Judgement
by
Ron Crepeau
Sept 2005

Time: The not so distant future.

Scene: A bedroom. A bed occupied by naked man - Ron - and a much younger and equally naked woman. The room is filled with the sounds of bedsprings squeaking, heavy breathing and moans.

Man's Voice: (From outside the bedroom doorway) Darling, are you in there?

Woman: (In a frantic whisper) Oh my God! It's my husband.

Ron: (In a panic voice): But I thought you said...

Scene: Door to the bedroom opens.

Husband's voice: Darling?

Scene: Husband enters bedroom. He is in a police uniform. He stops. His jaw drops and eyes flare open wide.

Husband: What the f*ck are you doing... with my wife?

Ron:  (Rolls off the woman and grabs covers over himself) I... I...

Woman: It's not what you think, darling....

Husband: You son-of-a-bitch! You're f*cking my wife!

Scene: Husband reaches for his pistol and points it toward the bed.

Ron and Woman: (Simultaneously) Noooo....!

Scene: Six thunderous cracks of sound reverberate through the room followed by the clicking of an empty weapon.

Scene change.  Blue sky above. A stairway going down into the clouds below and up. People lined up on the stairway. At the end of the line is Ron.

Ron: Noooo.... Don't....

Scene: Ron's pleading voice tapers into silence. The people in line ahead of him look back and shake their heads. Ron looks around.

Ron: (Speaking to the attractive 40-ish woman ahead of him) Where am I?

40-ish Woman: In line to be judged.

Ron: Huh?

40-ish Woman: Yah. By St. Peter. Up there somewhere. (40-ish Woman points up the stairway which goes on and on until it disappears from sight.)

Ron:  No.... This is some kind of a joke. Yah?

40-ish Woman: (Looking down distastefully at Ron and in a strict voice) Not hardly. The rest of your eternity depends upon that judgment. It's just like we were taught. I always thought the part about standing before St. Peter at the Gates of Heaven was just a fanciful illusion. It's not. How ironical, don't you think?

Ron: No. This can't be. There is no ...

40-ish Woman: You were a good Christian in life weren't you? You weren't an atheist or anything, were you?

Ron:  I... It's just that I couldn't see how there could really be a ...   You know.

40-ish Woman: (Looks at Ron with pity and sadness.)  Tsk. I feel so sorry for you.

Scene: 40-ish Woman turns to face the ascending stairs and proceeds up the two now empty steps ahead of her. Ron watches the movements of her slim lovely buttocks and licks his lips.

Scene: Time passes in silence. The line moves slowly upward. People appear behind Ron in the line.

Ron: (Mumbles over and over to himself) I wonder what's taking so long?

Time: Much, much later.

Scene:  Ron at the top of the ascending stairway with people behind him trailing away down the stairway into invisibility. Ahead of Ron a rock wall of enormous height and extending off to the right and left as far as the eye can see. In the wall is a large wooden door - closed. Beside the doorway sitting in a lounge chair is an middle aged man with flaming red hair and beard. He is sipping a Starbucks latte and reading a magazine. The magazine cover has the title "Heaven's Happenings."  A pleasant chiming sound is heard.

Red Haired Man: (Arising) Well, that's it for today. Quitting time. (Red Haired Man goes to the door and opens it.)

Ron: (To the Red Haired Man) But what about me? I'm next.

Red Haired Man: (Turns and looks down at Ron) So you are next. And when we return, you'll be first to get judged. (Red Haired Man turns back to the door and as he passes through it he is heard to comment.) They are always in such a hurry. It ain't like they don't have all eternity. (Door slams shut.)

Time: Yet, later.

Scene:  Door in the unending rock wall opens. The Red Haired Man comes out.

Red Haired Man: (Addressing Ron) You. In there. (The Red Haired Man points over his shoulder to the door behind him.) Turn to the right and follow the line on the floor to the door that says "Almighty Judge of Good And Evil Actions"

Ron: (Hurrying to the doorway) Thank you.

Red Haired Man:  (Sitting down in the lounge chair) Don't thank me. I'm just doing my time in purgatory.

Scene: Ron passes through the door and turns right. The walls around him are the color of clear sky and defy any perception of depth. Only the curving yellow line on the floor indicates the limits of the surrounding walls.

Scene: Ron standing before an open door. The sign on the door reads "Almighty Judge of Good And Evil Actions."  Ron peeks in the doorway.

Loud Impatient Voice: Don't just stand there! Come on in!

Scene: Ron enters the door. Inside the room is plush. Thick carpet in gold. The walls are filled with murals of bucolic scenes similar to the French Baroque period. A sweet scent fills the air of the room. In the center of the room is a large desk stacked high with papers. Beyond the desk and either side of it are two doors - both unmarked. Sitting behind the desk is an woman - a strikingly beautiful woman with thick, long, black wavy hair and in a low cut white Grecian style dress slit low in the front and revealing the cleavage of two obviously super-sized breasts. The woman looks at him with her lovely brown eyes set above a perfectly linear nose with two high cheek bones either side of it. Her rose red lips are full and sweetly curved.

Ron: St Peter?

Woman Behind the Desk:  (Impatiently) Do I look like a St. Peter? 

Ron:  N... n... no. It's just that I thought I'd be seeing St Peter.

Woman Behind the Desk: Well, Pete's off today. He asked me if I'd stand in for him today. My name is Marna.

Ron: Oh...

Scene: Marna thumbs through a pile of papers, glancing at them and then up at Ron, repeatedly.

Marna:  Do you know what these are? (Marna lifts the bunch of papers slightly in Ron's direction.)

Ron: (Shakes head)

Marna: Your writings. Journal. Blog. Various other writings. There is some pretty incriminating stuff in here.

Scene: Silence as Marna continues looking through the papers.

Marna: Nope. Not much doubt about where you stood on the issue of God. He'd be very disappointed to hear that He doesn't exist. Don't you think?

Ron: I was wrong.

Marna: (Dryly) Yah. It would appear so. Is that your only defense on this issue?

Ron:  No. My defense is that God gave me an intellect. I used that intellect and the body of experiences He provided to conclude that there could not be any God. If there is to be a fault it should be with God for the faulty intellect or evidence He provided to me. But the lack of a God does not mean a lack of appropriate moral behavior a person should follow. So I behaved morally as an atheist. For me it was preferable to espousing a belief in God and then living a hypocritical life of not following the morality that God supposedly required.

Marna: (Looking squarely at Ron and nodding her head.)  A logical approach. And I have to confide that we do see a lot of hypocrites pass through here. They end up going through that door. (Marna tilts her head toward the door behind her and to her right)

Scene: Marna returns to looking through the papers and folders, occasionally giving off cluck of her tongue and occasionally giving off a "Uh-huh."

Marna: (Finally, rising from the chair) Let's see how this all balances out.

Scene: Marna moves to her left to a small mahogany table with legs ornately carved in the forms of Atlas-like men bent under the weight of the table-top on their backs. Atop the table in the center is a large balance scale. To the left and right of the scale are two shallow open wooden boxes. Large numbers of tabs orderly appear from within. Marna removes a large tab from the left box and places it in the adjacent pan.

Marna: This is the penalty for not believing in God.

Scene: Marna continues to remove tabs from the left and right boxes placing them in the adjacent pans. Periodically she pauses as if thinking, then continues.

Marna: (Standing back from the scale and scratching her chin) Let me see now. Is that it? (A pause) No, wait. One more thing.

Scene: Marna returns and takes a tab from the right box and adds it to the adjacent pan. The balance bar rocks up and down in reaction to the new weight. The rocking slows until it stops.

Marna: Well, now. That's a bit strange. Your good and evil acts balance completely.

Scene: Marna taps the left side of the balance bar lightly setting it again rocking. The rocking again slows until it stops.

Marna: Huh! Still perfectly balanced. And I know I have all the evidence on the scale. Well, I'll be.

Scene: Marna stands staring at the scale.

Ron: What's... I mean, what happens in a case like this?

Marna: (Turning to Ron slowly) You likely aren't aware of this, but we have a lot of latitude in this office. Actually, God really doesn't care all that much what we do regarding you humans. Except for the pre-pubescent boys, that is. He handles all of those personally. Quite literally I must say. And when he is done with them he sends them off to  Hell. (Marna shakes her head and purses her lips in a slight frown.) But that's neither here nor there in your case.

Ron:  (Somewhat incredulously) God doesn't care what happens to us?

Marna: I would have thought you humans would have figured that out a long time ago. If He cared would He allow all the human suffering to go on? The cruelty? The innocents dying at the hands of the evil ones? (Shaking her head) No, He couldn't care less what happens to humans, except the young boys he uses as toys.

Ron:  If that's the case why don't you just send everyone to Heaven.

Marna:  Because it wouldn't be fair, would it? No, we try our best to make up for God's disinterest and provide some small measure of justice to you humans when you arrive in this world.

Ron: So... what about me?

Scene: Marna stares at Ron in silence for a long time, casting her gaze up and down his scant frame. She licks her upper lip and then bites lightly on her lower lip.

Marna: According to the records, you seem to consider yourself a rather good lover.

Ron: Huh? What do you mean?

Marna: Good at satisfying a woman in bed. And from what's in your record, you would appear to not be overestimating your skills at such matters. I was particularly impressed with that July weekend in 2001. Pretty admirable especially for a man of 60.

Ron: Yah, I suppose so. But what's that to do with this situation?

Marna: (After a long pause and in a subdued voice) It's different up here. Not like down on Earth. We angels don't get... Let's just say that there are things I hear about and read in the reports of people that come through here. Things angels don't get to experience. Things that make me wonder what it might be like... an orgasm.

Ron: So? (A pause. Ron's eyes widen in disbelief.) Are you suggesting that ... That I... we...

Marna: (Voice firm) Here's my deal. I get an orgasm and you go through that door (Marna points to the door to the right of desk) to Heaven. Otherwise, it's the other door and I don't need to tell you where that leads.

Ron:  But, I'm not sure I can do that here. Now. I've just been through a lot. I... I...

Marna: (Approaches Ron touches his lips with her finger tips. Voice is soft - almost pleading) Sure you can.

Scene: Marna reaches to her waist and unwraps the cloth belt. It falls to the floor behind her.

Marna: (Seductive voice) A Heavenly encounter with an angel and then a place in Heaven for eternity. It can be yours.

Scene: Ron hesitates for several seconds studying her. He looks into her eyes for a dozen seconds. Slowly he reaches across and pulls the cloth-formed straps of Marna's gown over her shoulders. With a little assistance it falls silently to the floor around her feet. Nothing remains to remove. Ron studies her form with a stupefied look of amazement.

Ron: (Looks around the room. Desk. Table. Carpet. Nothing more. He takes Marna's left hand) Over here.

Scene: Ron leads Marna to the wall opposite the desk and places her back against it. He raises his right hand and touches her lightly on the left ear lobe and neck. His finger tips glide lightly down her neck, along her shoulder, down her arm and to her hand. He lifts her left hand and kisses the palm of it. His lips linger and drift to her finger tips. He kisses them. His lips part and his tongue touches her finger tips. Marna gasps.

Scene:  The walls of the room are painted with detailed baroque and bucolic murals. Cherubs float about a smiling bare breasted woman seated in the clouds. Nymphs lure a satyr into a pool. Adonis and Venus lay side by side. Two clinging lovers on a swing hung from a tree in the forest. Amongst these long languishing scenes the sounds of two persons breathing grows heavier. Periodic moans increase in frequency and amplitude. Feelings not wanting to end fill the room for a full fifteen minutes and then some.

Ron: (In a whisper) This might be uncomfortable at first.

Marna: (Barely understandable) Uh-huh. (Then seconds later a terse gasp soon followed by mellow moans of pleasure)

Scene:  Breathing quickens in pace. Groans from deep within erupting forth. One minute... Two... Suddenly, a woman screams uncontrollably. The scream pulsates and mixes with the echoes of the earlier screams.

Male Voice: (From hallway beyond the open door Ron entered) Marna? Is everything okay in there?

Marna: (In choked-off scream) Michael! (Mostly breathless) It's Michael.

Michael: (Footsteps approaching rapidly)  Marna? Are you alright?

Scene: Huge, handsome man in Romanesque military garb rushes into the room. Stops. Face flashes wide-eyed and open-mouthed as he looks at Marna and Ron.

Michael:  Holy Lord Almighty, what's going in here? (Momentary pause of assessment) It can't be!

Marna: Michael...? We...

Michael: (Bellowing) Vile creature! Violating an angel! How dare you!

Scene: Michael steps forward and pushes Ron forcefully away from Marna. As Ron staggers backwards, Michael draws his short broad blade sword from its scabbard.

Michael: Off to Hell with you,  you worthless scum of the Earth.

Scene: Michael points his sword at Ron and a bolt of lightning flashes from the tip. It hits Ron in the right shoulder. He is thrown backwards and slams against the door to the left of the desk - the door to Hell.

Marna: (Rushing to Michael she grabs his free arm) No, Michael. Don't. It wasn't him.

Michael: (Bellowing) To Hell with you foul creature, I say. (Another bolt of lighting from the sword tip strikes Ron in the stomach.)

Scene: Ron's wracked body thumps against the door and it springs open. Ron grabs either side of the door frame to keep from falling into the darkness beyond it.

Ron: (Glances at Marna. In a weak and strained voice pleads) Help me.

Michael: (Raging bellow) I'll help you straight to Hell. That's all the help you'll be getting.

Scene: Michael points his sword and another bolt flies at Ron. It hits the door jamb just above him. Sparks fly in a cloud around him.

Ron: Help me. I'm going to fall.

Marna: Stop it, Michael! (Marna rushes toward the doorway where Ron is now clinging to the jamb with his left hand - the other wildly reaching for the opposite doorjamb.) Stop! No more.

Michael: Get away from him! He belongs in Hell and that's where I intend to see him go.

Scene: Michael takes two steps closer and points his sword carefully at Ron. Marna reaches the doorway and grabs the wrist of Ron's flailing right hand. His hand grabs her wrist. At that moment a lightning bolt strikes Ron square in the chest. His hand loosens from the doorjamb. He falls backwards. Marna stumbles over the doorway threshold and falls into the blackness with him.

            Hands gripping together
            They tumble together;
            They scream together
            In terror.
            Downward together.
            Downward into deepening darkness.
            Downward into deepening silence -
            Soon a silence their screams can no longer penetrate.
            Now silence complete.
            Now darkness complete.
            Now emptiness complete.
            Forever.

The End