Caesar

• TO THE WOODS

His back against the wet ground, his black cotton shirt soaked with the strolling waters of the rain. Rain falls on his skin gently wetting it, covering it with transparent water drops as his golden brown eyes open slowly. The sky is grey and weeping down on him. His ears raise up detecting a familiar sound.

"Weee wooh..." The police siren rings loud. Tired golden brown eyes move round finally noticing the crowd of people surrounding him. Their sympathetic faces stare down at him, their voices loud yet meaningless for he cannot understand a word of what they say.

A plumb man dressed in all black with a golden badge approaches him squeezing his way through the crowd.
With a document in his hands, he bends down, his lips smack and tongue clicks as he reads from the paper.

"Name: Caesar Devoy..."

"Age: sixteen..."

"Sex: male...." The rest of his sentence fades into inaudible words. With his back still on the wet ground, eyes unstably glancing around, he thinks;
"This surely isn't heaven!" Obviously how would it? When it appeared so grey with sad grim faces.

"Hey...hey...kid!" He finally hears the policemen's voice. His eyes stare wildly at the policeman.

"...You're Caesar Devoy, right???"

Caesar nods his head slightly, as much as he would've loved to deny it, he couldn't. His parents were politicians and they were epitomised as the 'ideal family.' He snorts.

"How ironic!'

His eyes stare at the policeman refusing to back off.

"I am Officer Hanford...and you do know that staring without a break is weird, right??"

His eyes hesitantly move away and they spot his parents making their way through the crowd. They are dressed in matching corporate grey suits, their eyes are reddened and flooded with tears. No matter how deep he stared, he couldn't tell if they were real or not.

Slender arms wrap him in an embrace. She puts his head on her chest, his wet hair wetting her jacket.
"Thank God you're safe!" Her tears fall on his hair, soaking it even more.

"I thought I've lost you!" With his head against her chest, he could hear her heart beat. It becomes calmer, more relaxed and her hands warm against his wet face. As his mother cuddles him, his eyes follow his father who is escorted by Mr Hanford. They walk to a secluded place. Finally they stop, His father smiles, his lips moving a little then he dips his hands in his pocket then brings out a white envelope which is received by Mr Hanford who receives it smiling sheepishly. They part ways and Mr Hanford walks towards his van.

His Mother lifts him up assisting him to walk. Her brown hair smells like vanilla and her clothes roses. As they head towards the car, his father catches up with them and takes him from his mother.

"Thank God you're safe!" His father says as he walks pass a crowd of sympathisers. As they get closer to the Buick car, Hus grip becomes tighter and more aggressive around his shoulders. He whispers slowly;
"You're dead when we get home!"

Finally he lets him go pushing him into the car. As Caesar sits by the window, his hands move the cloth covering his shoulders, his skin is red and hurting. The car finally speeds pass the crowd.

His eyes look back at the crowd as they become dots, their voices louder than bombs;

'What a good man??...What happened to his son??...I hear he couldn't speak...poor victim...it's kids like him that are easily preyed on...did you see how much the Zaki wept... He really loves his son...I have never seen that man weep before!" Their voices finally fades into the distance.

His parents are with the sympathisers, their eyes licking crocodile tears as they come up with a sob story, one that portrays them as the best parents ever and breaks out tears from the sympathisers' eyes.

Caesar stretches out on the couch, Face up, shoulders high and voice loud.

"Turn left, towards the woods...I am not going home..."

The driver's emerald eyes meets his blinking and yet refusing to obey his command. With his hands on the break, his eyes catch something paranormal.

"Did young Devoy just...???"

Through the side mirror, his eyes catch a glimpse of Caesar's eyes. They are bloody and black.
Against his will, his hands grab the wheels turning the car towards the left like he's possessed.