash. The dirt is under our skin forever.”

“With the extra wealth he amassed after we carried out his orders, I thought we were set for life. I thought he would at the very least give us our fair share.”

“But he gives it all to someone who made his bed and wiped his shit? That won’t stand.”

“My heart sank when the will was read out. I couldn’t believe it. The smirk on Josiah’s face burned my eyes.”

“His speech was even worse. I don’t blame you for spazzing out. The dude’s a clown and a thief.”

“He has taken what is rightfully ours and he must pay.”

“Father doesn’t get a say. Does he?”

“Not a peep.”

“Josiah’s in for a real treat.”

“Tough shit.”

*****

“Please make yourself as comfortable as possible. If at any point during this interview, there is anything that you need, water or juice, just let us know and we will provide it for you. Is that okay?”

“Yes sir.”

“Please state your full legal name for the record.”

“Deaven Bocelli-Stewart.”

“Currently incarcerated at?”

“Pinecrest correctional facility.”

“Sir, is there anything that you, after all these years, would like to say to the victim’s family?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Do you feel guilty about what you and your brother did?”

“Sometimes.”

“Your brother passed away some years back. How did that make you feel?”

“I’m sorry; could I get a glass of water?”

“Absolutely. Can we get the gentleman a glass of water, please?”

“Thank you.”

“You lost your brother to an undisclosed illness. Tell me about that.”

“It was a really hard time for me. We did everything for each other, you know? All my life he was the only one that ever looked after me. He had my back. He was an amazing big brother and an even better friend. I wish there was something more that I could have done for him. The wardens at the jail never watched out for him. I know we were not the best people but we were paying our dues, and serving our time. He was dismissed over and over and over again. His cries of pain were completely ignored. He deserved better.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You are serving a life sentence for the murder of Josiah Klum.”

“Yes, I am. And in fact, I do have something to say. To the victim’s family, I wanna apologize from the bottom of my heart. I have had a lot of time to think about a lot of stuff and I gotta say we were wrong. We were dead wrong.”

“By ‘we’ you mean your brother and you?”

“Yes sir. It was never easy for us growing up.”

“What do you mean? Your father made millions exporting rubies illegally. How could you possibly say you had a hard childhood?”

“We didn’t always have the rubies, though. For a long time, my brother and I had to work for our father on his farm. We were dirt poor and he couldn’t afford labor. So he used us. That was when we began to experience his violent nature.”

“Violent nature? Could you elaborate?”

“Our father possessed a hostile and brutal demeanor. He hated us. I’m not sure why. Our mother left when we were very young. I’m not sure why either. What I do know is that after that, our father turned against us. He killed whatever joy was left in our home. He was extremely volatile and would erupt suddenly without warning.”

“These violent outbursts were directed towards you and your brother?”

“Yes. But then we found the rocks.”

“You mean the rubies?”

“Yes. The rubies. It turned out our farmland was chock-full of them. It’s funny that that was the reason why trees had a hard time growing; I always thought it was because of the hostility that ruled over our home. I believed the trees were wicked.”

“What happened then?”

“We told our father. Mostly because we didn’t know what the rocks were but also because the thought of keeping secrets from father horrified us. Things got good for a short while; he bought us gifts, stopped raising his voice, and put down the bottle.”

“This was after he began selling the rubies illegally?”

“Yes. Things changed so quickly. All of a sudden we had all this cash and he worked on our house, expanded it, and stuff. That was probably my best memory. A couple years passed and we made another discovery.”

“What discovery?”

“There were rocks in the backyard of our neighbor’s house. Just a little amount. We found out and we told our father. He already despised that family. They had more money than us before the rocks and my father couldn’t stand it. The discovery of the rocks only made it worse. There were three of them; father, mother, and a boy about our age. They didn’t deserve any of it.”

“Hold on. They didn’t deserve any of what?”

“I’m sorry, could I get some tissue?”

“Certainly. Here you go. You were saying?”

“My father could not stand the fact that the family behind us had rocks in their yard also. He did not want them to find out and make money off of it. He told us those rocks belonged to him alone. This was regardless of the fact that we now had money. We really didn’t need any more. He was so enraged by the revelation; I didn’t know what he was going to do. The following Sunday, our father led my brother and me to Schmidt's house."

"Your neighbor's?"

"Yes. We broke in and poured a sizeable cup of antifreeze into their jug of milk. We went back the following day, scooped up the bodies like trash, and buried them in the yard. He collected their rocks too.”

“Sir, what are you saying right now? You and your brother aided your father in murdering an entire family?”

“Yes.”

“Cindy, are you getting this? Sir, this was not part of your conviction?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Okay. Your father collected the rubies of the neighbor's as well?”

“He did. We helped him scoop them up.

“Then what happened? Wasn’t there an investigation into the disappearance of an entire family?”

“There was an investigation. We were a part of the search party. The case was never solved.”

“Until now.”

“Yeah.”

“I wanna talk about Josiah Klum. The reason why you are incarcerated is for murdering this man. Tell me about this.”

“Well, a few years passed and our father reverted back to his violent disposition. When I turned 16 and my brother was 18, we decided to leave him. And we did. At that time, money didn’t matter so much. Although, we had become pretty accustomed to wealth so it was somewhat of a struggle at first. However, we resolved never to go back to him and that house. My brother worked odd jobs around town and we slept wherever we could. Eventually, we began working as mechanics and we were happy. We slept better too. We moved on as best as we could. Time passed; not quickly, though. It took its time to pass.”

“Time took its time to pass?”

“Precisely. Twenty years later, on a dry morning in July, I received a call; father had passed.”

“How did that make you feel? Knowing that the person who put you through so much was no more?”

“It was tough. I cried but I didn’t mourn. My bother and I decided to return home of course for our inheritance. Things weren’t going so well for us financially. We felt we were owed. The blood on our hands needed justification. On the day the will was read, we met Josiah for the first time. We learned that he had been our father’s caretaker in the later part of his life. I couldn’t move as the will was read out. I listened intently. Surely there had to be an error. My brother and I were completely shut out of the inheritance. Every last penny went to Josiah. We were furious but restrained ourselves, hoping to meet with the lawyer afterward. But then Josiah gave a speech. He talked about how grateful he was to our father and I lost my reins. I lunged at him in front of everyone but was pulled back. It was after that entire scene that we decided to end him.”

“The money, of course, was never allotted to anyone as it was seized by the authorities.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what is going through your mind right now.”

“A lot of regrets but also a lot of anger. My brother made mistakes. I made mistakes. I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. For a very long time, I was trapped. There was nothing I could do. I’m still very much trapped, in more ways than one. I want to offer my apology and condolence to the relatives of the Schmidt family and to the family of Josiah Klum. I can’t change what has happened and my words probably mean nothing but I have to say what I believe in my heart is true.”

“I want to thank you, sir, for choosing to sit down with us today for this interview.”

“Thank you for your time and for choosing to hear my story.”