“Is the indictment clear and understood by the defendant?” Sabat asked Love firmly.
“Clear, lucid, coherent…” her counsel replied. “C’mon, guys, let’s move on and get straight to the point…”
“Attorney Heart,” Sabat was enraged, “I am the one running this trial.”
“I know, Your Honor…”
“And when I put a question to the defendant,” Sabat berated him, “she, and she alone, answers it. I will not say it again. Are we clear on this?” Sabat leaned towards him, overbearing and threatening. Heart nodded, saying not a word. The Chief Justice turned to the defendant and his harsh tone quickly became placating.
“Miss, is the indictment clear to you?”
“I believe so, Your Honor,” she replied. “That is, the accusation is serious and very focused, whereas the indictment is rather short and laconic, but it seems to me that everything is pretty clear, to all of us.” She didn’t look as upset as one might have expected her to be. “There is just one small thing,” she remarked, “love has many faces: the love of a mother for her children, the love of siblings for one another, the love of man for his god, and the love of man for his land. If I’m not mistaken, this trial addresses only one aspect of love—romantic love—and it focuses only on that. Am I right?”
The judges looked at each other and then at Yiftach, who remained speechless. There was no hint of softness in Sabat’s eyes. Yiftach nodded in agreement.
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure, because it wasn’t quite clear from the wording in the indictment. Apparently, whoever wrote it didn’t fully think it through…” she looked at Yiftach and winked tauntingly. He held his tongue while imagining that he was choking her to death.
Sabat looked at the audience and said gravely, “There is aprocedural matter that I am asking you to maintain. This trial will not continue forever and, at its end, I intend to reach decisions. Therefore, I will allow each side to present no more than three testimonies. Pay attention,” he continued before letting any lawyer interrupt him, “I am not limiting you to the number of witnesses, but rather to the number of testimonies. In other words, in each of the three rounds of testimonies that each of you is allowed, you will be able to call upon more than one witness to the stand.” Even after he had made this clarification, it remained uncertain as to whether Sabat had the right to place this limitation on the two sides. However, ever since he was born, he has been allowed to do whatever he wishes.
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.”
Book of Samuel II, 1:23
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 beginwith 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 thecourtroom. 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.
