forgive you as well…please make that count for something. Be grateful that you did no more harm than you did. Look around you at the presence of God everywhere and be thankful. From this moment on, let love guide you—not racism, bigotry, or even religion. Feel the energy that connects us all and celebrate your freedom!” Then looking out toward the group of Neo-Nazis seated behind the three men, Mariah continued, “If anyone is guilty here, it is all of you. Your organization collectively dispenses racism and hate. The three men on trial here would never have contemplated such an act were it not for their somewhat inexplicable need to conform to group mores such as yours. Why don’t you take a long, hard look at what you are doing in the world? The very person you persecuted is standing here before you and forgiving you for what you have done. Would the world really be a better place if you had succeeded in murdering an innocent young girl? Is it a better place because you burned the family home of a brilliant scientist who has done more to unify this planet than all of you in this room put together? Do you feel that much better now that we have no earthly possessions, not even the photo of my deceased mother, which my father and I treasured? I hope you realize that I have forgiven you not because you deserve it—you definitely don’t—but rather because God is within all of us, even the seemingly most undeserving. I am here, as are you, to uplift those around me, not bring them down. It is my hope and fervent prayer that this will provide you with an opportunity for self-reflection, and that each one of you will realize that you are part of the divine nature of God—here on this planet to reflect the light, love, and beauty that is in each of us. I challenge you to look beyond your caricatures of people to the unlimited potential in everyone, regardless of race, religion, sex, or nationality. Adolf Hitler was the personification of evil, not good. Why don’t you find some other figure to emulate that would have a more positive effect on the world? Jesus Christ, Muhammad, the Buddha, Lord Krishna, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela…the list is endless. I challenge you right here and right now to look at life and people differently from this moment on. Wake up and be a beneficial presence on the planet,” Mariah exhorted them as she slowly rotated her gaze from left to right, making direct eye contact with as many in the group as she possibly could. Heads dropped, eyes lowered toward the floor, and an eerie silence swept over the room as she walked back to the plaintiff’s table and her completely bewildered attorney, who now felt compelled to speak.
“I apologize for my client, Your Honor,” he began, but was quickly interrupted by Judge Walker.
“Don’t even try, Mr. Merriweather,” she spoke with an air of almost total amazement. “In all my years as a judge, I have never experienced anything like this in my courtroom…. I think I need to just let this be.” With that, she looked to the defendants and stated, “Gentlemen, the charges against you have been dropped. You are free to go. Bailiff, please release them!” Then looking to the audience, she added, “Ladies and gentlemen, today you have witnessed a very unusual event. We live in a world of prejudice and unspeakable crimes committed against one another. This morning, in my courtroom, you have witnessed a beautiful example of forgiveness and grace. Think carefully about what you have seen and heard here today! Court is dismissed.”
Mazen Quitan stood and embraced his daughter. “Anya was here today,” he smiled, trying in vain to hold back the tears. “Her compassion lives on through you. Thank you, Mariah. I couldn’t have done that. I knew that it was the right thing to do, but I just wouldn’t have had the courage to do what you did. To believe things in theory is one thing, but to live out those beliefs in your own life is another entirely different task. I let my human anger and pain overrule my divine nature, which should have offered forgiveness as you did. There is no death, Mariah, only transformation. Your mother was with you today in this courtroom as much as she was physically with us back in Iraq. Her spirit would not let us condemn these men, even though a similar act of terrorism cost her life. We are on the verge of a quantum leap forward on this planet, and I truly believe that what you did here today will have repercussions that neither you nor I can begin to realize at this moment.”
By now Mazen was flushed with excitement and beaming with pride at his daughter’s bold response to the NNNs. Perhaps more than any other, he knew the positive effects on the entire planet that could be brought about by just one person in alignment with the all-knowing consciousness of life. At this point, he had no idea of what exact results would ensue, but he knew beyond any doubt that they would be far-reaching and exponential.
As the Quitans made their way down the aisle and out of the courtroom, Buzz, Big Bear, and Blood were just having their handcuffs removed. Blood smirked at his companions and whispered, “Jesus, we were lucky on that one—I thought we were headed to the slammer for sure! That’s one strange chick, all right. Good thing for us she’s half-nuts like her old man, or we would have been down for the count. Let’s get outa here, man…I need a beer!”
“Yeah, me too,” seconded Big Bear. “All this courtroom crap’s left me dry as a bone! I never been so glad to get outa anywhere in my life. Come on, Buzzard, let’s find some brewskis!”
Buzz nodded his assent, but secretly wondered if there was anything on the planet powerful enough to alter the trajectory of his two friends. While Mariah had been speaking, he could think of nothing more than his prior plan to humiliate, rape, and murder her, yet there she was, literally snatched from the jaws of death and yet offering them forgiveness for what they had done. Didn’t make sense. Nothing that had happened made any sense to him at that moment. He only knew that something that she had said had made him feel remorse for what he had done, and it had been a long time since he had any kind of feeling like that—in fact, any kind of feelings at all, really. He wanted to talk to her, to thank her, and to find out more about this energy field she was talking about, and what she meant by her statement that “we are all one.” That made no sense at all. He knew that he was a far cry from whatever she was and that they had absolutely nothing in common. Still, her words haunted him. He would find a way to speak to her, if nothing more than to just tell her that he was truly sorry for what he had done.
Big Bear and Blood, on the other hand, seemed strangely oblivious to everything that had been said and done there. As the three men left the courtroom, for two of them at least, locating a couple of beers seemed to be a higher priority.
chapter 10
For Unto Us a Child Is Born
Dallas, Texas
June 2003
Carmella sat quietly on Gabriel’s couch and looked lovingly down at the beautiful baby boy cradled in her arms. “You know, Mr. Gabe, I thought you was pretty crazy that first night you talked to me ’bout havin’ this little baby fo’ you an’ yo’ wife. But now that I’m sittin’ here lookin’ into his brown eyes, I’m thinkin’ maybe you was right. You got yo’ son, and I, well, I got somethin’ that changed my whole life—this little fella right here. You know, I been thinkin’ ’bout this fo’ a while, an’ wonderin’ how I was gonna feel. I’m sad, all right, but I know you can raise this baby way betta than I can, ’least right now. So even though I’m sad, I’m happy fo’ you, Mr. Gabe—happy that you got the son you wanted, and that Carmella could give that to you.”
Gabriel fought to hold back the tears as he looked over his desk at Carmella and Demarius. She was right. She had given him the very thing he had wanted most in his life—a son to carry on the Franklin family name. And he was certain that she had benefited as well—financially, especially now that he was making good on the $5,000 bonus he had promised her for a son—but much more than that, really. Like she had just said, he had given her the opportunity to bring a new life into the world and to experience the miracle of that little boy growing inside her. Plus, at least for him, the time they had together was nothing short of an incredible dream that really did happen, and in fact, far exceeded his initial expectations. As the mother of his only son, Carmella had a very special place in Gabriel’s heart, and he hoped that she had the same feelings
