The
notorious multiple-killer Kugler, pursued by several warrants and a whole army
of policemen and detectives, swore that he’d never be taken. He wasn’t either –
at least not alive. The last of his nine murderous deeds was shooting a
policeman who tried to arrest him. The policeman indeed died, but not before
putting a total of seven bullets into Kugler. Of these seven, three were fatal.
Kugler’s death came so quickly that he felt no pain. And so it seemed Kugler
had escaped earthly justice.
When
his soul left his body, it should have been surprised at the sight of the next
world – a world beyond space, grey, and infinitely desolate – but it wasn’t. A
man who has been jailed on two continents looks upon the next life merely as
new surroundings. Kugler expected to struggle through, equipped only with a bit
of courage, as he had in the last world.
At
length the inevitable Last Judgment got around to Kugler. The judges were old
and worthy councilors with austere, bored faces. Kugler complied with the usual
tedious formalities: Ferdinand Kugler, unemployed, born on such and such a
date, died… at this point it was shown Kugler didn’t know the date of his own
death. Immediately he realized this was a damaging omission in the eyes of the
judges; his spirit of helpfulness faded.
“Do
you plead guilty or not guilty?” asked the presiding judge.
“Not
guilty,” said Kugler obdurately.
“Bring
in the first witness,” the judge sighed.
Opposite
Kugler appeared an extraordinary gentleman, stately, bearded, and clothed in a
blue robe strewn with golden stars.
At
his entrance, the judges arose. Even Kugler stood up, reluctant but fascinated.
Only when the old gentleman took a seat did the judges again sit down.
“Witness,”
began the presiding judge, “omniscient God, this court has summoned you in
order to hear your testimony in the case against Kugler, Ferdinand. As you are
the supreme truth, you need not take the oath. In the interest of the
proceedings, however, we ask you to keep to the subject at hand rather than
branch out into particulars – unless they have a bearing on this case.”
“And
you, Kugler, don’t interrupt the witness. He knows everything, so there’s no
use denying anything.”
“And
now, witness, if you would please begin.”
God,
the witness, coughed lightly and began:
“Yes.
Kugler, Ferdinand. Ferdinand Kugler, son of a factory worker, was a bad,
unmanageable child from his earliest days. He loved his mother dearly, but was
unable to show it, this made him unruly and defiant. Young man, you irked
everyone! Do you remember how you bit your father on the thumb when he tried to
spank you? You had stolen a rose from the notary’s garden.”
“The
rose was for Irma, the tax collector’s daughter,” Kugler said.
“I
know,” said God. “Irma was seven years old at that time. Did you ever hear what
happened to her?”
“No,
I didn’t.”
“She
married Oscar, the son of the factory owner. But she contracted a venereal
disease from him and died of a miscarriage. You remember Rudy Zaruba?”
“What
happened to him?”
“Why,
he joined the navy and died accidentally in Bombay. You two were the worst boys
in the whole town. Kugler, Ferdinand, was a thief before his tenth year and an
inveterate liar. He kept bad company, too: old Gribble, for instance, a
drunkard and an idler, living on handouts. Nevertheless, Kugler shared many of
his own meals with Gribble.”
The
presiding judge motioned with his hand, as if much of this was perhaps
unnecessary, but Kugler himself asked hesitantly, “And… what happened to his
daughter?” “What’s she doing right now?”
“This
very minute she’s buying thread at Wolfe’s. Do you remember that shop? Once,
when you were six years old, you bought a colored glass marble there. On that
very same day you lost it and never, never found it. Do you remember how you
cried with rage?”
“Whatever
happened to it?” Kugler asked eagerly.
“Well,
it rolled into the drain and under the gutterspout. Right now it’s still there,
after thirty years. Right now it’s raining on earth and your marble is
shivering in the gush of cold water.”
Kugler
bent his head, overcome by this revelation. But the presiding judge fitted his
spectacles back on his nose, and said mildly, “Witness, we are obliged to get
on with the case. Has the accused committed murder?”
“He
murdered nine people. The first one he killed in a brawl, and it was during his
prison term for his crime that he became completely corrupted. The second
victim was his unfaithful sweetheart. For that he was sentenced to death, but
he escaped. The third was an old man whom he robbed. The fourth was a night
watchman.”
“Then
he died?” Kugler asked.
“He
died after three days in terrible pain,” God said. “And he left six children
behind him. The fifth and sixth victims were an old married couple. He killed
them with an axe and found only sixteen dollars, although they had twenty
thousand hidden away.”
Kugler
jumped up. “Where?”
“In
the straw mattress,” God said. “In a linen sack inside the mattress. That’s
where they hid all the money they acquired from greed and penny-pinching. The
seventh man he killed in America, a countryman of his, a bewildered, friendless
immigrant.”
“So
it was in the mattress,” whispered Kugler in amazement.
“Yes,”
continued God. “The eighth man was merely a passerby who happened to be in
Kugler’s way when Kugler was trying to outrun the police. At that time Kugler
had periostitis and was delirious from the pain. Young man, you were suffering
terribly. The ninth and last was the policeman who killed Kugler exactly when Kugler
shot him.”
“And
why did the accused commit murder?” asked the presiding judge.
“For
the same reasons others have,” answered God. “Out of anger or desire for money,
both deliberately and accidentally-some with pleasure, others from necessity.
However, he was generous and often helpful. He was kind to women, gentle with
animals, and kept his word. Am I to mention his good deeds?”
“For
the same reasons others have,” answered God. “Out of anger or desire for money,
both deliberately and accidentally – some with pleasure, others from necessity.
However, he was generous and often helpful. He was kind to women, gentle with
animals, and kept his word. Am I to mention his good deeds?”
“Thank
you,” said the presiding judge, “but it isn’t necessary. Does the accused have
anything to say in his own defense?”
“No,”
Kugler replied with honest indifference.
“The
judges of this court will now take this matter under advisement,” declared the
presiding judge, and the three of them withdrew.
Only
God and Kugler remained in the courtroom.
“Who
are they?” asked Kugler, indicating with his head the men who just left.
“People
like you,” answered God. “They were judges on earth, so they’re judges here as
well.”
Kugler
nibbled his fingertips. “I expected… I mean, I never really thought about it.
But I figured you would judge since…”
“Since
I’m God,” finished the stately gentleman. “But that’s just it, don’t you see?
Because I know everything, I can’t possibly judge. That wouldn’t do at all. By
the way, do you know who turned you in this time?”
“No,
I don’t,” said Kugler, surprised.
“Lucky,
the waitress. She did it out of jealousy.”
“Excuse
me,” Kugler ventured, “but you forgot about that good-for-nothing Teddy I shot
in Chicago.”
“Not
at all,” God said. “He recovered and is alive this very minute. I know he’s an
informer, but otherwise he’s a very good man and terribly fond of children. You
shouldn’t think of any person as being completely worthless.”
“But
I still don’t understand why you aren’t the judge,” Kugler said thoughtfully.“But
why are they judging… the same people who were judges on earth?”
“Because
man belongs to man. As you see, I’m only the witness. But the verdict is
determined by man, even in heaven. Believe me, Kugler, this is the way it
should be. Man isn’t worthy of divine judgment. He deserves to be judged only
by other men.”
At
that moment, the three returned from their deliberation. In heavy tones the
presiding judge announced, “For repeated crimes of first – degree murder,
manslaughter, robbery, disrespect for the law, illegally carrying weapons, and
for the theft of a rose; Kugler, Ferdinand, is sentenced to lifelong punishment
in hell.
“Next
case please: Torrance, Frank.”
“Is
the accused present in court?”
Critic:
This is classified as a short story. The literary theory that
was observed in this literary piece was hermeneutics. As we observed this
story, it tells us that is really happening after your death in this world.
There is really a place of what we call “final judgment” that will tell you how
you spend or live your life. Some people may spend their lives in doing the
things that may satisfy their flesh but in the end, it is still God who will
tell if we deserve to be in heaven or hell. Like the story flow, God will stand
as a witness because He knows everything of what we have done. Nothing more,
nothing less… all of it was exactly of what we have done. This is how we
interpret as what the bible says. In the end, we cannot hide the sins we
committed and just let it pass. The bible says that at the end, all of the
people in every nation will face the judgment and be place wherever we deserve.
