Betrayed

The line moved quick enough that she did not notice how much time went by, or if time even ever went by wherever she is right now. Though in any case, what was once the hundreds or thousands or probably even millions before her disappeared.

With no one in front of her to obscure her sight she could see clearly what she had to face: three tall judge’s desks – like the ones you see in court – stood tall. The middle one was about fifteen feet, the other two slightly smaller. In each seat was an old man, around 60 to 65 years old. God knows what they’re still doing, and God knows how they get up there. However, they did look familiar to the girl, a small spark of a memory from long ago, as if she had seen these people from pictures, from stories told to her when she was younger.

She looked at the man in front of her, who was looking up at the three judges, saying things she couldn’t hear. When he was done talking, the three old men write things down and looked at each other. The one in the middle made a gesture, and the gate below them (something the girl never noticed until it moved) opened to reveal a grey expanse filled with only a sea of people. The man stepped forward, through the doors, and disappeared.

“Next,” a voice shouted.

The young girl stepped forward, albeit hesitantly, but the three men were quite far up she wasn’t sure they’d hear her when she speaks.

“Name,” the man in the middle said, whose gold plaque had the name MINOS engraved on it.

“Bianca,” she said, although she wasn’t sure how she knew, and that seemed awfully strange to her. “Bianca Svelare.”

The one on the left, whose plaque reads AIAKOS, scrolled through his book, probably looking for her name. He smiled, probably finding it, and read a little more.

“Killed in the night by a thief with a gun,” Aiakos says. Bianca felt a chill down her spine. Aiakos looked at her happily, a sly smile on his lips, as if that was good news. Minos looked at him with sharp eyes. He looked tired of Aiakos. He probably is, Bianca thought.

The one on the right, RHADAMANTHYS his plaque reads, decided to speak up. “Do you recall what happened, young one?”

Bianca closes her eyes.

***

The glow of the screen made her look pale, almost like a ghost. The bags in her eyes were heavy, her hair tied in a messy bun, her clothes stained with coffee, and plates of unfinished food sit atop the table.

No one was home tonight, they all left for a movie. They wanted her to come. No thank you, she told them, I don’t feel too good. You go on without me. And so they did.

But she had company. Old friends. Familiar faces. Familiar voices. They were always there for her. They always had her back. They’d give her opinions and ideas and they made sure she always had something to do like good friends should.

“Tonight, maybe?” One of them said.

“Yes. No one’s home,” the other crows. “When else will you have this opportunity?

“Not for a very long time,” Bianca replied. True. Her family never left her alone.

She got up slowly. Her hands were shaking and her legs could barely hold her up. I have to do it tonight, she thought. With one foot in front of the other she walked into the kitchen, her friends left alone in the living room.

“The big one!” They both shout. Bianca nods.

She holds the cold metal in her hands, gliding it along the tip of her fingers. The thin, sharp edge gave her goosebumps.

“Now.”

***

Rhadamanthys frowns, obviously disappointed with the story. Bianca looks down at her feet. She hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes on. How impolite. But the ground was cold and wet, and she wondered how she never felt it until now.

“Your actions were not noble,” Minos says. His eyes were dark, almost as if they were hollow. “However, you were in distress.”

Aiakos laughs. “You call that distress?”

“What my brother means,” interrupts Rhadamanthys, “is that you could have done something else. Nonetheless, it was a choice made and equal actions must be made.”

Bianca swallows the lump in her throat. “What’s going to happen?”

“The Fields of Punishment,” Aiakos shouts.

“Elysium!” Rhadamanthys says at the same time. They look at each other angrily as if this has happened before.

Minos clears his throat. “This was in no way your fault,” he says. “You are truly brave for struggling for so long. However, your act of cowardice at the last minute… well… it cancels your bravery, young one.”

He looks at Bianca with wise eyes and she relaxes. Minos knows what he’s doing, she thinks to herself.

“Asphodel. For bravery against the multitude and crimes against the self.”

The doors below them open once again, just like it had for the man before her. The same sea of grey. Bianca looks up for one last glance at the three men – the last faces she will ever see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Minos, Rhadamanthys, Aiakos - Judges of Hades. Dead souls go through them for judgement, whether they will be placed in Elysium, Asphodel, or the Fields of Punishment.

* Bianca Svelare - Bianca means "white", a symbol of her purity and innocence. Svelare is Latin meaning "to betray", her own thoughts caused her distress.