Wednesday, May 06, 2009
A Story
6-MAY-2009:
Today, I would like to tell a story. A story that sent shivers down my spine and made my hair stand. Mel, this is for you because this has a lot more details than what I told you.
(Beware ... very long story)
James and Gus were husband and wife. (Note: Gus was a woman, short for Augustus). Gus was 8 months pregnant with Christopher. They had a new neighbour: Michael and Melanie. Melanie was 3 months pregnant with Emily. As different as they were, they soon became very good friends, even more so after the babies were born. Gus was Melanie's birth partner because Michael didn't make it on time. Emily shared the same cot with Christopher on the day she was born.
As babies, Chris and Emily hanged out together a lot, even though it may not have been their choice. At 4 years old, their mums caught them naked because they were curious about why they were different - why did Chris has a penis while Emily had a vagina? (Note that I may not have got the age exactly right, but more or less).
As they grew older, one of their favourite games was 'Truth or Dare'. They would dare each other to make prank calls, to sneak into their parents' bedroom when they were supposed to be in bed, etc. At the age of 9, Emily dared Chris to kiss her and they had their first kiss.
One day, during lunch at McDonald's, Chris dared Emily to take a pee in the men's toilet and she took it. As a result, she was in there for no more than 5 minutes and ended up being sexually molested by a creepy guy who worked there. She said nothing to anybody.
At the age of 13, Chris and Emily started dating each other, which was what everyone had been rooting for. It was no puppy love. The relationship was emotionally intense, like they couldn't exist without each other, like they were one. To Emily, Chris felt more like family than anything else, which was why she became uncomfortable with Chris' sexual advances when they were around 16 years old. It was also due to her unfortunate experience in the men's toilet that she found the whole business dirty and unbearable. Although she loved Crhis but not exactly the same way he felt for her. She felt that making love with Chris was like having sex with her brother. She didn't tell Chris how she felt because she thought that it might hurt him and she loved him too much.
At the age of 17, Emily discovered that she was pregnant. She attempted abortion but that didn't go through. Chris would have no doubt married her if he knew, but Emily didn't want that. How could she marry him when she had to throw up and scrub herself clean everytime she had sex with him? She wanted things to stay as they were ... forever. Therefore suicide was a solution.
The first time he told Chris, he laughed. The second time she told him, he ignored her. The third time she told him, he listened. He couldn't understand and she didn't say what was bothering her but he promised to be there. He thought that he could go with the game and eventually talk her out of it. On "the night", he took his father's gun and two bullets. He was going to be there when Emily killed herself. He walked away because he couldn't face it, but went back only to find that Emily couldn't do it herself. She begged Chris to do it for her. She put the gun in his hand, moved his hand to her temple, placed her own hand on Chris' hand and she said "Now, Chris, now ...". And the trigger went off. Emily was dead. Chris was injured but alive. But who actually pulled the trigger?
The police charged Chris with 1st degree murder. He (or rather his lawyer) told the police that it was a double suicide that didn't go well but they didn't buy his story. His lawyer was totally convinced that his argument would get Chris free. In fact, he didn't even want to know the truth about what really happened, although Chris was intent on telling him.
What's really interesting about the story was how the parents reacted to the situation. Gus' first reaction at the hospital was to thank God that Emily was the one dead and not Chris. Selfish as it sounds, I think I would have the same thought too. Melanie's reaction was equivalent - it wasn't fair that her daughter was dead while Chris was still alive. Even though if Chris was dead too, it would not have brought Emily back, but somehow that ought to lessen the pain ... as if it would make it less painful if the pain was shared. Again, horribly selfish but understandable.
James (Chris' father) was a hard man and would not let any crisis affect his life. If he acted as if everything was all right, then everything would be all right. Because he didn't want to talk about things, this eventually strained his relationship with Gus, because to her, he didn't care. Michael (Emily's father) blamed himself for not noticing that his daughter was suicidal or even a tiny bit depressed. He had no idea at all. Of course, Melanie had the same thought but it was easier for her to put the blame on someone else, which was why when Chris was charged with murder, she was the first one to be convinced that he was guilty as charged. That was why she didn't see the signs, because there was no sign to be seen - her daughter was a happy, fulfilled child with a bright future and loving family, who was murdered by her boyfriend who didn't want their baby.
Gus (Chris' mum) was totally convinced that Chris was innocent. Michael (Em's dad) could not believe that Chris could kill Emily but he couldn't be sure. After all, his daughter was dead and he had to be *loyal* to her. In any case, he agreed to testify for the defence and that drove Melanie mad.
James (Chris' dad) on the other hand refused to think about it and concentrated on getting on with life ... perhaps even tried to forget that his son ever existed. (Note that everyone here still thought that it was a double suicide and knew nothing about what really happened).
The trial was excellent. Both prosecutor and defence lawyers were amazing, although it was quite obvious that the defence had the upper hand. It wasn't until the last moment that the trial took a huge turn. What happened was, Gus was supposed to be the final witness. All she needed to say was that she believed Chris didn't kill Emily. And she really did believe that until she visited Chris the night before she went on the stand, and a frustrated Chris who couldn't tell anyone what really happened blurted out "I shot Emily". That was all he said, leaving Gus to imagine the worst. Therefore, it was no wonder that while testifying on the stand, she couldn't look Chris in the eye. At a final turn, he requested to put himself on the stand and told the truth of what really happened.
Chris' defence lawyer was simply amazing. He had Chris sign a disclaimer since he would have no liability at all if Chris wanted to f**k himself up, but he really turned the case around. Were you holding the gun when Emily was shot? Yes. Was your hand on the trigger? Yes. Was Emily's hand on your hand? Yes. Was Emily's hand on the trigger? I don't know. Did Emily say "Now, Chris, now"? Yes. Can you say without a doubt that it was your actions alone that caused the shot? I don't know. Well, the interrogation was more lengthy than that but that's all I can remember.
So in the end, you might have guessed that the jury returned a not guilty verdict. You see, Chris didn't say 'no' to the last question because he wasn't sure himself. He said 'I don't know'. If the defendant himself wasn't even sure what happened, how could anyone else say without reasonable doubt that he committed murder?
Melanie and Michael moved away and the two families stopped being friends. Their new home had three rooms - one for Melanie, one for Michael and one for Emily. On the other hand, although the relationship between Gus and James was strained during the *crisis* but once it was over all was forgotten (although not entirely) and they became a loving couple again. At least they didn't sleep in separate rooms. It's interesting how a tragedy can lead to another just because of how people reacted to the situation. The times when you most needed support would probably be the time you realized the person you most depended on aren't the person you knew.
Boy ... this is a long story. By the way, this is from the book The Pact, by Jodi Picoult. Highly recommended.
