Fiction: Group 4
Bewildered. Very bewildered. He glances at the red packet, then to the trees where his brother has
disappeared. Has he mistaken it? He has seen a warm smile on his brother’s face for the first time in his life.
He stuffs the red packet into his shirt pocket and sinks into a bench by the river. He could feel warmth
gushing up into his heart. “Blood is blood,” he murmured to himself, “brothers do care about each other.”
All these months, debating on forums, exchanging malicious glances, fighting for the post of region
representative, maybe he has been the one being prejudicial, imagining his brother who he presupposes to
be villainous was up to nothing pleasant. After all, he just heard his brother said, “All I want is a fair
election,” and that is what he wants, too.
The surge of warmth was definitely the best feeling he has ever experienced. Affection from family, that’s
what he lacks in his miserable life. The air smells refreshing, trees in the wind twist elegantly as if they are
dancing, and the sudden gale’s touch was as gentle as silk. The world is wonderful when you can feel love.
Warmth diffuses in his body, yet it no longer feels pleasing. It is hot, unbearably hot, his chest is boiling.
Alarmed, he pulls out the red packet from his pocket and tosses it into the bush, which catches fire instantly.
He backed away. His face gets pale; his eyes dart around helplessly looking for help, yet his legs get numb
and clumsy as if they are transformed into stone pillars.
“Aaaaargh,” a voice from the bushes rang across the river.
He shivers; this is unmistakably his brother’s shriek.
The doors of the neighborhood burst open, people screams as his brother with his clothes on fire twitches
and rolls on the ground in agony. Over the burning bushes, he notices a women pointing at him, hands
trembling, “It’s him, it’s him… he set the fire… he’s killing his opponent… How dare he, he’s his
brother…”
He stood petrified, unable to respond to anything, while the red packet, containing a battery and a wire – a
cleverly designed short circuit burns into ashes.
This is the next day’s headline:
“Albert Attempted Murdering Own Brother
Alfred Elected Ipso Facto”
