Suspense Story – The Judgement
© Anand Vishnu Prakash, YourStoryClub.com
The old judge shifted his weight and fixed his spectacle which was slipping down his nose. His weary eyes ached and he felt his wrinkled hands tremble. Perhaps he had grown too old now. Too old enough to sit in that Supreme seat of justice but wise enough not to be evicted either.
He looked at the man, who had been accused of the crime. A man in the mid 30’s. Quiet, humble and composed. He didn’t look like a murderer from any ponit. Yet he had been accused for the murdered his own wife. And add to woes, she had been seven months pregnant. A cold murder, as everybody in the courtroom lamented.
The public prosecutor presented the case. He detailed the reports about the young man had killed his own wife and the unborn child. He displayed utmost professionalism and presented a great theory about how sinister the crime was. He accused the convict of not only murdering his family but also the social ideologies. A Selfish act of crime. As he slammed his case file down at the table, everybody in the courtroom applauded and congratulated him for his charismatic show. He had indeed solved the case in no time. He became a hero.
The judge looked over his spectacle, that slipped of his nose again. This frustated him a little. But he knew that the Lawyer had indeed presented a great report and he was sure to win the case. The lawyer knew this too. He dreamed of the following day when the whole world would know about this case. He would be all over the place. The media would hail him as the famous prosecutor who had brought justice to the dead wife and the unborn child. But more to that, he saw an opportunity to save his career one last time. He had been having a hard time with debts all over his head. The case provided him the chance to redeem him of his worries. And he desperately needed to.
The judge felt a sharp pain somewhere in his chest. He had been receiving such attacks for a few days now. He flinched in pain. He was sweating in the forehead. He wanted to scream. But how could he ? Not in the courtroom. He had been all these years long praised for his service, and he would not let his hard earned respect waste in vain. He was a man of dignity and he will not let it be tainted. Do you have anything to Say? He ask the man who had long remain silent in the courtroom.
The convict looked at the judge and towards the people present at the courtroom. He thought about that night when he had last seen his wife alive. She had been in so much pain for the last ten months. She had been a “survivor”. She had been diagnosed with “Brain Hemmorrhage”. Doctors had given hope of her recovery. She was going t o die. And with her, the unborn child of theirs.
He had sold off his everything to the last penny. And what more cold he do ? He was just a mere employee at the Multi National Company. Had he known that boring a child would have killed her, he would have never consummated with her. And this guilt always kept haunting him. But that night, he had relieved her of her pain. He cried his heart out as she suffocated to death. His hands had trembled as he had removed her oxygen line. He still had nightmares.
And everybody lamented. A heart could murder ?
But did anyone knew why he had killed his own family ? Did anyone even bother to ask him ? That is how people made judgements. That is how he became a murderer. A man who can never be pardoned.
Tears welled up in his eyes and anger filled his soul. He wanted to cry. He wanted to question the people who called him a murderer. Have the ever known how it felt to take the life of our loved ones ? Have they known how much it pains to see the life slowly squeezing away ? Have they ever spend nights and nights long crying by the bedside ? Have they ever felt so dead yet still alive ?
He opened his eyes. Ire filled all in his veins. But what could he do ? He was just a small man in this big world. He looked at the courtroom. Every ears and eyes were on him. Curious to hear his statement. They expected him to plead for mercy. Or maybe more, cry for forgiveness ? But this was not going to happen. He was not going to beg to anyone anymore. Not even to the Gods. He had had enough. He took a deep breathe. No, I don’t have anything to say sir. He spoke these words softly.
The judge looked at the convict one last time. . He knew something was not right. But judgement had to be made.
“Justice be done “.
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