Excerpts from The Life and Times of Deszario Caine

A fictional biography of famed treasure-hunter Deszario Caine, told from the perspective of his adopted father, Gregory J Caine, his first wife Olivia Myles, & his second wife Anna Bevilacqua-Caine.

FOREWORD by Luis Dubois

 While Deszario Caine explored Southern Brazil, where he made many of his great discoveries, he stayed with me in my small apartment in Rio. I was working for a local paper then, uninterested with the world outside the pulsing borders of Rio de Janiero: concerned only with the rhythm of society located within. Unfortunately, many other journalists shared this desire to eat only of this heavenly fruit. It was Deszario, with his infectious laugh and passion for the unknown that struck me and transformed me into a journalistic fiend, hungering for the forests and wild that lay untamed outside my safe apartment and city. It was the bond formed when Deszario said, and I remember it quite vividly:

"Luis! Leave Rio's music; leave these colors behind -- if only for a day: I will show you a world outside of the one you know. The sound of rain gliding smoothly over the fauna that pervades the forest, the clicking of the bugs that move to-and-fro, searching, and the hum of the distant sea is the most beautiful music on the planet Earth. Richer greens than the carpets imported from the Middle East, illustrious blues that shame the sapphires you've seen in the markets; earthtones that will warm your heart and connect you with nature in ways you never thought possible. Come, Luis. Explore this wonderful world with me."

His passion... his passion was something unrivalled even today. And my response was bland, and although I regret how I phrased it, the outcome changed me into the man I am today. I said:

"Sure. Why not?"

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".. in the wreckage of an area struck by a meteor as I was in the locale, I discovered a young boy crying terribly, wounded but alive. Concerned, I asked a passers-by what this particular building had been, and if I could locate his guardian. The kind gentleman informed me coldly that it was an orphanage, and paid no heed to the trembling youth. I sifted through and approached the child, reaching out to him. I would discover years later that from Deszario's perspective, I seemed as an angel spawning in the darkness, enshrouded and silhouetted by light from the street behind. Pedestrians called me mad. Mad! For helping. For helping a fatherless child."

Gregory J Caine on "The Adoption"

"... Gregory? Mr. Caine was a pious English businessman who owned a large portion of land and rented it out to various people to maintain income. My family lived in that block: barely. It was filled with gorgeous places, but the cost of living was so high my Father had to work two jobs: a printer for Vogue magazine, and a technical advisor for Swinging Radio England. He was much enthralled with the culture of the times, and thus I was raised a victim of fashion. Mr. Caine was always kind to our family, and was especially interested in the idea of Deszario and I meeting, and marrying. Something about Deszario's wild, untamed personality made the idea a reality: for a time. I was enthralled with him, we courted and married in 1966, when he was 20 and I was 17. It lasted a happy three years: until he left me for the world below the equator. We never divorced, per se, but the feeling was mutual, I met my now husband Thomas Pretty, and he met that girl, Anna. It was best for the both of us."

Olivia Myles on "Gregory Caine, and her marriage to Deszario"

".. in the years that passed, it became abundantly clear that Deszario had no intentions of leading a simple life. At this point we were unsure of his age, and later on we would decide that his birthday [then unbeknownst to him] should indeed be the day of May 15th when I had procured him from the ruins. Of course he was already most likely four or five years old at the time, but it did not matter to Deszario, as he held no value to the idea of age. But, I digress: in January of 1951 I remember a particularly exposing moment. Deszario had spent the first six or seven months adjusting, and only recently at this point had he begun to seem 'normal.' I must say 'normal' with a certain degree of uncertainty, because as you surely know, he is by no social standards 'normal.' There had always been several rooms that, for one reason or another, remained locked in my estate. Most were left locked simply because I did not use them: but the idea of the mystery that Deszario had yet to unravel was more than tantalizing enough for him to procure a set of hairpins from one of the maids, Elen if I do remember correctly, and use them to break in to most of those rooms. In these budding years of his life, this disregard for the sanctity of locks and other private things disconcerted me, however my concern was misplaced." 

Gregory J Caine on "Deszario's Youth & Upbringing"

Author's Note

I will add more as I do them, this is not a writing in itself but rather a creative outlet for the reference material I will use when I create the actual life of Deszario, told as it happens!