A Question of Forgiving…..    

When an author can write a story that grabs you, pulls you in, takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotion, then spits you out at the end causing you to re-examine your beliefs, they have done a good job. This would be that kind of a story.

It is hard to review this short story without telling what it is about, so read it before you finish this, unless you don’t mind hearing about it first.

Jenny is a young girl playing with other children who each have two puppies. Soon a guardian, Azula, comes for her and takes her into a concrete structure.  We discover that Jenny was killed by Theodore James Moore III, who is about to be put to death. Jenny is to decide the fate of his soul.

The crux of this story is that Theodore thinks he has been forgiven since he has confessed to a priest and been given absolution.  Here is where the twist comes in.  If only God can give forgiveness, then why is Jenny allowed to decide?  The answer is simple, yet profound theologically.  What if in this story, Azula is actually God and while a priest may be a representative, it is God who decides the instrument for judgement.  In this case, God is allowing Jenny, the victim, to make the decision.

This may be a short story, but the thoughts it provokes will stay with you a long time.

I am giving it four golf pencils, not five, only because it does need another pass through a copy editor.