Spectrum: Secret Rhythms of the Heart

By Kgalalelo Kono

"The monsters lurk within
Is that where you're lookin'?
They are chained
Only you can set them free
You don't have to agree
For truth to be true
All hearts are broken, it is true
You are not that special
...nx, nx, nx, Bloody humans." The Big Tragedy sneers a sinister grin and sips his Earl Grey, as he sits cross-legged atop his comfortable rocking chair.

When Gouta(meaning"Gold") was eleven, her mother was institutionalized for the brutal murder of her father. As a biracial child of an African mother and a British father, Gouta battles her demons in the aftermath of the "sensitive tragedy", amidst the hypocrisies(politics, religion, civilization... and romance) and fleeting joys of the racially integrated modern world.
Amia, who deals with the dramas of youthful forbidden romance, is often the audience to Gouta's blue streak mind. The story dawns with the aftermath of Amia and Gouta's last prom at their racially assorted international school.
Meanwhile, amidst the distractions of romance and other youth obsessions, something sinister seems to be brewing in the grownup world. After all, life stays its course even in the bliss of ignorance.

In another story, Jeremia an outcast in his new home in the budding African city after he and his little brother were uprooted by grownups from his previous rural paradise following the death of his beloved grandmother. Jeremia, as a biracial "bastard", figured that indifference would give him resilience in the implicit hypocrisies of his new world with his estranged uncle and his activist "white" wife. Jeremia's heart soon awakens to the overwhelming feeling of forbidden love and loss amidst the matters of hate and mortality.

"Stick around... Stories are wild, aren't they?"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1692524917
• ISBN13: 9781692524913
• Release Date: September 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"