A/N: Okay, I just watched the Passion of the Christ and was inspired to write this.
However, I am very much scared. I don't wanna mess up the original Bible story…
But let's see if I can make this okay…
The sun was set for the day, bathing the land in a dark curtain illuminated by moonlight and the burning torches in the city. Christianna lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her father and mother were sleeping in the next room, sound snores echoing through the house. The 15 year old, however, was plagued with sleeplessness. It was late at night, she knew, and she should be resting. But the longer she tried to tire her mind out with extreme fantasies and deep thoughts, the greater her awareness of the world outside her window.
There was a faraway noise drifting through the air, one that grew steadily louder as the minutes passed. Too intrigued to ignore it, Christianna climbed out of the window in her nightdress, scampering over the rooftops to see the source of the sound.
A crowd of people marched down the street. Christianna slipped down a fabric canopy, landing in an alley and watching the procession from a few feet away. Servants of the high priest, Christianna thought. A man in a dark brown robe was being led between the servants. His hair fell in brown waves down to his chin, and he stared at his feet while he walked. Christianna saw his hands were bound. The men pushed him roughly, making him stumble, and laughed when he fell in the dirt. Christianna's heart went out to the man, and her hand unconsciously raised itself as if to reach out and help him up.
Suddenly, golden eyes were locked on hers as he looked up. There was no anger in them, no ill will. Just sadness. Christianna moved a half-step forward, but the man shook his head slightly, and she froze. The man was yanked to his feet and shoved forward.
Christianna quickly climbed back onto the roof and followed the man.
The man was led through the gates leading to the governor's home. Already, a huge crowd of people had gathered. Christianna got off the roof and managed to make her way through the throng to an overturned wagon. She climbed atop it and was provided with an unobstructed view of the man, but she could hardly hear what the high priest was saying to Pilate. A gasp flew out of her mouth when one of the priest's henchmen lashed out and punched the man.
A woman in front of her was crying, and the young boy with her looked upset. But all around, men and women alike were cheering as the man was hit.
"Enough!" Christianna's attention was jerked back to Pilate as he silenced the crowd. "He is under Herod's rule. Send him to Herod." Everyone voiced their unhappiness as the man was taken out of the city. Christianna followed the group, ghosting through alleyways and staying out of sight. When they came to the gates of the city, Christianna stopped, peering at the man for the last time.
She didn't know if she was imagining things, but she thought the man's golden eyes found her in the darkness before he was taken away.
