Chapter Twelve
“Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the pleasant in their lives, even in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.”
Chief Justice Yaacov Sabat’s eyes slowly swept over the dead silent courtroom.
The chill in his eyes could have driven out even the heat of a burning sun.
“You may begin the case for the prosecution,” he declared in a stern voice as befitted the occasion, adding: “I remind you that the case for the prosecution is dominus litis—it is incumbent upon the complainant to present all the evidence in his possession. I will divide this case into two stages: In the first stage, the complainant will present his opening remarks. The second stage—which will begin immediately thereafter—is the stage in which the evidence will be introduced, that is, summoning the witnesses and presenting exhibits. The prosecution will be restricted to calling upon witnesses whose names have already been recorded in the indictment, and to exhibiting items that were included in the investigative material made available to the defense lawyers. I will not allow the complainant to deviate from these rules, for only thus will the defendant be able to properly prepare her defense and prove her innocence most effectively. After the evidence has been fully presented, the prosecutor is obligated to announce that he rests his case for the prosecution.”
“Attorney Posner, are you ready to begin the case for the prosecution?” Judge Kedem asked.
“Certainly, and as the Chief Justice instructed—we shall begin with our opening remarks,” Yiftach replied, “and it shouldn’t take long.
” He approached the judges’ bench confidently, whilst saying: “Imagine a beautiful world, void of grief and sadness. Imagine an entire lifetime lived without your heart ever being broken, without your soul ever being tormented. Imagine a reality in which there is no such illness called ‘unrequited love.’ Your Honors, imagine how many people could have been saved. We are here today to say—Never again! We are here to bring a better future to the world and to make sure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. Above all, we are here today to promise that the world we leave to our children will be better and safer than the one we received.” Yiftach looked at the panel of judges.
“We will bring you to the well and show you its water. However, drinking that water is your responsibility, Your Honors, we cannot do it in your stead. We shall prove—beyond any reasonable doubt—that the defendant has taken, and continues to take, the lives of countless innocent men and women. However, the final decision as to whether she be imprisoned behind bars or set free to continue her cruel hunt of victims, is yours. I know, it is a heavy responsibility. It is a hard decision to make, but the path to a better world inevitably includes making hard decisions. May we begin with the examination-in-chief, in which the witness is questioned by the litigator who summoned him or her to testify?”
“Go ahead,” Judge Golan replied.
“The prosecution wishes to call to the witness stand the lovers Romeo and Juliet of Montague.” Melody glanced at Yiftach, who seemed self-assured, authoritative and ready.
“Ooph… again that clinging couple…” Love mumbled to herself.
“Did you say something?” Judge Kedem asked.
“Yes, I am glad to once again meet up with these two saints,” Love replied. Kedem nodded.
Two fair, bewildered-looking young people entered the courtroom.
The young man was about six feet tall. He had long brown hair and brown eyes.
He wore black faded trousers that matched the color of his gray shirt.
The young woman was shorter than him, her hair was light brown, and so was the color of her eyes.
She wore a puffy burgundy dress. They stood behind the witness stand, holding hands.
“Romeo Montague?” Yiftach asked, with a wide, triumphant smile across his face. The young man nodded.
“And you are Juliet Montague?”
“Juliet Montague-Capulet,” she corrected him and explained, “two days ago I was at the Registrar’s Office in Verona and reinstated my maiden name…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Romeo inquired.
“Do you mind, my darling?” she wondered, giving him a compassionate look.
“How can anything that makes you happy make me miserable…?”
“I love you…”
“And I love you even more…” they fell into each other’s arms, clinging to each other like two POWs who have returned home and reunited after many years.
“My friends, please…” Yiftach tried to disengage them ever so slightly. “Love, who is the woman sitting in that chair over there,” he pointed at her with an evil look, “do you know her?”
The look in their eyes was bitter and fearful. “Yes,” Romeo replied.
“Could you please tell the court under what circumstances you met her?”
The two lovers looked at one another and Juliet’s eyes confirmed that it would be better if Romeo related the sad story. “Both of us are from Italy, we live in Verona. Have you ever been there?”
Yiftach was surprised and looked at Romeo disdainfully. “Not yet…”
“Highly recommended, it’s a very beautiful city. Full of charm and unbelievably romantic.”
“Romeo, try to stick to the point, okay?” Yiftach was decisive and focused. This was not the time for small talk. “So, both of you are from Verona. Good. What happened then?”
“We are also the offspring of two families that have had a bitter and longstanding feud.”
“And what are the names of the two families?”
“Montague and Capulet. You see… it all began with a grand party that was planned by the Capulets for all their friends. Naturally, we, the Montagues, were not invited to the ball. But I’m not one to give up easily, I was determined to attend the Capulets’ party.”
“Why? What was so important about attending a party to which you weren’t invited?”
“Does it really matter?” Romeo insisted.
“You can tell them, my love, it’s a long-forgotten historical truth,” Juliet calmed him.
“Okay… I decided to sneak into the party incognito because I wanted to see Rosalyn, a girl that I loved—or, to be more exact, that I thought I loved—until I met the sublime Juliet, and knew what true love is.” He gazed at Juliet with rapture and caressed her face.
“Romeo, stay focused!” Yiftach said. “You decide to sneak into the Capulet family’s party. Then what happened?”
“Meanwhile,” Juliet continued the story, “we were all busy with last-minute preparations for the ball. I was with my mother and my maid, getting ready in my room. As usual, Mother didn’t miss this opportunity to explain to me again and again that I’ve ‘come of age,’ that I am at the right stage in my life to settle down, I am ripe for marriage, starting a family and all that. ”
“And did your mother have someone specific in mind?”
“But of course, my parents wanted me to marry a young man named Paris.”
“A jerk, a nerd, a nobody,” Romeo added.
“Actually, he was a handsome, sought-after bachelor,” Juliet continued, smiling at him, “and I might have seriously considered him as a serious option, had the events of that evening not occurred.” She was silent for a moment and swallowed some phlegm that got stuck in her throat.
“It was a night I will remember all my life—and all my death.” They gazed at each other with longing.
“Don’t start again, you two! What happened that night?”
“When the ball began,” Romeo continued, I sneaked into the room together with my cousin Benvolio, both of us were wearing masks.
At first, everything went as planned, but rather quickly I was noticed by Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt Capulet.
It’s a good thing his father stopped him before the party turned into a circus.
You see, he didn’t want to ruin the party. ”
“What happened then?”
“Then it happened—Juliet and I saw one another and it was love at first sight.” He glanced over at Love with fury.
“It was intoxicating, powerful and most unusual. I remember how we slipped out, leaving the commotion at the ball behind.” Romeo halted his storytelling, trying to place his memories in order.
“But I refused to leave. You see, Attorney Posner, a powerful, magnetic force drew me there and didn’t relent.
In the middle of the night, I jumped over the garden wall in the back of Juliet’s home and climbed up one of the trees like a curious animal.
I looked through her window and then a moment was born which, today, seems to be for me the first and only one in my life.
Juliet, who didn’t know I was secretly watching her, appeared at the window and expressed her love for me… ”
“I still find it hard to believe that you were there, hiding like a thief in the night, and heard everything. I made such a fool of myself…” she said, as her cheeks turned bright red.
“Attorney Posner,” Romeo said, “Imagine, try to imagine that scene where I am standing beneath the window of my beloved, of my forbidden love.”
“I’m familiar with that scene,” Yiftach explained in a kindly tone, “actually, all of us are.”
Romeo looked at his love and continued his story.
“While Juliet was standing by her window, she also expressed her deep frustration that we are both descendants of two families who have harbored a longstanding and harsh feud. Keep in mind that at this point, she didn’t know that I was hiding and watching her, seeing everything, until I could no longer control my feelings… ”
Judge Kedem wiped away a tear of excitement. “Where can you find men like that today?” she whispered to Sabat, who smiled affectedly but immediately turned serious when he realized that this insight might damage his perceived masculinity.
“What did you do then?” Yiftach asked Romeo.
“The obvious, of course. I climbed up to the open window where my despondent beloved stood and then—confessed my love to her…”