He sat on the chair with wires connected around his body to a switch on a panel .
The prison officer stood waiting for his instructions .
One phone call would give the command to turn the switch on and end the prisoners life .
This was the day when he was to loose his life . As he sat there in the chair he had flashbacks of his childhood when he walked with his friends to school and fought in the playground with those who weren’t his friends .
He recalled other events in his life unfolding , the day he joined the boxing club and some of the fights he won .
All his life was fighting for one thing or another .
Both his parents weren’t happy about him in being involved with boxing .
After his father left the house and never came back things were never the same .
He could still hear his Mammy’s voice say ,
“ If you want to stay in this house you better get out and find a real job “
He gave up his boxing career and went looking for work . So many interviews but no job to show for it . Things were getting harder for him at home with his Mammy still screaming at him to get a job .
He heard about a job as a bouncer at a local pub and applied . He told the owner of the pub about his boxing skill and was hired . Jackie was wanting to impress the boss and on the first night on the job , he killed man with his bare fists . When the owner of the pub called the police Jackie panicked and ran away .
He went to ground and hid in places where we couldn’t be seen and became one of homeless in the city . He started breaking into houses and robbing shops to get some money . Now Jacky was an
angry and dangerous man out of control . Having nothing to live for he went on a wild rampage that cost the lives of many other people .
Then he remembered the day he was captured by the police who had a good description of him from the video footage of the general store he robbed . During that robbery he killed the shop owner who refused to hand over the money from the till .
Now he was arrested and after questioning he confessed to other people he killed .
There in the chair he sat and the phone rang .
The prison officer took the call and was given the order to flick the switch on the panel .
In that instant the he turned the switch on and Jackie’s life flashed before his eyes and he dropped his head .
Next thing he knew he saw his Father standing there waiting for him . They walked out from the prison and down the Street .
Then he heard his father say
“ I can still remember the day i walked away and your Mammy screaming out
“ Don’t come back until you quit drinking “
Jackie looked and said
“So that’s why you left ?“
“Yes , but i couldn’t quit the drink and died from liver disease “
he said .
“ So where are we now ?
Jackie asked .
His father replied ,
“ Well son we’re in a place between heaven and hell so you better stay close to me . I know my way around this place and I promised that I would do anything I could to keep you from going through the gates of hell . “
“ But I deserve to go to hell . I killed some people “
His father replied ?
“ You don’t know the whole story .
Let me enlighten you . See apart from man’s law there’s another kind of law in existence . The people you killed were meant to die . You were just part of that process “
Jackie said
“ I’m a bad person because I killed people “
His father replied
“Dear child , there’s a difference between bad and evil . The people you killed were evil men and you actually did the world a favour “
Jackie said ,
“How can that be . I was bad and killed people “
His father replied
“In this life there’s forgiveness . Before and after you came here to the afterlife a judgement on you was already given , The result of that was in your favour . So you are to get another chance at life . You are going back again to live a life where everything will be resolved and the next time to return here . I’ll be waiting to bring you home with me to a place where we can live happily forever “
Suddenly there was a cloud that descended and Jackie’s father had gone .
In a hospital ward a baby was born and his cries were heard by all who smiled and said
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
Reflections and Nature Watercolors is a collection of Margaret's spontaneous positive thoughts in celebrating and reflecting on life and her nature watercolors.
