Hermes | Book 1

: 02 :

The darkness felt pity stirring from her bosom and wiped away his tears; reminding him to remember that there was always her, in the end, to lead him back home.

Chapter 2

THE SHERIFF of the area was a law abiding citizen. Anybody who knew him could confidently say that one could throw in their complete trust into his decisions.

The man himself (well built and quite good looking with a walrus moustache he was very proud of) was very determined an did not think twice to punish the law breaking citizens with just the right amount of punishment for whatever crime he or she committed.

He could be summed up as a fair and just officer, one of the rare ones and a God send for the city as a whole.

The Sheriff was taking his usual night-time rounds around his neighbourhood, something he did whenever things at home didn't go so well that day, when he saw a figure lying awkwardly on the local park bench.

For a moment he just stood there and watched the figure get his disturbed sleep (surely it was disturbed for how could one sleep in such an uncomfortable position?). Then coming into his senses, he commanded his body to get on with it and walked towards sleeping figure.

The figure belonged to a young man, in his late teens probably, with fine features and dark blonde hair covering his eyelids. A troubled smiled delicately stretched from his lips as he slumbered. In the Sheriffs opinion, the sleeping boy looked well off; his taste in clothing and accessorizing was delicately expensive.

The boy was also not from the area; he would have known that he could be arrested for sleeping in public places after ten in the evening.

The Sheriff stood there for a few moments, in the cold, contemplating.

Then roughly, he shook the sleeping figure. The sleepers smile matched his sleep too; in seconds he was sitting bolt upright hair sticking in all directions.

"Who? What-"

"You are not allowed to sleep in the park benches after ten." He explained as gently and firmly as he could to the panicked young man.

"Im sorry sir-"

"You can explain everything in the station son."  The sheriff turned towards the general direction of the station, a few blocks away. Then he stopped and looked back, only to find the boy still stuck in the dazed state of slumber.

"Well?"

With a sudden start he helped himself up from the bench and followed the Sheriff towards the station, his head strangely held down.

"What is your name?"

The young man's body language showed no apparent change from the one he donned outside. In fact, he might have been more sullen.

"I asked you a question." He said a little more loudly, making the person in front of him flinch roughly.

"Don't be so rude with him daddy."A soft voice chided.

The Sheriff turned around so quickly, it was possible he might have suffered a whiplash. If he did, then he did not show any indication of it.

"Asta!" He said, "What are you doing here?"

"Why, I'm here to collect my friend of course."Asta had a small, insignificant smile on her face as she carefully made her way towards the Sheriff. Each step she took looked liked a one which was taken after a lot of contemplation.

"Your friend?" The Sheriff looked and sounded unconvinced and disapproving.

The blonde haired accused looked up from his sullen meditation with surprise written clearly in his eyes.

"Yes, my friend."She said a little more assertively, her dark eyes flashing with an emotion that could very well be associated with madness. "I told you about two of my friends coming to our place for I few days didn't I?"

"You forgot to mention that one of them was a boy." The Sheriff threw a quick, accusatory glance at the young man standing next to him; the boy had quickly concealed anything that could throw the slightest suspicion on him.

"Well, now you know." She said sweetly. This time her head ducked down and her eyes connected to the floor; but strangely, the Sheriff seemed indifferent to the behaviour as if such a thing was not odd at all.

"That's what I was trying to explain to you Sheriff." The young man said hurriedly. He did not miss the play-along-if-you-want-to-get-out-of-this-situation tone in Asta's voice. "I was lost and somebody had stolen my wallet and credit cards. My phone was out of charge and my laptop was destroyed."

The lie came to his mouth as fluently as he could speak his mother tongue.

"Asta told me that she would give directions to her place as soon as I reached here. But my phones battery went dead a couple of hours before I reached here. And the moment I reached here, somebody robbed of my money and credit cards too."

The Sheriff watched the young man explain his actions in thoughtful silence. He looked pretty honest and there was not a single trace of guilt in his soft, careful voice.

"What is your name?"

"Hermes, sir." He said with polite smile.

"Hermes," The Sheriff said quizzically, "like the messenger guy in the Greek myths?"

"Exactly like the messenger guy in the Greek myths." Hermes said excitedly. "In fact-"All the excitement drained away as quickly it had come.

"In fact?" The Sheriff asked gently. The boy looked truly miserable.

"It's just," Hermes said quietly hesitating. Then with a sad smile he looked at them ", my parents were great fans of Greek mythology."

"Were?"

"A car crash. The other driver was drunk and it hit our car. I was ten at that time."

"I'm sorry, boy." The Sheriff grasped the boys shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I'm sorry too, sir."