Fictional works
Redemption and Lost- An Excerpt
As they both stumbled closer to the hilltop, the sight that greeted them felt wildly out of place. A crowd larger than any they’d ever seen had gathered, spilling onto the narrow paths, forcing some eerily close to the edge of the cliff, as if to witness something far greater than a mere execution. Women sobbed, their eyes filled with dread, and women cursed, their eyes filled with rage and hatred.
The first thief’s heart thudded as he glanced at the second thief, whose own sneer had since faded into a look of extraordinary unease. They both felt it; this crowd couldn’t be here to see two petty thieves punished. People didn’t gather like this, not even with crucifixions. This was a grand spectacle, the likes of which neither man had ever seen. All of this just to watch two common criminals meet their end? No, this was something else.
The guards yanked them forward, dragging them toward the waiting crosses, and as they were forced down, hands and feet bound to wood, they scanned the crowd, trying to find a reason for this display. Then, at last, the murmurs grew louder, and the crowd’s heads turned toward the bottom of the hill.
The two men squinted into the distance, and that’s when they saw a man stumbling under the weight of his own cross, his face streaked with dust and blood. He was not being escorted as they were. The soldiers pushed him forward with the tips of their spears, and many times more. Laughing, with zero sympathy, it was clear they felt some sick pleasure in it all. The realization sent a chill down the first thief’s spine. No, this whole spectacle wasn’t about them. All of this… was for him.
His calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to their despair and anger; even in such a weakened state, he quietly carried his cross. This quiet was somehow louder than the roaring masses that surrounded him. The two thieves had been bound to their crosses for some time now, watching the crowd grow. They could see him climbing the hill, and the density shift as the hours crawled by. The guards had left them there with only enough thought to be sure they were secured tightly against the wood. They’d been spared the brutal task of carrying their crosses up the hill. The mere presence of this stranger had turned their punishment into something far greater than their small sins. And as he watched the man struggle toward the hill, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years: awe. He was in complete awe of this man.
The second thief. A knot twisted in the first thief’s stomach as he watched. He didn’t know this man, but the hatred the crowd showed him felt… wrong, and undeserved. Guilt crept in, mingling with pity as he saw the man’s bare feet scrape and bleed against the stones of the path, and how the dirt and dust would keep it to his skin. The thief’s crimes seemed small, meaningless in the shadow of this brutal treatment. His own suffering seemed less like punishment and more like a fate he’d brought upon himself.
But this man, there was something different about him. Something he didn’t understand yet couldn’t ignore.
The second thief narrowed his eyes as he watched the beaten man struggle closer. A sneer curled at his lips. “He can’t even make it up the hill without collapsing.” He let out a harsh laugh. He found twisted pleasure in watching another man’s misery. The mocking shouts from the crowd, to him, was validation, although he didn’t require a reason to hate. He shifted uncomfortably, then spat on the ground, muttering, “What a fool.” He scoffed, trying to shake off the moment’s weight. But even he couldn’t ignore the shift in the crowd, the strange reverence in the air. They were about to share their fate with this man, whoever he was.
They watched as the stranger finally reached the top, falling to his knees as the guards tore the crossbeam from his back. The soldiers laughed, demeaning him with insults while kicking him onto the ground. The first thief could barely breathe as he watched, each kick and shove he felt in his guts. He wanted to shout, to call out for the guards to stop. But his voice remained in his throat, trapped by fear, silenced by helplessness.
He turned to his fellow thief, looking for any sign of humanity. “Have you no pity?” he whispered, almost begging. “Can you not see that this man suffers more than he deserves?”
The second thief rolled his eyes. “I see a man getting what’s due to him.”
The first thief turned away in disbelief, his heart heavy. A quiet sadness filled him as he watched the soldiers stretch the stranger’s arms across the wood, nailing his hands with brutal efficiency. The hammering blows echoed through the hilltop, each one a testament to the stranger’s endurance, his silence in the face of agony.
As the cross was raised, the man’s gaze turned toward the crowd, and for a moment, his and the first thief’s eyes met. The thief saw the man’s eyes. Even swollen and bloodied, he saw they were beautiful. Peace and love washed over him. And for reasons he would never understand in this life, he felt unconditional love for the beaten man. The love he felt from the man was something even more.
In that very same instance came a gut-wrenching sorrow he had never felt before. His heart was absolutely breaking for the man next to him. And in that moment, and not a moment before, did the thief begin to weep.
The second thief could only mock the first thief for the tears he shed. He felt no pity, no empathy. To him, the man was a weak fool who hadn’t fought back. He couldn’t understand how anyone could bear such pain without defiance. In his mind, strength lay in showing no weakness.
But as the hours wore on, the first thief felt his anger dissolve, replaced by a peace he’d never known. This was no ordinary man beside him.
Part IV – Redemption and Lost
The crowd jeered and taunted them, eager to see the end of these criminals. Every shout pierced through the first thief’s head, causing his ears to ring and his head to scream. But then, for a short moment, the loudness of the crowd seemed to soften. Their faces, body movements, and hand gestures all suggested they were still screaming, but the sound of it all was muffled.
As he looked around, confused by the silence, he looked over to the man in the middle, who then began to speak as if to someone who wasn’t there. He spoke in barely more than a whisper.
“Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”
Upon hearing those words, spoken so softly compared to the weight of their meaning, his own pain, as excruciating as it was, was nothing compared to how much more he would have endured if he could take away all the pain from the man beside him. There was something about him that stirred a warmth he couldn’t explain.
The crowd began to rumble again, the silence broken. He was tired and weak; his body was giving up. He knew once he closed his eyes, he would never open them again.
His head felt as if it were made of iron, and lifting it took the very last bit of his strength, but he managed to look up and speak to the man next to him, his eyes meeting his gaze once more.
“Remember me,” he whispered, “when you come into your kingdom.”
The figure beside him, radiating with warmth and light, looked over, and with a gentle smile, he said:
“Tell me your name, child.”
And in that moment, he felt his heart lift. Every burden he carried through his entire life fell away, taking with it all of his guilt and shame. His name, spoken softly with his fading breath, was Dismas.
“Today,” the man replied, “you will walk beside me in paradise.”
The second thief, who had watched the exchange in bitter silence, scoffed. Even in his last moments, he couldn’t let go of his pride, sneering at the promise of “paradise” as though it were some childish idea. His name, spoken in anger, was Gestas.
The sun began to set, blanketing the hilltop with a soft light, almost beautiful. The crowd began to dissipate, and silence crept over the land once again.
On that hill was a scene, a picture that would be depicted for centuries to come: three figures, backed each with a cross. The figure in the center, his name, both whispered and shouted through the ages, was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The two thieves, whose paths met on a hilltop of mercy and judgment, died alongside the Savior.
Although they would go down in history nameless to most, their stories, however, would be retold for centuries to come: one redeemed, the other lost.
The End.
The Observer Epilogue
They had known it was coming for thousands of years already. Millions upon millions gathered to watch. Some stood on terraces and rooftops. Others found the highest hilltops and mountaintops. And silence crept across the planet. Each, waiting. The air was thick with anticipation; they knew they were about to witness history.
The little wanderer had already been visual for hundreds of years by then, with the naked eye for the last hundred or so. As it grew from a distant pinhole in the sky the closer it came, the sheer speed in which it traveled became more apparent. The disturbance in the space surrounding it as it approached gave it a surface that would reflect the sunlight back to them in an almost uncomfortable brightness. time. As fast as it was moving, it was hard to believe that it would be able to stop before reaching them.
Their world was a behemoth, a colossal giant in respect to every other planet in their system. But as big as it was, it was still humbled by the sun. This was what saved them from it ever getting close enough to cause them any issue. Had the little planet come from the other direction when their revolution took them to their farthest point from the sun, the little planet would at the very worst, collide. At best, be added to their planet’s collection of moons.Because they sat in the goldilocks position, it would simply become the grandest celestial light show any of them would ever see.
And then it happened.
It began not with sound, but with light.
A flash, erupted at the edge of space, exploding in colors they never had before and never would again see. It was awe inspiring, not a soul on the planet took breath for several seconds. And just as it was about to break through the wall that separated gravity and eternity. The little world disappeared. It was just gone. For several minutes. They were more than confused, their eyes scoured the sky, finding nothing where there was supposed to be, something. Right? What happened next baffles the scientific collective to this day. It was as if the universe itself swallowed, and in the process, ripped every one of their senses away from them on an evolutionary level., for a split second there was more than nothing. There was no sound, there was not even silence. Sound ceased to exist. They couldn’t see anything, but they saw everything. They witnessed their own births and watched themselves die and a thousand lifetimes. They felt every heartache, and every joy ever known to any of them. Yet they were numb. Within that split second, their world's entire history and infinite future would unfold right in front of them in slow motion. Whatever it was , It lasted forever, and ended the instant it began. They spent hundreds of thousands of years discussing this cosmic collision, and what might actually unfold when it came time. They knew it would be bigger than they could comprehend. That they were right about, It was big, To say the least. This event was huge on a cosmic level. so much so that it would bend space. And time, which until then was thought to only exist theoretically. They recovered from the everlasting second rather quickly for such intensity. The stillness of an ordinary night sky returned and lasted for several more minutes. But then, just moments before it reappeared, they saw wat looked like space crawling towards them. Slowly at first, moving faster and faster until it was screaming towards them. They all braced themselves for an impact, that all they could do. However, they never did see it actually reach them, nor did they notice it's pass, as it traveled outward, for lightyears more.. By the time it reached them it moved far to quickly for their eyes to register. Even so, that is not the reason they didn't see it.
The little world bursted through the darkness. Nobody knows where it had gone for those several minutes, and nobdy reallly cared either. The newest member to their star system was finally making its long awaited grand entrance. It was finally home. Millions of years later the story of this event would sort of mix together the key elements. It would become history, sweetly told in a way that children could understand and enjoy. Everyone would know the story of the little, lonely plante finding its way home. But in actuality, it was a rather violent event. When the planet finally broke throught the veiIt that separated graity and eternity, it did not do so quietly. nor was it welcomed without resistance. This cataclysm would ripp away any shred of darkness and tare open the sky filling it with fire, igniting astronomical explosions. Eruptions of pure energy warped reality. It was truly a clash of titans, projected in the most radiant fashion. The little planet would fight for its place. And even once it did, they witnessed it circle the sun and their own world which took the place of the furthest from the sun, at least half the time. Then after many many years it made its final pass round with each orbit taking less time than the previous. It finally landed in its own orbit, third from the sun. then after over half a million years of anticipation.
Things finally began to quiet down for them. But what would happen next….. It was truly incredible.
Something wasn't right,
All of their faces suggested they were still screaming and shouting, but there was only chatter. The kind that would be more appropriate if you were in a diner or coffee shop on a Tuesday afternoon.
But that’s not where she was.
She wasn’t in a diner or a coffee shop, or even a tavern.
She was standing in the middle of a busy intersection, where three drivers in three different cars all decided it was their turn.
This kind of thing had been happening all day.
She first noticed it this morning when she was on her way out the door. Her elderly downstairs neighbor came home with groceries and walked right past her apartment, and up the stairs.
Sure, it was odd at the time. But she was in a hurry and had to get to work, so she didn’t think any more about it.
Until more odd little differences started happening.
Jamie was a tiny little thing, barely bigger than a child of ten or eleven. The world often seemed to look right over her.
Except for Tom.
Tom always seemed to be looking right at her.
“Jamie.”
“Jamie!”
She jumped and quickly turned to look at him.
“Oh my God, Tom, you scared the shit out of me. Why are you yelling?”
“Jamie, everybody is yelling. Why are you standing here in the middle of this? Were you in one of these cars?”
“What? No, I’m just…”
She suddenly realized she had no idea how she came to be standing in the middle of the intersection.
“I was just seeing if anybody needed help,” she said, trying her best to hide the expression that came with that realization. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
“Are you alright, Jamie?”
“Yeah,” she said.
Tom looked at her with suspicious disbelief.
She dropped down an octave and repeated, “Yeah. I’m fine. Come on, let’s go inside.”
Tom put his hands on her shoulders and stared at her a moment longer. Not saying a word, just staring.
She hated it when he did that. It was so awkward.
She always had to pull away. She often wondered how long he would sit there and stare at her like that if she let him.
But he meant well. He really did care about her. And she knew that was just his way of showing he was paying attention and being a good friend.
Still, she hated it when he did that.
After she and Tom walked back to the office, she went to her desk to get started checking in and answering emails, just like she did every morning for the past five years.
She was well into her task, one that took maybe thirty minutes to an hour to complete. She was moving right along when she heard it.
“Hey, Jamie. Are you ready to go? Jamie!”
The sound of Tom’s voice made her jump. It wasn’t the normal feeling when you get startled. This is the feeling you get when you’re falling in a dream and it jolts you awake.
Looking up to see Tom standing there with his coat, his briefcase, and car keys in hand only added confusion to the mix.
“What?”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“Tom, we just…”
She felt her stomach drop once more.
She remembered sitting down. Starting emails.
But her eyes weren’t tired. Her back didn’t hurt.
And the sky was different.
It was late afternoon.
This time she couldn’t hide her expression, so she just looked down.
What had she been doing all day?
Tom was standing in front of her like he did every afternoon for the past five years.
“Jamie, what is up with you today?”
“What? I’m fine, Tom. Jesus, can you just back off me a little bit!”
She had never spoken to him like that before. He didn’t deserve it either.
“Let me just finish this email real quick, ok? Can I at least have that without you staring at me?”
Even seeing how her words were crushing him, she didn’t stop. She didn’t apologize. Why?
She would say sorry when they were in the car. She just needed a minute to gather her thoughts without feeling like Tom was studying her. She hated it when he did that.
“I’ll be out in a minute, Tom, ok?”
Just a short stare this time.
Tom hung his head and said, “Ok. I’ll be in the car.”
Tom had barely made it out of the office doors when she heard it.
This seemed to happen in slow motion, but in reality it was done and over in a matter of ten seconds.
Driver #1 pulled into the intersection to turn left. It was not his turn.
Driver #2 started into the intersection from a stop light that had just turned green. It was his turn.
Those two alone would’ve been fine and would have gone on about their days with no incident.
No, it was Driver #3 who sped up to beat the yellow light. By the time he got to the intersection, it wasn’t his turn anymore either.
#3 hit #1 at 53 mph just as Tom was crossing the street between them.
The sound of tires and five thousand pounds of steel colliding at almost sixty mph was unmistakable, even if you’d never heard it before.
Jamie knew exactly what happened before she even got up from her desk, before the first scream was heard outside. She knew what she had just heard was the sound that would ensure Tom would never stare at her too long again.
She hated that.
Why did she have to say it? Of all days.
She was in no hurry to go outside. Everyone else ran past her, barely even noticing, looking right over her.
She walked from her desk to the door in slow motion while panic ensued all around her.
She walked onto the sidewalk and into the intersection.
Everyone looked as if they were yelling and screaming, but all she heard was chatter. All the conversations she and Tom ever had, all at once.
The chatter got to the last thing she ever said to him when…
“Jamie.”
“Jamie!”
She jumped and quickly turned to look at him.
“Tom, Jesus, why are you yelling? You scared the shit out of me!”
the little wanderer.
The survival of the little world remained the most important task. You see, the Observers’ planet and the little world were very similar. Biologically, they were almost identical.
This little rogue planet was an anomaly in and of itself. It had been drifting through space for billions upon billions of years, forgotten long ago, doomed to travel alone for eternity, slowly becoming nothing more than a rock. But somehow, it found his sun. It sought refuge. And, just in time, it was pulled to safety. And after all those years… it finally seemed to exhale.
Within the warmth of his sun’s embrace, the little planet found a home. It was cradled, held tight in its new security. It began to heal. And then, it began to grow. And then, something impossible happened. It began to cradle life within itself.
The orphan planet, which had barely made it to safety, running on fumes… managed to do the impossible. It began to live. And it hasn’t just lived, it’s thrived.
It’s more than a mere object of fascination to his people. It is them. It is them in their infancy. And to bear witness to your own creation is a gift so profound, even eternity would struggle to offer it twice.
That was what made Earth so sacred. That was what made the role of the Observer so fragile.