Domenic Marbaniang

The Trial “A way with him, away with him!” the crowd cried. “What mockery! Shall we not even have a trial?” Sin cried. “Away with the enemy, away with him! This is our verdict!” the crowd cried. Sin signaled and a loud cymbal clanged. The crowd paused. “The verdict shall follow the trial!” she declared. “Our Archenemy shall be rightly denounced, and the judgment sealed by our seven governesses. It’s our turn now, and of the power of darkness. May Shadows prevail and may Magic and Sorcery obscure Reality; may the minds of men fail, and may Feelings and Fantasy enhance sweet Vanity! Let’s hurry on while the mouse is hooked to the trap! Let darkness prevail forever!” The crowd chanted: “Hail Skotos! Hail Hamartia!” A dark eagle flew and perched on a pole overlooking the stage. The cymbal clanged again and a voice cried out, “The Court of Her Highness Hamartia summons before the jury the first witness, the Lady Luxuria, for hearing!” “Ou...

Superbia W e reached Superbia. The streets were flooded with people wearing masks of different forms. Yet, the masks on the faces of the people were usually not very dissimilar, and it seemed as if we were bumping into the same person again and again. It was not possible to recognize the true person behind the mask, at all, and we marveled that we knew no one. We were all here nobodies to each other, and the only reality, at hand, were the masks; the only relations, self-interest. It appeared that there were two orders of patrollers here. One wore a dark purplish uniform and had the symbol of skull and bones embroidered on their arms. Underneath the skull was the word “Fear”. The other wore a light purplish uniform and had the symbol of figs and needles embroidered on their arms. Underneath the figs and needles was the word “Shame”. All of them wore masks. A siren howled and the crowd began moving in the direction of the Center. The darkness seemed to get t...

Sloth “W alk!” she commanded, “and never look back!” I thought this was crazy. But, I followed. “Hey you, where are you running away?” the drunken voice continued to call. “Faster, faster!” Sophia called. The dust from the ground swirled up and filled the air as we paced on. We coughed as we walked. The drunken man had begun singing: “Why do you run beating dust in the air? Why do you hurry as if the world needs your care? Hey, the world’s on its own, buddy; You ain’t gonna make it any inch better! Come, enjoy some rum, be a good bum; Let’s gulp some spirit and get into the gutter!” We had already moved around the corner as his voice began to die away, and were moving ever quickly on. This street looked even more disordered with dusty cloths, paper, and dead leaves strewn everywhere. The dust in the air was congesting my nose as I sneezed. “Stop a little!” I implored Sophia as I halted behind. She walked a few steps ahead; then, wh...

Stranger S ophia had managed to rip off a sewer lid and pulled us into it. It all happened in the twinkling of an eye, and the barred lid was closed. We were curved now in a 4 feet deep gutter that had, by now, a foot of rain water gushing through. I held Inno in my lap so that she could sit straight and we kept our heads close to the lid. The light from the headlights grew near and then disappeared completely, leaving a fading trail of humdrum from the vehicles that eventually stopped. It was all dark again. I wondered that my life had all been underground. If hiding was all reality; then, the world did look like a cursed reality now. How long, I asked. What wretchedness, I thought. The sky still flashed and gurgled, spitting rain on the ground: it did look like spit on our faces looking up the barred lid above. Sophia softly pushed the lid up and made sure that it was all fine. Then, she climbed up and pulled us back onto the road. I marveled at her agility, ...

Sophia I  found myself in a wet, dark, chill, lonely street. The clouds above growled in anger dropping cold perspiration down on us. “That was a narrow one, isn’t it?” a heard a familiar voice. I turned around and saw the little murmuring man that I had seen earlier. He now had a pleasant face and his hair was groomed well backwards. “Who are you?” I asked. “My name is Seer,” he replied. “They also call me Prophet. I’ve stayed behind to only let you know that it will not be long any hence. Your liberation draws closer. I’ve only come to prepare the way. When the One is come, then you shall see the light.” “What shall I do now?” I asked. “Keep walking. Keep moving until the coming of the One and the Great Battle of the Day!” he said. “How long… how long shall I have to wait?” I asked, but at that moment he zoomed out of sight like a TV tube switching off, without waiting to hear, leaving behind a deep and hollow darkness. I looked ri...

A Narrow Escape “H ope you scraped some fun off the Fair!” Clever smiled and said. He was speaking loud since the sudden siren had also stirred up much commotion that voluminously flooded the range of air. “Yes, we did!” I answered aloud. “Going to the Center?” “Yes,” he replied, “Let’s be quick!” We hurried to the Center. There was a great fountain, lit by colorful and playful lights, in the middle of Fair with a good sized open space in the front for people to stand. There was a stage set up by the fountain adorned with balloons, ribbons, and flowers. Armed guards stood all around it. A fine looking gentleman with a red suit on stood at the lectern smiling profusely, as if smiles were all biting at him. Behind him stood an array of five elegantly dressed personages that seemed to be officials. The Lady Avaritia was easy to distinguish by her golden silk vesture and a crown of sparkling diamonds. Also, on the stage were Fate and Chance. We were able to get...

Chance, Fate, and Avaritia I  had taken Inno to a small food corner and bought for her a piece of sweet bread with the money that Piety had given me. We sat there she ate the bread holding it in her little fingers. There were a few stout men sitting on a table thrown a bit far from us. They were eating too much and seemed too disgustfully voracious. “You guys from Gula make our stalls grow fatter!” a waitress remarked as she dropped a tray of meat on their table. They didn’t respond to her, but just jumped on the meat and began tearing chunks of bites off it. “Why are they eating like that?” Inno asked. “They might be very hungry,” I said. “But, why do they eat like that even if they’re so hungry?” “Because their hunger is of a different kind.” “What kind?” “Like a pig.” She laughed. I pondered at my own misery and wondered the meaning of it all. Or, was the desire for meaning itself a misery of delusion, I wondered. I felt...