Page 42 of The Space Traveller's Lover
“Any further questions?” Judge Abiko asks the prosecutor.
“No, Your Honour,” she replies and then proceeds to walk ostentatiously to her seat after scolding Wray with a searing gaze.
“Let’s hear the closing statement from the defence next,” the judge orders as Professor Khan leaves the stand and takes a seat in the very front row of the packed courtroom.
Jack Wray clears his throat before speaking. “Your Honour, thank you very much for your patience during this most unusual court hearing. I appeal to your wildest imagination, to your profound ability of thinking outside the box. The question we must carefully consider is the following: Why would Sam Sheppard, a kind, fun-loving teenager, kill the girl he loves? Even if she were to reject him, why would he do it? Could it be that, in a sudden rage, he lost his mind? No, no, and no! As we all know, Sam Sheppard is an honest, decent, stable young man who would never contemplate such a crime. And I think he would be the best one to convince you of that.” He extends his hand towards Sam, beckoning him to come forward.
Sam saunters towards the witness box, looking directly into Professor Khan’s eyes and then into Judge Abiko’s.
“Objection, Your Honour.” Ms Porter runs towards the podium. “We have not been instructed of the defendant taking the stand.”
Judge Abiko looks intensely into Sam’s supplicant gaze. He finds the youngster’s silent plea impossible to reject. By the persistent way Sam is looking at him, the experienced judge can sense that something significant is about to happen.
“Overruled! Let Sam Sheppard speak,” the judge orders, nodding at Sam and not even bothering to acknowledge Ms Porter’s presence by his podium.
Sam smiles and gratefully bows his head to the judge. For the first time today, his uptight demeanour has changed into a confident one. He stares at the public and then at his tearful mother, Martha, and his anxious sister, Stella, nodding slightly at them in a comforting gesture. Then he looks at his father, with a forewarning glare flashing across his face.
“Thank you, Your Honour,” Sam finally says, his voice breaking through the dead silence of the expectant audience. “Perhaps I can introduce you to a special witness …”
Everyone, even Ms Porter, is holding his or her breath in anticipation.
At this very moment, when the courtroom appears to be frozen in time, the double entrance doors creak and abruptly open wide, giving way to a bright white beam flooding the central aisle. Everyone gasps as an elegant, veiled woman walks amid the light shaft toward the podium—everyone, that is, except Sam, because he knows perfectly well who the unexpected visitor is.
The white veil disintegrates around her, revealing her svelte figure gleaming in a white bodysuit. The purple glint from her almond-shaped eyes immediately grabs the audience’s complete attention.
She nods in turn as she encounters every disconcerted stare and then she says in a vibrant voice, “My name was Erin, but I’m not dead.”
“Erin!” Mr Lobart screams in disbelief as he runs towards her, making his way through the standing public and pushing everyone away in a desperate attempt to reach her before anyone else. “Is it really you?” Lobart staggers, stretching his arms towards her but stumbling onto the floor before he can reach her.
Every muscle in his face knots up in exasperation as he tries to understand what has stopped him. Then Pat Lobart tries to get close to Shaillah, but she too is pushed back as if she has bumped into an invisible barrier. Judge Abiko stands up behind his podium, hardly believing that Erin Lobart has suddenly appeared in front of him. Ms Porter’s face has turned so pale, she seems about to faint. Professor Khan is stroking his beard as he struggles to find an explanation for what he is witnessing while Jack Wray can hardly move from his seat, startled. “I’ll be damned,” he grumbles. “So he was telling the truth.”
Several people leave their seats, congregating along the aisle and close to the seemingly invisible wall surrounding Shaillah. Sam makes his way through the startled group until he reaches the dividing edge, and to everyone’s bafflement, he is allowed to go through and stand next to Shaillah. They both look directly at the judge, who seems completely lost for words.
Martha tries to reach her son, but all she can do is sweep her hands over the invisible wall surrounding him.
“Erin! Stop this game, please,” Martha pleads, fearing for what could happen to Sam.
“Do not dare harm him,” Stella shrieks in a threatening tone.
“Sam is perfectly okay, and he is telling the truth,” Shaillah replies calmly. “I’ve been away. But I’ve returned to bring you a message.”
“What message?” shouts Professor Khan, who has joined Judge Abiko at the podium.
“On behalf of the Rom-Ghenshars. They are here and want to let you know about their plans … as soon as possible,” Shaillah declares.
“Is this a joke? A new kind of alien abduction scam?” shouts Ms Porter.
The impatient audience seems to have had enough and breaks out in a turmoil of protestation, everyone demanding to know what is happening and trying to get a better view of Shaillah in any way they can.
“Order, order!” Judge Abiko shouts over the noisy crowd, eventually managing to get the courtroom under control. “Let Erin Lobart speak.”
“Thank you, Your Honour”. Shaillah smiles at Judge Abiko. Then she looks around the courtroom as she speaks in an uplifting tone. “The Rom-Ghenshars have come from very far away from within our galaxy. Humans must feel fortunate that they have chosen to visit this planet and even offer their friendship and assistance.”
“Who are these people? The Rom … whatever?” Ms Porter disgruntledly asks amid the grumbles and murmurs of collective incredulity.
“We, the Rom-Ghenshars, have now come full circle from a distant past. Today is the day of a new beginning when vast distances are erased and faraway worlds are reunited. We have come to start a new era, to forge a new destiny. Let us work together—for a brighter future.”
Shaillah raises one fist in the air in a triumphant gesture, but the multitude around her hardly moves, staring at her in complete awe. She looks at Sam with a proud reassuring smile, but he is also in absolute shock.
