Chapter 1
Was it her? Could it truly be her? The person he had hoped and lived for, the person who's very name put expressions of joy on his tired face. But first, lets go back to the beginning of our story, as He, whose name was Sweeney Todd, that poor bastard who swore vengeance on the world, and was now staring at his wife's rapist in the face, moments from being free from year of torment. With a sly smirk on his face, he slashed the judge's neck, and felt comforting warmth of coldness as the blood splattered his face as if he was a painter that loved painting himself with his own art, the blood. It was done. He pushed the lash down, and even if the judge were not dead, he would surely be, after he land unforgiving on his neck. Afterwards, he heard a shuffle in the corner of the room, and saw a tiny pale face peeping out of his reaping box. He turned and took her roughly by the hand, obviously not recognizing her for his own flesh and pushed her into his chair, razor ready.
"Come for a shave, have you lad?"
She whimpers back "no, I was sent by Anthony, sir"
"Really now, I must tell him that I would rather shave within my own time."
"I am in disguise, sir; my real name is Joanna, adoptive daughter of the cruel judge. "
For the first time in 15 years, a look of fear came over Benjamin Barber's face. Afterwards complete calmness climbed throughout his body. Joanna, now revealed, took off her hat; a beautiful bouquet of hair falling from her hair all the way down to her middle, and her face, her face was the end of it all. Once he saw her face, his eyes swelled with tears and slowly fell to the floor. It was the face of his life, his love, and his destruction. He dropped the razor, and fell to his knees. She slid away out of fear.
She whimpered,"Sir, please, please, I will not tell anyone, I am leaving tonight, just please do not slash my throat as you did to my benefactor, I promise I shall not say a word."
Lovingly he replied, "oh, dear child, I am a monster, fore something monstrous was done to me, and I deserve no more then your hatred. You do not know who I am, but I know your past more then you do yourself, if there was any mercy left in this world, it would grant me your forgiveness."
"Who are you? Why do you speak with such care if you are a murderer? Are you that monstrous to manipulate my mind and play little games with it?"
"I loved your mother, and she, like you, has a face only carved by angels."
She spat, "Burn in hell"
"You are the other half of me, my soul, you would have bore my name if it were not for that wretched judge. Tell me, does what I say comfort you?" Apparently by the look on her face, it did not. Yet while all this was happening, Joanna had taken the knife without Todd seeing, and she was now imagining how swift and sweet it would be to slash the razor across his throat.
"What is--." These were his last words, before she murdered him, known to her as a liar and a psycho, not as her father and future benefactor. As a cliché saying goes, so the story ends where it began, with a paradox of love and hate.