It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,27
this is a grievous error made on the part of the Grim Reaper, as it will be I who must negotiate the hands of time to return this girl to the moment of her accidental death, I must carefully weigh her wants against the needs of the many. I have several reservations.”
I sink deeper into my chair. I don’t think things can get any worse.
“Were we to agree to her request, countless things, both good and bad, must be undone,” Marmaroth continues. “Her return to the world will alter peace treaties and wars alike. Though her Akashic Record indicates time of death well into the future, the world is moving on without her. I cannot, in good consciousness, recommend a reversal of her fate without some indication that it will have a positive benefit on the human race as a whole.”
I was wrong. It just got worse.
“Shepard?” Azbaugh says to the third member of the Tribunal. “What are your thoughts on the matter before us?”
There is compassion in the eyes of this angel and he looks directly at me when he responds. “I do not think this child is beyond salvation. Her life and perspective have been greatly altered by her experiences in the Afterlife. I would hate to deprive the world of a useful and powerful witness to the acts of mercy that the Creator is capable of.”
I see Marmaroth nod thoughtfully and a slim bit of hope this might actually work in my favor flickers inside me. I sit up, meeting Shepard’s eyes, begging him to say yes. He smiles at me and warmth spreads through my body.
That is, until Azbaugh asks, “This is all well indeed, but we have seen time and time before how the feeble human mind is incapable of holding on to the experiences they encounter beyond the mortal plane. How are we to know that, should she be returned, her time here will feel like nothing more than a dream to her?”
“Perhaps we can ask the muses to weave a pattern into her life that will keep these moments fresh in her subconscious,” Sal suggests. “If they can inspire writers to create masterpieces from words and sculptors to carve beauty from stone, surely this is not outside their capabilities?”
“The fundamental flaw in this idea is that it still weighs heavily on this girl. She has already shown poor judgment throughout her life,” Zachriel interjects.
I really don’t like that guy. Not as much as I hate Azbaugh, but he’s running a close second.
Speaking of my tormentor, Azbaugh raises a hand for order. “While you have not been officially recognized to address this Tribunal, you raise a valid point.” He turns to Sal. “What say you in response?”
The look of surprise on Sal’s face does not fill me with confidence. “I think,” he begins and then stops. “Well, you are right in the fact that the mind is feeble.”
I’m screwed.
“But you are wrong in the idea that there is no chance of redemption. To return to Shepard’s analogy of the sculptor, this girl is not the finished piece, but rather the block of stone waiting for the rough edges to be chipped away and sanded to reveal her true potential.”
Okay, maybe I’m not screwed. Sal is on a roll.
“Zachriel’s suggestion that her past will dictate her future is unfair and lacks little evidence. In fact, if we were to pull up twenty random lives, I’m sure we would find several who were able to overcome their early beginnings to become civic leaders and moral compasses for the human race. Who is to say this girl does not possess that quality?”
“If you take another twenty lives,” Azbaugh responds, “I’m sure you will also find those who were given a life of privilege and became absolutely nothing. They became simply a drain on everyone around them.”
Sal squares his shoulders. I can see he’s trying to get the courage to say something important. Come on, Sal. We’re dying here.
And then he does something that might shock him more than it does me. He challenges Azbaugh. “Your pessimism in the human race is clouding your view of what is right and just. This soul has been, by all accounts, robbed of any chance of betterment. She was made to be a sacrifice by someone gifted with sight and must now bear a cross that was not hers in the first place. To not send her back would deny her mercy.”