by Jamie
As Dante continued his journey through the circles of Inferno he entered the third round of the seventh circle which consisted of a vast forest full of magnifisantly horrifying trees which stood twisted and contorted from the dark unearthly soil. As Virgil, his guide, explained it, all Dante had to do was to snap a twig, or rip a leaf and the tree would speak. It then was known to him that the trees were the souls of those whose sin was against God by desecrating one of his creatures, themselves.
"Suicide?" Asked Dante. "This is there punishment?" Virgil just gave a nod. "Well, it truly must hurt to be twisted and still inside these trees for all eternity. Unlike the hoarders and the wasters, the people do not simply smash boulders together, instead they are condemned to stand here, rooted to the ground for all eternity."
"Yes, that is true. Since they chose to neglect God's gift of life and freedom, they are condemned not to move as they are rooted to the ground. Go ahead, you may feel free to talk to one of them." Virgil said while pointing to the vast forrest. Dante chose one that was of a lighter color of bark. He ripped a leaf from the nearest branch and jumped back as the tree responded with a deep throated grunt of pain.
"How dare you? That was quite rude of you to cause me such anguish! If we were back in Paris, I'd have you arrested for assult of an officer!" The tree boomed at a frightned Dante.
"Sir, truly I am sorry. I simply wanted to know your tale." He said, while he looked at the branch were the leaf once held fast, and he noticed that from the twig flowed human blood.
"My tale...my story...why would you want to know anything about me? All you know is that I have commited a crime against God. So much more than the laws of human conduct, with the crime I've commited comes a fate much worse than any solitary confinement." Dante then noticed that the tree had eyes and a mouth which were hidden under many branches which fell around his face like locks of wild hair.
"I would like to hear your tale because I have reached my half-life and am deciding what is means. I'm wondering if it is even worth continuing." Dante spoke with a heavy heart. He waited for the tree to speak once more, but it didn't. He looked up and realized that the blood had dried, and so he pulled from the tree another leaf. Similar to the other leaf there was a grunt of pain, but the soul still continued.
"So, you would like to hear my story to figure out your own life. Okay. Where should I begin? My life wasn't an easy life. I was born a bastard to a gypsy fortune-teller. Born in a jail I overcame all odds that were thrust upon me and entered the police force. It was the only job I saw fit for me. At that point in my life I understood that the only thing in this world was law and order, and anyone who would disobey that order would be punished as the law saw fit. And thus I became First Class Inspecteur Javert of the Paris Police." Dante sat quietly and listened as Javert recounted his tale of persuing Jean Valjean. As Javert would continue the story Dante was forced to cause him agony as his blood dried up and yet another leaf had to be torn. Even though the pain was unbearable, Javert continued because he felt that his tale had to be told.
"And so you jumped?" Asked Dante in surprise.
"Yes." Was Javert's simple reply. Dante raised his eyebrows. He found it hard to believe that a man as respectable as Inspecteur Javert could do such a thing. As Dante sat thinking Virgil tapped him on the shoulder to signify that there journey should continue.
"Well, Inspecteur..." Dante began.
"Yes, I see you must go. So shall leave you with this. You must never believe that life is only what you see. Look around you with a clear conscience and use what God has given you. Your life and time on this earth is so precious that you should use it wisely, so that you won't wind up like me...." His words trailed off as the blood dried upon the branch. Dante did not want to cause Javert any more pain. So in guilt he left the leaves at the base of Javert's tree and continued on his way.
THE END