The deafening sound of thunder and a flash of lightning accompanied Moira and I as we climbed up the stone stairs to the foyer of Orchidsboro High Court. I was not usually one to ascribe vague meaning to weather and other naturally occurring elements of our physical reality, but this stressful morning I was agitated enough to seek out strength from anything, even the sky. In my ears, it was as if the dark sky was livid at Linda and screaming for due justice to be served cold.

Johan and Kenta were already in the testifier waiting room, along with their son and daughter. Sitting next to this family were Vannie and Rain, holding hands in silence. Soon, we were joined by Neesa, Keith, and George. The three of them had eye bags but still managed to smile at everyone. They must have stayed up late to review all the facts and rehearse their points of contentions. I glanced at my wristwatch—twenty three minutes before the hearing commenced.

"Whatever the verdict is going to be, I love you so much, Papa." George put an arm around Keith and the man returned the gesture. "You're a good person siding with the innocent and I'm already proud of you for doing that. So, if you get penalized for that, know that my respect for you will never diminish. Tu es un homme de principe et je suis honoré de m'appeler ton fils."

"Tout ira bien," the dad replied. "No worries, I'm prepared for whatever may happen."

As if on cue, the door to the courtroom creaked open and a young attendant called our names, ushering us in and showing us the plaintiff's table. Linda was seated on the defendant's table, close to the jury box, stiff as a board. Her expression, not unlike the neutral faces of the panel of judges, remained unreadable as we made eye contact. I half-expected Johan to flinch but he, too, kept his composure. The anti-psychotic medication he was on worked exceptionally well.

"All rise. The court is now in session," one of the judges said in a monotone voice. "The trial for the case brought up by the Sitohang brothers against Ms. Linda Zulfikar shall begin. We welcome the two accusers to give a brief opening statement testifying to the accused's alleged crime. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and only the truth so help you God?"

"We swear to tell nothing but the truth, so help us God." Johan and I rose, speaking in unison.

"Your honor, Linda allegedly has a homicidal intent and it can be easily proven considering she has harmed my younger sibling," Johan started. "His hospitalization records can speak for itself."

"She didn't stop at harming me, your honor, she hurt my friends too and they have the scars to prove it. If that was not a murderous streak, then what was that sadism?" I added.

"Ms. Zulfikar, what do you have to say for yourself regarding their charging you for attempted homicide?" the same judge who began the trial asked. "Do you deny or accept the accusation?"

"I'm not as vicious as they made me out to be!" Linda stood abruptly. "I had to teach Nardho and people around him a lesson but only because I want them to pay for what happened to my sister."

"What evidence do you have that makes you so sure Mr. Johannes Sitohang directly or indirectly caused the death of Ms. Sherlyn Zulfikar?" the judge inquired. "Wasn't there a doubt regarding whether or not her death was caused by accidental drug overdose?"

"They used to be lovers, your honor, and he one-sidedly and unfairly ended their relationship. I knew my sister better than anybody else, she wasn't the type to abuse drugs, but what he did to her truly broke her and she succumbed to the mental anguish. I want him prosecuted!"

"That's not a sufficient answer to my question. It is very subjective," the judge dismissed Linda. "Nonetheless, I shall conduct more questioning before the prosecutor can convict anybody as a felon." He turned his attention toward Johan. "Why did you end the relationship?"

Johan did not immediately answer. Instead, he glanced at Kenta, presumably wordlessly asking consent to publicly come out. Only after his partner nodded encouragingly did he speak up.

"Your honor, I was just eighteen going on nineteen when I entered a relationship with Sherlyn. At that time, I was in denial of who I am at my core. I already suspected I'm gay but I was desperate to change that aspect of my identity, although now I know it's not changeable. After some deliberation, I realized I couldn't keep lying to Sherlyn. She deserved to be happy with someone who would love her wholeheartedly but I was unable to be that someone. Your honor, I was and still am in love with Kenta. I chose to prioritize my own happiness. In hindsight, what I did might be selfish but isn't pursuit of happiness an unalienable right guaranteed to all Indigo Infernoans? That and liberty. Speaking of, doesn't liberty extend to the liberty to be one's true self and to live authentically? I hereby defend my decision to stop dating Sherlyn, your honor."

"Yes, that makes sense, sir, and nothing in the constitution of Indigo Inferno says it is okay to prosecute anyone for their sexual attraction to the same gender," the judge replied. "Now, Ms. Zulfikar, the man has spoken. Do you still wish to hold him accountable for the suicide?"

"I do!" Linda spat. "He is cruel for using his gayness as a shield. What a spineless creature!"

"Permission to speak, your honor?" Moira raised her hand and the judge answered affirmatively, gesturing for Linda to sit back down. Moira took a deep breath before opening her mouth again.

"What is indisputably even crueler than deliberately pretending to love someone you don't is to assault people who have absolutely nothing to do with your grievance, Linda! You don't have any good reason for assaulting Nardho, Rain, Vannie, and me. I'll call you what you are, an aggressive assailant. I'm not being emotional, Vannie has the proof of your malice. It's over."

Vannie searched her dress pocket for her phone and put it on loudspeaker, playing the voicemail she received the night Rain was held hostage at the storage room of an abandoned supermarket.

Linda's eyes widened in sheer horror and panic. "It wasn't a message from me, your honor! They lie! It's a fabrication. They could have used a voice changer to create that audio."

"That's a weak alibi and besides, the private investigators found a knife left in the location of the alleged attack. The fingerprints on that knife perfectly matched yours," the judge stated calmly. "In addition, Mr. Keith Blanche has submitted a footage of where you were the day before the shooting. That footage showed you entering a gun shop. My fellow judges and I unanimously agreed that it must have meant you had the full intention of immobilizing one, some, or even all of the parties who met you at the abandoned supermarket. What defense can you offer us?"

"Just because someone entered a firearm store doesn't mean they intended to use the firearm to do evil!" Linda barked. "I happen to be a gun collector and have been ever since I became an orphaned twenty-something after my parents died in a blazing house fire. I collect guns to feel safe as I have to protect not only myself but my late sister. Also, about that footage, what George did is an illegal breach of privacy! Surely you won't let that slide, your honor?"

"Your confession to being a gun enthusiast is irrelevant," the judge stated matter-of-factly. "You still are guilty of incapacitating Mr. Nardho Sitohang enough to land him on an extended hospital stay. As for the footage, I agree that what Mr. Blanche did wasn't legal and he himself admitted to it. For that, the judges and I have originally decided to sentence him to three months in a correctional facility but Ms. Neesa Johnson appealed and her appeal was convincing enough that today I'm happy to declare he shall receive a lighter sentence. Instead of going to detention, we're sentencing him to seven months of community service at the local homeless shelter."

"That's not too bad, Papa!" George cheered in the background and hugged Keith. The judge shushed the excited young man but it was hard not to notice the gentle tone with which he did so.

"As for you, Ms. Zulfikar," the judge continued, "this is your last chance to lighten your sentence. I would suggest you concede and admit to intentionally hurting those you shouldn't have hurt, otherwise we shall proceed with the law. How do you plead? Think wisely."

"I want a re-match!" Linda snapped. "Preferably with another set of judges who aren't extremely prejudiced against me like you guys clearly are. We can schedule that anytime, why not?"

"Actually, we can't, everything is finalized by now. It's a trial, madam, not a sports game where there is foul play. While some cases do warrant the need to re-try the parties involved, we believe yours have no merit for us to grant you a re-trial. On top of that, you have waived your right to a reduced sentence by snapping at us and for that you are given your original sentence: fifteen and half years in prison and two years of community service to be determined upon release, depending on your behavior while in jail."

"I'll just ask someone to bail me out, easy!" Linda retorted. "How much money do you need?"

"This isn't something you can buy your way out," the judge frowned. "Your fate is sealed."

"Before you take her to prison, I have a question, your honor!" Johan interrupted. "Who has visitation right? She can have visitors in prison right? But as far as I know she no longer has next of a kin, so I'm curious what the policy is in her situation."

What the fuck, Johan? This woman almost killed us and you want to visit her? You're too kind.

"Each offender in our legal system is allowed to have up to 18 visitors a year and we don't discriminate on who or who can't visit the offender," the judge said. "I would advise against you visiting Ms. Zulfikar, however, unless if you're okay with a third party and a custodian accompanying you at all times during your visit to ensure no form of aggression will occur. Do you have a person you can bring with you each time you visit? Why do you want to, anyway?"

"I feel that the root of all this ordeal is a huge misunderstanding," Johan stared at Linda. "I didn't realize until much later that she had no idea about me being gay and I understand why she finds it difficult to understand that the man her little sister fell in love with isn't straight. I also feel that both of us need to forgive each other—I hope one day I can forgive her for terrorizing my family and that she can forgive me for breaking Sherlyn's heart. However, there is no forgiveness without taking the first step toward reconciliation: an open communication to dispel all lingering hatred. From one oldest sibling to another, I think we have a lot in common, Linda."

"You're crazy for extending an olive branch!" Neesa shouted. "I object!"

"He's done crazier things." Kenta stared at her. "Yes, he's the craziest person I've ever known but I've lived with him for more than half of my life, this isn't surprising to me. Johan, if that's what you think is best, then I'll come with you when you visit Linda. I have one condition, though: please don't set your expectation too high. People take time to change and in some cases they never do, not even after imprisonment. Don't set yourself up for disappointment, you hear?"

"I heard you loud and clear."

"That settles it!" the presiding judge hit the gavel. "The case is now closed. Ms. Zulfikar has heard the court ruling and things pertaining to her detainment shall be dealt with accordingly."