The Love Story

Chapter 18: Passion

     Three of us are about to die now. I looked around but, wait..I..I can't see Barrabas. Where is he? Today is our execution day, we will be nailed at the cross as a punishment for our crimes. But where is Barrabas?

"STOP LOOKING FOR THAT SHIT!" Said one of my compatriot.

"What do you mean!?" 

"Don't you hear the rumors earlier?" He said, "They had released Barrabas!"

"What!? No.."

"Yes!" He cried, "That bastard! why is it that he's so lucky?!"

"Wait, why did they released Barrabas?" I asked again.

"The crowd chose him over the man they called Jesus of Nazareth."

"Jesus!? No way!"

     Lately I heard a lot of things about a Gallilean man who works a lot of miracles. But why? Why did they trade him for Barrabas?

     The Centurion pushed us two and so I was pinned on the ground. After I got up, I was forced to carry a huge, heavy and rough cumbersome cross. DAMN IT! It's too heavy! The gate was opened and another man join our parade of shame. He was dressed on a blood soaked garment, and he also has a crown of thorns. But..but more than that, I can't look straight at him. He looks so hideous. He looks like a swollen raw of meat. They also made him carry a cross. I cant imagine his pain right now, imagine the splinters of the cross he's carrying driving on his wounds. 

     The cross is too heavy that even a well built man will loose his strength after a few minutes of carrying it. Me and my compatriot were not beaten like him, and that's why I'm thankful.

     We walk at Via Dolorosa, a lot of people seems to be so mad at him. They are spitting at his face, while others are saying a lot of mocking words over him. From a far I saw a group of women weeping.

     A lot of times the man stumbles on the ground. Though he is suffering, the guards still continues to beat him and whip him. But the man always stands up and continues to walk.

     Few more minutes and he stumbles again. A lot of people got near to him and punch his body. It only stops when the guards steps in. And atlast! The guards realized that the man cannot continue to carry the cross by himself, and so they seek for a man to help him.

     From the crowd the soldiers called a tall man, who's carrying two children. It looks like he's not from around here. The soldiers commanded him to help the scourge man to carry the cross.

     Atlast, we reached the place of the skull. There I will meet my end. Justice will be satisfied as death is now ready to take my life. I'm scared. I've never been so afraid like this. Again I looked at the man beside me. It seems like, he's the only one here who's not afraid. The soldiers torn his garment........what the! I turned pale as I tried to stop vomiting. I...I cannot fathom, how this man was able to still carry that cross after all this beating, His body is so beaten that I can see his very flesh. He is fully naked...No, we are fully naked. They gambled for his clothes and they dragged him toward his cross.

"LET ME GO!" My compatriot said. "PLEASE LET ME GO! I...I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" He is kneeling infront of the guards, but they just punched him on the face and so they also dragged him on his cross. Ask for me, I tried to resist too, but it's non-sense. I was also forced to lay at my cross. I just thank GOD that I didn't have to suffer the same degree like the man beside me.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!! PLEASE LET ME GO! I'LL BE GOOD! JUST SET ME FREE!" My compatriot is crying as he begs for his life while the nail is being driven on his left hand. He cries like a retard, it seems like his sanity is drifting. 

"FATHER!" Said a voice, it is the man who's on the middle of us. "FO...FORGIVE THEM!" Forgive? forgive who!? "FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO...." Who? The soldiers who's nailing us? Why?

     I saw the look of amazement at the Centurion's eyes as he heard the man's voice. Many times he heard people cursing him while he execute the cruel punishment, but this is the first time that he heard someone prayed for him. Me? though I'm mad at the Romans I still know that I deserve this.

"AAAARRGG!" I cried as I tried to stop my voice from shouting.

     Tears flow out from my eyes, how come that I ended up this way?Why should I be here? Dying at the cross is the most shameful and painful, and one of the slowest way of death. You will be forced to carry your cross, to the site of crucifixion, then you will be nailed naked at the cross while the public watches you as death eats you slowly. Some people has to suffer three days of agonizing death before death finally consumes them, it is so painful that you will choose death rather than this.

     I feel the pain crawling at my arms that goes to my head. It is an un-explainable pain that makes my head wants to explode.