The Gruesome Death of Judge Judy

Chapter Five: Jousha

Jousha glanced at the time, and was surprised to see that it was already quarter to midnight. He had hoped to have everything already set up for the spell he was about to cast. The graveyard was empty, since the hours of Arlington National Ceremony ended at 5 PM. There were guards somewhere in the cemetery, but he had cast a spell of privacy on himself to make sure nobody bothered him tonight. What he was about to do was very important.

The mist in the graveyard meant he could only count four of the white stones in any direction before it was too thick to see. The silence was kind that feels louder than normal silence, as if the air was pressing on his ears.

Jousha was a skinny gay nerd, traits which might conspire to hold someone back in life, yet he had always managed to find a way. Usually he tried on some new project or obsession like a new outfit, and sometimes it served him, and sometimes it didn't.

Jousha's latest obsession was witchcraft, and he found that he had a natural inclination for it. At first, he just just cast spells for small things, like good grades or a little extra money, but when those came to him, he stepped up. Soon, he found that life was bending in his direction, and all he had to do was ask the universe, with the right rituals and phrases.

Jousha did not always believe in magic. His first spell had actually been to bring back his cat. Sam had been missing for a month, and he had all but given up hope. He found the spell online and figured it was the only chance he had left. Less than ten minutes after he did the spell, Sam was back.

Of course, after fixing his own life, Jousha moved his sights higher. He wanted to help the world. And so he found himself in a cemetery at night, trying to raise the dead.

The gravestone was new. The woman had died very recently. He looked over the directions in the book one more time, then lit the candles around the grave. The ritual was long and cannot be copied in this chapter due to some ancient spell, but its effects can be described. As Jousha whispered and spoke each phrase in turn, the ground underneath him shifted. He increased his tone of voice, making sure to get each vocal inflection accurately.

The air grew mistier and mistier. It seemed to encroach on Jousha. It attained a suffocating quality, and soon he had trouble breathing. He almost stuttered, but kept repeating the spell just like the book had told him.

Shadows came to life, but never crossed directly in front of Jousha's vision. He couldn't help but try to find them, but every time his head turned they moved away. Perhaps it was his imagination. His glasses slipped off his face and broke on the ground. He raised his voice at this point. He had said it seventy times, like he was supposed to. He fell silent and counted the seconds. He thought he heard whispering but, just like the shadows, they escaped him the more he tried to hear.

Suddenly, the ground disappeared. Stars filles his eyes and he lost his balance. He recovered himself quickly, regaining his balance and his vision.

He was face to face with the dead woman. She had been dead for a few months by now, but she almost looked alive. My spell worked, Jousha told himself.

When this woman had died, he had felt crushed. She had done too much good, and her life was worth too much to be dead that soon. He wouldn't have dared try this spell then. He had barely started magic. But now...

He took a step closer and found himself back above ground with the woman standing there. Her eyes stayed closed. One of the shadows entered her body. Her eyes opened. "Where am I?" Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked. "And why am I blind?"