Wintervale is a quiet town on the eastern edge of Johannesburg and was loved by those who had deep pockets and wanted to be away from the chaotic lifestyle of the hub of Johannesburg but be apart of the city life that it exposed. Many people wanted to live in the area but only a few were allowed and it was only those who had a higher status than an average man.
Wintervale's large mansions, golf courses, gentlemen clubs and casinos drew in the many rich folk towards it. Although the town drew in many people, there was only 10 000 people in the town which nobody had an issue with. The people preferred it that way because the plots were bigger and the town was more quiet in that manner.
A beautiful town such as this was bound to attract some strays, those who went against the law and didn't give a damn because they had more power than any law enforcement. Wintervale welcomed their first gang in the 1970s, it was a black gang with just 50 people. They weren't a hassle though, they came to the town to enjoy their grand homes, sip their martinis and go straight back to the hub of Johannesburg for their business. They were known across Wintervale and were welcomed warmly because they never gave any issues to the citizens.
The real problem began when the town welcomed the second gang, Die Broederskap( The Brotherhood) in 1985. The townsmen obviously welcomed them warmly as well because they thought that they would be just unproblematic as the other gangs which was a poor judgement on their part. The leader Johan van der Merwe had another plan for Wintervale. He wanted to grow his cocaine and his gun business amongst the citizens because of their positions as some were politicians, ministers or owners of huge companies.
Some of the people that he had spoken to did not agree to the partnership as they thought that it was against their morals and principles- Johan van der Merwe really didn't like the sound of that. A few days after his arrival, the people of Wintervale were dropping like flies and their murders would be shown on the news with family members sobbing and explaining how it pained them to see how their family members were killed so brutally. Although their deaths were publicized, one thing that nobody knew of was the way that they were killed. You would only know the cause of their death when the town would be whispering and you happened to be in earshot which was close to impossible as the people in the town liked to close their mouths with situations such as these.
Since then the town was known to be less of a getaway town to a town filled with really bad people. It was only after 2 years that the broadcasting of "suspicious" deaths stopped and we continued the lives that we once lived. Maybe it was because the people just listened to whatever proposal brought forth because they knew of the consequences.
In 1992, the son of Johan van der Merwe was introduced. It was rumoured that he attended the birthday party of the Mayor's son alongside his mother, Yáng Lian. He was known as the pride and joy of Johan which was concerning to the people because whoever that Johan favored was a person who thought like him or worse. Many people feared that he might cause chaos in the town but there was no talk about it. As you know that even though you haven't heard of anything about the son doesn't mean that he hasn't done anything wrong. Nobody in this town knew his name or where he came from, they only referred to him as "Mal oë" (Crazy eyes)
"I will be at home a little bit late since I'm still busy," I said into the telephone that was on the the table of the librarian.
"Okay, come home as quickly as possible ,darling. You don't want to see something that you would not like, you will finish your assignment tomorrow." My mother was worried, understandably so.
There was a curfew in the town. All schools, shops and restaurants closed before 6 o'clock. This curfew was instilled the moment the gangs entered the town because their dealings were always done around that time. The mayor was tired of compensating for those family members who got in the crossfire between the different gang members so he instilled this law. He also gave further instructions to not wander around at those times or any later because of the dangers.
