judgment

chapter one: i am accused

I wake up on a cold, hard floor. The first thing I notice is a loud humming sound high above. I open my eyes and follow a round wall high above my head, where I see pigs, wolves, bears, witches and other creatures peering down at me. Many seem oddly familiar. They are causing the humming sound as they talk among themselves.

"You are here to answer charges against you. Tell us why we should spare your life!" This demanding voice seems to come from a skeletal figure in a black hood. My mind buzzes; what charges, I ask.

"You know what you have done!" roars a black wolf whose strong breath, redolent of onions and roasted meat, reaches to the cold floor where I lie.

I push myself up into a sitting position. Indignant, I put my hands on my hips and cry out, "I haven't done anything for which I should lose my life!"

The creatures whoop with laughter. "Are you sure, little girl, that you have never done anything that hurt another? "No", I waiver, then hesitantly, "I don't think so, I didn't mean to anyway."

A motherly brown bear, with a white muzzle showing her many years, speaks up. "Little one, you seem to be a nice child. I think we should give you time to think about it. If the others agree, we will leave you here to think and return in an hour to hear your defense. The creatures nod and mutter their agreement. Suddenly they are gone, and a single beam of light shines down into my prison, if prison it is.

With that thought, I push to my feet and cautiously make my way to the edge of the floor and begin to feel along the wall, hoping for a door. And I begin to think ... did I do anything that bad?