Life and death, in his hands

Things don't go smoothly in my head. Maybe that's why it didn't surprise me recently when I heard voices and got a distinct picture of who owned each voice.I remember it clearly. I was sitting in math class while Mr. Bow was rambling up front about compound something or other. Then suddenly I was up in the sky, amongst darkened clouds, darker than even the darkest nights with swirly silver sharpie stars. There seemed to be 2 people arguing, a woman and a man. The woman was rather plump, and had butt length mahogany colored hair. In addition, she wore long off white robes, down to her ankles with silver high heels to finish everything off. The man, in comparison, looked like hell. He looked so fragile that if seemed if you even looked at him wrong there would be a pile of bones at your feet. There was no hair on his head, just a smooth and shiny surface similar to a freshly waxed floor. Because I was so far away, I only picked up bits and pieces of what these two were saying.1

"Let the promise of redemption be a reward in itself…Of the things he has done, I can give him another chance…There's still so much more left for him here!" The woman said eloquently.2

"…He's committed so many crimes…he wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself, let alone others. All these years, he hasn't changed…so fit to be punished…go by past actions…" The man spoke roughly, in such a way that made one realize he was mostly trying to overpower the woman, not have a better argument than her.3

"Now, now you know I'm not one to try to compromise, but I'll prove you wrong. Let's leave him in a coma," She paused took a breath and continued again, "complete darkness, except for the memories he gets access to on the big screen."4

"Now we're getting somewhere! I have another idea, along with that. We bring in someone else. A mere mortal if we must. I have the perfect kid for us…" The man's voice suddenly got so soft I could only hear what sounded like a pst pst PST!5

I wondered what all of this was about, why I was even here. And if this was even real, what was I doing here? Was my mind really so bored of Bow's lectures that I put myself in my own made up worlds? I don't even know.6

It made no sense to me why, but all of a sudden, I could hear the man talking again.7

"…So what do you think?...Boy or no boy we're golden." The man pressed. It was pretty obvious that he wanted the woman to say he could use the boy for whatever help it was that he wanted him for. It probably helped that he was jumping up and down like a crazy little kid after having way too much sugar.8

She must've said yes, because all of a sudden I couldn't hear anything again, and I felt myself moving toward them at an insane speed. When I finally stopped, I was right next to the man I had only heard talking moments ago.9

"What's going on?" I asked, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and 2 feet tall.10

"Your assistance is needed. We need someone to help us judge if Duane is worthy of living or not. Currently he is in a coma. But Nona and I have been arguing about how we're going to know if he's really changed or not. That is why we need you. You aren't directly related in this situation. You can make a better judgment cut than Nona or I can. You can tell us whether or not you feel he has changed. If you feel he has, then tell us and he will live. If not, then he will be put to death, because we have given him way too many chances. This is his last chance, and you are his last hope." The man spoke quickly, like he was rushing to finish this boring job.11

"I've prepared a brief summary of everything that Duane has done for you to look over." Nona whispered quietly and she handed me a thin packet of paper.12

I skimmed over the papers. Duane Roth, 30 years old and he's already been in prison 6 times. He's stolen, destroyed public property, raped several girls, been caught dealing drugs, and recently murdered a pregnant woman and her husband. I didn't know what to think, but I figured I should at least give him a chance, before completely judging him. I cleared my throat and proceeded to ask what I was supposed to do. They told me I needed to meet him to understand, so I agreed to meet Duane and take it from there. 13

Duane was the farthest thing from what I had expected him to be. He was lofty at a very least of 6' 4". His gangly arms just hung at his sides limply. He had straight jet black hair, deeply set auburn eyes, and a crooked nose.14

"Do you regret any of what you've done?" I inquired cautiously.15

"Regret? No, I don't regret. I wish I could've planned things better so I didn't get caught, " He retorted gruffly.16

I had no further questions for him, so off he went into a coma for an entire month. I was told by Nona and Edmund that he got to watch his entire life full of memories. They said they hoped that seeing everything he had done, in a movie like fashion, that it might crack his stubborn shell, so that he might be able to see what he's done wrong. Or at the very least realize he deserved some sort of punishment.17

~~~~~18

A month finally came and went, and I readied myself to talk to Duane. When he walked up and sat a chair right in front of me, I didn't even have to ask him what I wanted to know, because he just started talking.19

"If you want to know if I regret doing all those things, the answer is still no. I feel that I had so many reasons at the time, and at the time, the reasons were enough. But if I were in those same situations today, at this current moment, with no knowledge of what I had done previously, then I wouldn't be doing the same thing again, I promise you." He spoke confidently, and it was clear that he was telling the truth.20

I had no further questions for him, but when I reported to Nona and Edmund, I wasn't sure what to tell them. They said I should say if he's changed. In one way he had changed, but in another, he was still the same Duane, with no remorse for anything. There wasn't a clear cut answer. When I really thought about it, it didn't make sense for me to say what happened to his life. Duane was just like any other human being, he just committed so many crimes that he could easily be portrayed as a monster.21

Nona and Edmund walked up to me and asked me how it went.22

I wasn't sure how they would react to what I was about to say, so I took a huge breath and just let it come out, "I don't want him to die. If I was in his position then I would want someone to take pity on me, even if I was a horrible person. You can't kill him. You just can't," I was sobbing and for someone I didn't even know." Please, you asked for my judgment and here it is. Maybe he doesn't deserve life, but he definitely doesn't deserve death either."23

Edmund seemed disappointed, but Nona looked at me appreciatively, relieved that she didn't have to convince Edmund she was right. 24

Edmund took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright, you can go home now. Nona and I have the final decision on this anyway."25

~26

Nona spoke first, "Redemption is a powerful thing, but I feel that Duane has lost his motivation for any sort of redemption. I think we should just leave him be, we're causing more trouble than is worth by trying to kill him off or have someone else do the decision for us."27

"We've argued about Duane enough, maybe while in that coma he'll grow some sense, but he'll be in it until the day he dies at this rate."28