Cevil was brought to a jail cell and was locked there. He lay on the floor, thinking about the details. He said everything he remembered, "So, first, when the cab arrived, wait, the color is light blue. When I entered, the chairs, quite soft, okay, never mind, I think this isn't important. Black chairs. The driver's name is... Jackson..." Cevil paused, "Ugh, this isn't fun."
Cevil was about to give up when he recalled something. He stood up immediately and banged on the jail bars violently with his palm, "Anyone? Sir? I want to find KJ Sir!" he yelled. "Shut up, kid." A police officer appeared. "Please, just tell him Cevil wants to meet him," Cevil pleaded. The guy shrugged and walked away.
Five minutes later, KJ appeared.
"I remembered something!"
"Remember what?" KJ asked, nervously.
"There was a smell, in the car."
"What smell?"
"Strong mango perfume, with... a bit of sweet and spicy smell," Cevil said, as he tried recalling it again. KJ smiled, "Great, I'll get my colleagues to find for shops that sell perfumes with similar smell, then we'll check the list of buyers." KJ turned to leave.
"Wait! The driver's last name is Jackson, and the car is light blue."
KJ made a gesture that signaled 'thank you' and walked away, whistling.
Not long after that, a cop came in with a lawyer beside him. "Cevil Cheong Ho, you may leave, Mr. Smith bailed you out." Cevil followed the lawyer out in surprise. When Cevil was outside the police station, he saw Kent standing under the sunlight, crossed arms, ruminating. "Hey! Thanks for bailing me out," Cevil clapped Kent's shoulder as he went out. "No problem," Kent smiled, "Let's go."
"What are you thinking of? Aren't you curious about what happened?" Cevil asked. "I thought you were just ill, then for some reason, the cops arrested you for no reason? Wait- Aren't you ill? You seemed fine now." said Kent. "I don't know, but as you mentioned it, I start to feel ill again," Cevil grinned. "Heh," Kent slapped his shoulder, "I'll help you call the ambulance."
"No thanks, I'm not dead yet."
Cevil lay on his bed. He was still struggling to remember more details of that driver. He began writing down everything on a piece of paper:
When the cab arrived, I noticed the car plate number had two "C" s on it. The car is light blue. When I sat in it, the chairs were soft, they were black. I smelt strong perfume smell, mango with spicy and sweet smell. The driver's last name was Jackson. He was bald and had yellowish teeth. His mouth smelled as if he hadn't brushed them for years. He had a centipede scar on his left cheek.
Conclusion:
Car:
-Light blue
-Two "C" s
-Soft black chairs
----
Driver:
- Yellowish teeth
-Smelly mouth
-Centipede scar
-Bald
-Last name is Jackson
-Mango with sweet and spicy perfume
Cevil dropped his pen, he was quite disappointed with himself for being unable to recall any other details about such a major incident. Annoyed and exhausted, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep fast.
He woke up with a start, he was having nightmares, nightmares of Marco.
Marco was standing by the beach, enjoying the sunset. Cevil was making calls. No one answered the call, Cevil turned and walked towards Marco. He tripped on his way, and when he got up, Marco vanished. The only thing left was one of Marco's shoes floating on the water and a pool of blood on the sand.
Cevil 's face was thoroughly drenched, a mingling of both tears pooling in his eyes and beads of perspiration trickling down his skin. This was the fourth occurrence of an unsettling dream. Cevil retreated to the bathroom where he commenced a ritualistic cleansing of his visage. As he met his reflection in the mirror, he encountered a somber countenance - his own - with eyes that resonated with sorrow, shadowed by the presence of pronounced dark circles. A pervasive sense of frailty and discontent engulfed him, as if his existence had come to an abrupt impasse. He repeatedly doused his face with water, droplets cascading onto the pristine porcelain and commingling with the tears that flowed in unison. A discreet knock reverberated from beyond his bedroom door, prompting Cevil to hastily retrieve a towel to blot his face. He then ventured out of the bathroom and swung the door open.
"Hi Cevil."
"Hi, Kent."
"You have to go."
"Yes."
"Get yourself dressed."
They arrived. Both boys glanced at each other, then looked at the sign:
DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT CENTRE
Cevil entered, followed by Kent.
KJ was already there. They greeted each other, and KJ brought them to a room. Cevil shivered when they passed by different treatment rooms. There were lots of drug addicts howling and crying, begging for drugs, suffering from the ache by drugs. Kent patted his shoulder, then they arrived at the room. Three drug addicts were inside the room. One of them was tame, he sat down by their bed, not making a single noise. The other two were wailing and crying. Their screams filled the entire room. Their legs were tied to a fence beside their bed. The door opened, Cevil entered with KJ, while Kent stood outside, watching them.
"Well, yes, it's torturing, but for your future, you'll have to do that." KJ led Cevil to his bed. Cevil climbed up the bed and sat there, waiting for instructions. "It's fortunate that it's only a small number of drugs," KJ said as he began to tie Cevil's leg to the bed like others. At that moment, Cevil felt as if his freedom was taken away, forever. Other drug addicts were watching the entire progress, and Cevil felt ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, but it's for helping you. I know you can do it; you can bear the torture; I'll wait for you thirty-one days later outside; I want to see a healthy and energetic teenager coming out of this room," KJ said, sorrowfully. He felt sorry for Cevil. "Thanks," Cevil said with tearful eyes, as KJ was about to leave. They smiled at each other, and KJ disappeared behind the door after that.
It was the first day.