Victim Takes the Witness Stand

October 2, 2020

Judge Time asks Deception to call his next witness. Victim stood before they called his name to the witness stand.

“I call Victim to the witness stand, Your Honor,” Deception said.

Victim moves toward the witness stand, marching like a soldier. Everything he wore spoke of prosperity. His expression was stern and when he sat down his posture was erect. An aura of confidence mixed with arrogance radiated from him.

“Sir,” Deception addresses his witness, “Share your story with the court.” Victim, who had waited in anticipation for this time, starts telling his story.

“They raised me into a life that most of you would not have survived in,” he says, with his chest out.

“Most people sit back believing life owe them something rather than reaching out and taking what they want from life.”

“Sir, can you explain to us how Purpose has affected your life?” Deception asks.

Victim turns towards the jury establishing a connection. Once he is confident that he has their attention then turns towards Purpose.

“Most people are fools to think they have to know purpose in their life to make accomplishments.”

“I have never acknowledged Purpose in my world and I turned out to be very successful,” Victim says, shifting his gaze back to the jury.

“I have more in life than I will ever need. I own several estates. I enjoy and drive automobiles that most people can only dream of. All my clothes are tailor made by the leading designers, and I can elect not to work another day in my life and I will still be able maintain my lifestyle. I am a self-made man of extreme wealth.”

Deception, studying the faces of the jurors’ was positive his testimony proved you didn’t need Purpose to triumph in life.

“Thank you, Sir,” Deception says. “I have no more questions for this witness, Your Honor”

The Two Paths:

“Destiny, your witness” Judge Time says. Destiny doesn’t rise from his seat. He hesitates for a moment, as he stares at Victim. He could almost see the wall that was formed around his heart, not sure if it was made of ice or stone.

“Your Honor, does the Defense have questions for my witness or are we through with him?” Deception asks abruptly.

Standing up Destiny moves towards Victim, “Victor, you have mentioned your achievements, now tell us how you honestly feel about these accomplishments.”

“My name is Victim. Why did you call me Victor? There’s no way you could have known my original birth name. A hospital fire destroyed my birth documents.”

“Let me ask my question another way,” Destiny says, as if he did not hear what Victim had just revealed. “When you are lying down in bed at night, all alone, what do you think about? Do you reflect about your homes, your automobiles and your money?”

“Well, no!”

“Again, what do you think about?”

Victim looks into the eyes of Destiny and feels the wall around his heart shaking. He glances quickly past Destiny at Pride and No Forgiveness sitting in the courtroom's rear. Not wishing to acknowledge the unexpected emotion he is now feeling. "Victim, do you understand the question?" Judge Time asks.

“There is a closed place in my heart that I occasionally visits,” Victim answers. “When I am there, I hear masses of people crying out. It’s as if they are appealing to me to carry out something for them. Whatever they are waiting for, they believe I am the only one that can do it. I realize it sounds absurd.”

“No, it doesn’t” Destiny responds.

“Do you have any notion what is going on within you?” Destiny continues to question Victim.

“When I was around 12 years old, I had a dream of two roads. The direction to my right offered a sword and a shield. The path to my left was paved with gold as far as my eyes could see. I took the path to my left.”

Looking deep into the eyes of Victim, Destiny asks, “What kind of life do you think you would have had if you had taken the path with the sword and shield?”

“I object! I object! I object!” Deception shouts while banging the table. “Your Honor, what kind of nonsense is going on here? Is the Defense a psychiatrist suddenly?”

“Your Honor, if you can just allow me a few minutes all of this will come together,” Destiny requests

.

“Come together in what way?” Deception asks, recognizing that the entire disposition of his witness had altered.

“Destiny, you have your time. Make all this come together quickly”, the judge says. “Objection overruled.”

“On the path with the sword and shield, did you see anything else?” Destiny continued his questioning.

“Yes, I observed crowds of people”, Victim responded.

“So, why didn’t you choose that direction?” Destiny asked.

“My world had already been a nightmare. I craved what appeared to be the simple pathway. “You could say I thought it was the path of less resistance.”

“Has it been a simple path?”

"No.”

“Where has your choice left you?”

“My decision left me alone. Even though I am constantly surrounded by crowds, I realize in my core that these are not the lives that are to be a part of my existence.”

From the back of the courtroom, No Forgiveness and Pride try to get Victim's attention. Just as Victim turns, Truth stands to block them from his view. Victim turns to face Purpose. “I shouldn’t have gone through those things in my life for you,” he declares.

“Victor, Purpose was not guilty for what you went through, Destiny affirms. It is Purpose’s duty to make sure you acknowledge the call of your heart, and answering that call would have pushed you beyond what appeared to be failures. When your world seems torn apart, you must keep your hand in the grip of Purpose. Purpose is the one who moves you to the realness of life that you were born to live.”

Deception stands, but before he can say anything he sees his witness grab his chest.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!” Victim whispers as he sinks from his chair and crumbles to the floor, gasping for air.

Deception looks as if he is in a trance, observing his witness lying on the floor. Love and Forgiveness who were also in the courtroom get to Victim first and sees his heart is being attacked. Victim has stop breathing. Forgiveness began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and Love pumps his chest.

The Arena:

The courtroom is silent as the two are working on Victim. Love and Forgiveness see no signs of life.

As they are about to get up, Purpose walks over and takes Victim’s hand.

“Try one more time,” Purpose says.

As the team started the CPR process again, Forgiveness smiles.

“He’s breathing.”

Purpose tightens his grip on Victim. Coughing, Victim slowly opens his eyes and sees he is staring into the eyes of Purpose. The paramedics arrive and take over. As they are wheeling Victim out of the courtroom, Love and Forgiveness leave with him.

Judge Time, unable to believe all that has taken place in his courtroom, dismisses court until tomorrow morning.

While Victim lies in the ambulance, his thoughts take over. He understands that he has to conquer the things he had locked within him. Even though his life seems successful outside, inwardly the pain had become unbearable.

Drifting, he presses on to the Arena of his Mind. Passing scenes in his history, he becomes anxious concerning the battle that he perceives is before him. He can hear the whispers as he passes the key places in his mind. He clutches his heart again, comprehending that he honestly has to renounce his distorted perceptions of life in order to be free. This is not his first time he found himself in this place, but he resolves inwardly that this will be his last time here.

Relentlessly, he pushes forward. Many will wait for him in the arena of his mind, concluding he will give up as he has done so many times in the past. Some will not show up, because they know he will invariably depend on them. Some will be there merely for the amusement by what they echo as his wimpy whining prayers. They will snicker and scoff as they watch him give up, defeated once again. They will cheer as he walks away clinging to his belief that this is his plight in life to never experience joy and peace within.

As he comes in the arena of his mind, he sounds the battle cry. “Lord, help me please!” Victim’s longtime companion seemingly moves from the shadows —angry for being back in this place again.

“We’re losing him!” the paramedics in the back holler to the driver. Love and Forgiveness hold on to his hands tightly.

The longtime companion stretches out his hand to shows him that same golden pathway, but this time he observed it turning to wasteland. Staggering at the sight of what he has held onto for so long, he gasps.

The paramedics are working on Victim, who has ceased breathing again. Love and Forgiveness hear one paramedic whispering a prayer. “LORD, please don’t let this man die. I believe there is something he has to do that he has not done yet.”

Victim’s companion stands with a harsh stare. “You finally won,” he declares as he turns to walk away.

Victim stands up inside, suddenly courageous, filled with something he has never felt before. Suddenly, Words of Life surround him, “Put on the whole armor of God, so you may stand against the tricks of the devil.”

Had this been a trick to make him think he seized the adversaries of his mind? Without reasoning, he rushes back to the center of the arena, confronting what had been a part of him been for so long.

“You idiot, did you expect I would let you go,” his longtime companion declared defiantly, as he signals for his regiment to surround Victim? Those who have formed a home within him for so long: Depression, Loneliness, Lust, No Forgiveness and Pride come out of their secret places. There seem to be no escape. He doesn’t want to accept that he is sentenced to this way of existence. With the tormentors, piercing and striking him over and over he refuse to give in.

The paramedics arrive at the hospital and another team frantically works on him.

Victim braces himself for the blows and with no strength of his own; he mumbles, “Lord, help me,” a second time. Immediately he feels something in his right hand. When he looks it is a sword and by his other hand lays a shield. Behind him, a Presence draws him to his feet, covering him. Unable to turn around, he perceives this Presence is with him, not against him. His tormentors fall prostrate before the Presence. Victim recognizes the sword and shield from his dream and knows he must accept them to forever be a part of his way of life.

The Words of Life begins to echo louder all around him, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is LORD.”

Victim’s longtime companion, who had held him captive with a false reality, falls to his knees with fear and trembling. With sword and shield in his hands, Victor turns and bows down, giving reverence and thanksgiving to the one who he would call his LORD. Leaving the Arena of his Mind, he knows there is something before him that only he can do.

“Okay, people, we are done here. He’s going to make it,” the doctor announces.

All Stories and Poetry is originally mine and has Copyrights!