CEASER'S DISAPPEARANCE

This is not an historical story! It is the story of a person whose initials contract to the famous name. If this were to be a one-line story I would say: ‘The judge said the accused deserves no sympathy for what he has done, and I sentence him to undergo 18 months simple imprisonment’. Let me continue the 1K word story:

Ceaser was born into a middleclass family in a city in the southernmost tip of India. It took a great deal of sacrifice on the part of his parents to educate him. Fortunately, he was bright and gained scholarships due to which he was able to get a degree in law. He did his apprenticeship and launched his own practice. His objective was to make a fortune.

Ceaser was a tall handsome man. Despite his having had opportunities to make friends with females he remained a bachelor considering his family circumstances. However, his mother’s pressure made him get married and he became father of two children. They were bright and were being appropriately educated. He was able to maintain the family well above the poverty line by his legal practice. However, despite desperate efforts he couldn’t put by any savings. He was growing older, and it looked as if he was never going to be rich.

Setbacks in life can come in any form at any stage in life. Soon after he had started earning  Ceaser had to finance his sister’s wedding which took a large amount. More than that, his mother’s health became a serious worry, and the medical expenses were too large. He had to seek loans to meet his expenses. But these became even more costly as he had no collateral. Besides his legal practice had dwindled. He could only watch his family’s plight due to poverty. He wished he could disappear instead of being seen as an object of pity.

At this stage he came into contact with Kim who was a leading politician. He was known to be totally corrupt and unscrupulous in his dealings. Kim saw the price of land falling and decided to buy land for the future. He saw the multiple laws and notifications in acquiring land and decided on employing Ceaser on a low salary. Ceaser had no choice but to accept.

A challenge came while buying a tract of land. One of the sellers refused to sell despite a monetary incentive. Kim used Ceaser to hire a contract killer to eliminate the obstruction. The land was now Kim’s! There were more obstacles due to landowners being unwilling to sell as the prices were low. They had to be persuaded and Ceaser did a yeoman’s job. Then came the matter of signature in old documents. Ceaser was a good at forgery and forged signatures. In this however he got into trouble.  Police were called in and Ceaser had to face the court. The charges were serious, and evidence was conclusive. The judge ruled that such actions by a man of the legal profession was shameful and unpardonable and without hesitation sentenced Ceaser to 18 months in prison.

The consequences of his imprisonment were serious. His wife deserted him. Ceaser served time doing various prison jobs. He proved a trouble-free prisoner and was given a remission in sentence. But after being freed he found his neighbors boycotted him. His friends refused to speak to him. He saw no future and thought of suicide. But he hadn’t the courage for doing it. He consulted his old law professor Solomon about changing his religion.

Solomon said “Changing religion will give you no relief. Your name can change but it gives you no cover. Jail authorities might be able to help you rehabilitate yourself.”

Not knowing how to live further he went back to Kim. Kim said, “I can’t hire you as your name has been sullied.”

Ceaser said “Sir you’re still in power and you could say if questioned, that you’re helping an ex-convict to overcome his past.”

“It won’t be that easy. Let me think it over.”

“Perhaps until then you could give me some money to live.”

Kim agreed as an exceptional case and provided some money. For living in anonymity Ceaser moved to a distant village. When his money ran out, he again came back to Kim.

Kim said “You’ve become a real headache. I can’t give you any more money.”  He thought a great deal and finally said “I know a man named Sabu living in the distant state of Gujarat adjoining Pakistan. Perhaps he could help as he does social work.” Kim contacted Sabu and was accepted with several reservations. Ceaser boarded a train and reached Gujarat. felt relieved that he would now be a perfect stranger and would not be viewed as an ex-convict. He found he had no problem adapting himself to the new environment. He was given a room to stay in and food was provided. Ceaser lived at peace for two months.

Sabu was part of a charitable endowment of a religious leader.  Ceaser was given the job of editing the lectures of the leader in Hindi into English. He did the job easily and flawlessly and was appreciated. He was happy that he had escaped from the society where he was born and had suffered.

But trouble comes unexpectedly. One day a man came to Ceaser and said “You’re Ceaser. You must remember me as we were in the same prison. I’m sure you recall that I had the nickname of Tarzan as I had battered a jailor who wouldn’t feed us properly. I served extra time for it! You’ve probably hidden your real identity to be employed here.”

Ceaser hung his head. Tarzan said “I’ll remain silent if you help me. I want to flee to Pakistan. I’ve contacted a group there to rescue me from here. Their boat will come on Saturday next to a point they will indicate. Help me to get on the boat with my belongings.” Ceaser had no option but to agree.

On Saturday, Tarzan and Ceaser reached the point near where the Pakistani boat  ZAMZAM would come and anchor. They would have to row themselves to reach the boat. The two rowed the boat which also contained Tarzan’s belongings and reached ZAMZAM. Once there Ceaser asked “Can I return now?”

The captain of the Pakistani boat said “Not immediately. Come with us and then we will drop you off on an Indian boat to return.”

They went a long distance when the captain said to Ceaser “See the boat there? You can return on it.”

Ceaser looked all around in the dark but there was no sign of a boat. As he stood looking a bullet hit his head. The captain threw the body overboard. The body was never found. Ceaser had disappeared as he had wanted.

END