Justice Served

The view from up here is incredible. It makes me feel like justice is served. 21,369 days of hell, and now, to simply see the sky and breathe fresh air is heaven on earth.

I look up at the smog-filled skies the way others admire a stained glass windows in a great cathedral.

“Excuse me. Can we begin?” The petite reporter in the camel tweed suit shoves a microphone in my face.

“What do you want to know?” My voice is gravelly, deep and foreign to my ears.

“The AP reported you were the first soul ever released based on an error? How did that come about?”

“It was a computer error. My name is Carl A. Brightworth of Akron, OH. Someone recorded the deeds of Carl A. Brightworth of Acorn, OK in my file. So, when I appeared for judgment, it was a no brainer. I was sent, you know, there.” Even thinking the word turns my stomach.

“And ten days ago a clerk found the error?”

“Yes. It turns out everything was one big mistake. I wasn’t scheduled for termination for another seventy years. By all rights, I should be a great-grandpa now.”

And Kelly Maye Rebard should be my wife. That was the plan. It was six months and three days until our wedding day when everything went wrong.

“What was it like?” Asks the reporter; her nose wrinkles up as if she has caught the odor of something bad. She has no idea what bad is.

Life of a Gargoyle

Have you ever imagine what life would be like if you awoke one morning looking more like a hybrid between a demon and a wild animal? How would you survive the shock?