“The obvious, of course. I climbed up to the open window where my despondent beloved stood and then—confessed my love to her…”
Yiftach tried to regain his cold and distant composure, and he knew very well where he was leading his witness with the next question: “I know this isn’t easy. Really, I know this demands of you great inner strength, but try nonetheless—for the sake of all humanity—to tell us what happened next.”
“Well, while our love was seething in us like hot lava, we suddenly recalled the harsh animosity between our rivaling families.”
“Was this animosity capable of destroying the connection between you and Juliet?”
“Of course, and it’s exactly what happened in the end. Anyone with a brain and a head on his shoulders fully understoodthat there was not a chance, not even a sliver of hope, that Juliet’s father would agree to her betrothal to a member of the Montague family!”
“In your opinion, was this fact also clear to Love herself?”
“Without a doubt, clearly so. All the residents of Verona knew of the feud between the two families.”
“With all due respect,” Attorney Heart intervened, “that is just the witness’s conjecture, without any basis in reality.”
“The witness is right,” Love complacently confirmed Romeo’s statement. “Indeed, I knew about this feud.” She stole a glance at a small compact mirror in her purse and, for the umpteenth time, arranged her hair. The judges exchanged quick side glances as they sat together and, for a brief moment, they resembled a social gathering of iguanas.
“Morons, a bunch of vermin,” Heart muttered to himself.
“Excuse me, did you say something?” Judge Kedem asked, leaning towards him.
“Great job! How diligent everyone is!” he feigned.
“Mmm…” the learned judge smiled.
Yiftach looked straight into Love’s eyes and imagined himself tying her to a torture bed. “You knew full well of the harsh feud and that their relationship was impossible, and yet you caused this young, innocent couple to fall in love and become tangled in this mess.”
“That’s right!” Romeo said with a wrathful look. “Were it not for her, this wouldn’t have happened! I remember that I saw Juliet lying dead before me. Oh… if only I had known that the potion she took was only to make her appear dead for several hours… if only I had understood that she did it to avoid marrying Paris, the man that her father insisted that she wed… I was certain there was no life left in her. My heart was broken, there was no point in living, my dreams had vanished in one fell swoop, there was no hope left…”
“Okay, okay, I think we understand. What happened after that?” Yiftach asked.
“I couldn’t continue living without Juliet. I swallowed some poison, thus hoping to be reunited with her in the next world.”
“Just look at what you caused…” Yiftach hurled at Love, but she remained indifferent and silent. “Although every literate person is familiar with the end of your unique love story, still I would like to hear it directly from you,” Yiftach turned to Romeo and Juliet. The audience in the courtroom, fascinated by their account, nodded in agreement.
“After Romeo drank the poison,” Juliet continued, “the potion that I had taken began to wear off. When I awoke, I saw my beloved lying dead beside me.” Her eyes misted over. “I remember lifting the vial of poison to my lips, but it was empty. Romeo had drunk it all to make certain that he would die. I kissed him, hoping there would be remnants of the poison on his lips, but that too didn’t bring the desired result. Left with no other choice, I took my lover’s dagger and stabbed myself in the chest.”
“And thus your love brought upon you both certain death,” Yiftach summed up.
“Not only did we pay with our lives,” Romeo added, “Mercutio, my close friend, died in my arms after being fatally wounded in a duel with Tybalt Capulet, Juliet’s cousin, and I avenged his death by killing Tybalt.”
“And as if that weren’t enough,” Juliet completed the body count, “Paris also paid with his life. He thought Romeo had come to desecrate my tomb, as he was sure I was dead. He challenged Romeo and he too was killed in the duel.”
“Which brings us to five deaths, all because of one love,” Yiftach concluded. “Thank you. I have no more questions.”
“Cross-examination!” Sabat announced, and added: “Attorney Heart, I remind you that after the stage of examination in chief,the witness is questioned by the litigator of the opposition. During cross-examination, you are permitted to present the witness with leading questions, meaning questions to which the answer is either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”
Attorney Heart stood up and approached the young couple. He had a roguish look in his eyes.
“Hello there,” he said, rubbing his hands with pleasure. Romeo and Juliet remained tense and didn’t respond.
“It is impolite not to return my greeting… isn’t it?” Heart said, glancing at Sabat who gave him a mocking look, as if to say that he wasn’t going along with this one-man show.
“Never mind… many years ago, the bitter feud between the Montagues and Capulets split the city of Verona in two.” Heart continued. “It turned what was once a peaceful town into a divided, dangerous and tribal city. Am I right?” Heart wanted confirmation.
“Yes.” Romeo replied.
“And this feud enflamed hatred, led to evil trickery and planted wicked thoughts in the minds of Verona’s citizens, did it not?”
