And there's something else you need to do before you read the rest - you need to listen to this to get the full experience. At least the first part of it.
This is the 'song' part of 'The Song of Judge Sabin'. :-)
Okay, now to the rest of the story...
***
The Song of Judge Sabin - Conclusion
A side story from the novel 'Sanctuary' - Book One in the Gilesian Trilogy
April dropped to her knees in alarm, and held Crystal by the
shoulders. “Crys, you okay? What’s wrong?”
“I…I didn’t know this part…really damaged.”
“Do you need to go away again?”
“Not…not yet…have to finish this side…keep talking…”
Crystal’s head dangled loose at the end of her neck.
“Wait…talk? Okay, I can talk. I told myself that if I ever
get out of here and back home, that I would quit being a judge. Go back to law
work. Maybe become a…a prosecuting attorney. Only I would do it different this
time. Instead of throwing everyone in jail, I would throw them out of jail. Get
them jobs and lives, y’know? – I don’t
have the strength to see what happens to them anymore. It must be a lot like this…”
Crystal’s eyes closed and fluttered. April lifted her up,
and put her head on her lap, her legs folded under Crystal for a pillow.
“Crys…now, don’t you go and take on more than you can now.
We can’t both be stuck here.”
“Keep talking. It helps.”
April looked around, searching for something to say.
“Uh…John…he’s a music teacher at the Maryland Academy, and
Audrey… no, Audrey’s my daughter-in-law, not my daughter. I remember. I remember now. He met her when he took up
with that rock band. He played keyboards, and she did the drumming. He was so
stubborn about dating her, and then marrying her.
“I can’t do any more now.” Crystal sat up. “Can you wait a
little longer?”
“Child, where else am I gonna go?”
The young girl stood and stumbled across the road to an
empty shack with an old truck in front of it, and some rusty barrels in front. April watched her for a
moment, then followed her across and around the back of the building.
“What do you want me to…?”
She ran around to the back, where Crystal had turned, but again,
she found herself alone.
“Get lots of rest, Crys. Come back to me. God, please bless
that child and bring her back to me.” April sat down hard on the ground and
clasped her hands in prayer in front of her face.
She ran her fingers over the dusty earth. Lifted a handful
of pebbles and rocks, and felt them slide through her fingers and hit the
ground again.
“Might as well be dead…can’t do nothin’.”
April sat on her knees and looked around in all directions.
The air, the landscape…everything sat as still as she. Then she stood and brushed
the dust off her legs.
“John?”
The sound of her voice fell flat, with no echo in it.
She started to sing, with no recollection of the words until
one line ended and another began…
All to Jesus I
surrender
All to Him I freely
give
I will ever love and
trust Him
In His presence daily
live…
“Keep going. It helps.”
April whipped her head around to see Crystal, up and walking
around. She smiled and kept singing with more strength.
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed
Savior
I surrender all
As Crystal stepped around her in a circle, green grass
started to grow beneath their feet. In no time, it became a thick carpet of
cooling softness, a very welcome change from the rocks and hot dust.
“What does that song make you think of?”
April closed her eyes. “My mother singing in the choir in
church, her arms out like this” – she lifted her arms to her sides, her fists
upheld and closed – “and the sun streaming in the high windows and lighting her
face like she would fly. It helps me feel like she’s standing with me, and I’m
not afraid anymore.”
“So what do you think?”
April’s eyes came open, and her eyes were met with miles of
green, with trees and sunlight lowering softly through the canopy.
“You’re done, April. You can wake up whenever you’re ready.”
April turned to Crystal. “It’s beautiful. So what happens
when I wake up? Am I a vegetable?”
“You’ll be fine. Fully recovered. But you need to forget
me.”
April shook her head. “That I cannot do, child.”
Crystal’s eyes grew wide. “If other people knew about me…”
“Oh, I won’t tell anyone about this if you don’t want me to.
That I can do. But I can’t forget any of this.” She looked around at the
nodding branches of the trees, felt the cooling breeze in her hair.
Crystal smiled. “Yes, please. Don’t tell anyone.”
“I do wish I could know more about you.”
She shrugged. “I hide. That’s
all I can tell you. But I’m glad you’re better.”
They embraced, and Crystal walked away into a nearby grove
of trees.
April watched her go, and laid down on her back in the thick
cool grass, a patch of sunlight lighting her face and hands. She closed her
eyes, feeling the comfort. She sang lightly to herself this time, almost a lullaby.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender…
***
Thanks for sticking with me to the end. Remember, Crystal's story can be found in the novel, 'Sanctuary', on Kindle at Amazon.
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