Consequences

Thou shalt not kill.

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” the cardinal replied.

She was a woman; a midwife and herbalist, doing God's work. You caused her death.

“She was a witch. She turned men to stone.” He thought of her ripe body as she bathed in the river, he hidden in the bushes nearby, watching unseen. He remembered the intense erection he had gotten at the sight of her breasts and belly. “She turned me to stone.”

You had a normal man's reaction to her body, her beauty.

“I am a man of God. I am above the temptations of the flesh.”

You were a man, subject to temptation.

“I did God's work more than she did.”

You caused pain and suffering and terror. That is not God's work. That is the work of His adversary.

“I drove out demons!” He thought of the instruments for revealing heresy, for freeing the soul from the the corrupt body. “I earned my place in Heaven, destroying the heretics.”

Ineffable sorrow washed over him from the angels who stood between him and the Gates. She was an innocent. Most of them were.

“No! I only did what was right! It was she who tempted me. She was a witch, I tell you!”

You earned your place Below. It was his work you did, sowing discord among the faithful, causing betrayal in families, making men fear God instead of loving Him. Remember: Love God above all else, and love your neighbour as yourself.

He heard the shrieks of the damned, smelled sulfur. Behind him, fallen angels arose from the depths to escort him.

A soft voice spoke from behind the angels of light. They moved aside and she came forward.
“He has no idea he did wrong,” she said. “He truly believed he did the work of God. When Jesus was being crucified, did he not say, 'Father, forgive them; they know not what they are doing'? So it was with him. Do not let his ignorance damn him.”

The cardinal-that-was stared at her. Her beauty seared his soul. Realization flooded his being, and he fell on his face before her. He wailed, seeing the faces of all those he had believed he had sent to Hell. They gathered behind her and shook their heads in pity.

“Let him in,” they said to the angels of light.

He wept and grovelled. “Forgive me,” he whispered.

“Forgive yourself,” she said. “See the truth, forgive yourself and you may enter.”

She smiled at the angels who bowed their heads as she returned to the others and vanished beyond the pillars. He watched them go. He looked from the angels of light to the darker ones who waited patiently for his soul. Forgive himself? It could take an eternity.

We can wait. But was it the angels of light or of darkness who had spoken?

***

Today's entry in the 24/7 challenge. I'm not completely content with this as it stands, although the idea has been percolating for years. I realize it may cause controversy, and that's okay. I'm playing with the idea of forgiveness and Heaven and Hell.