8. TRIAL

Abby sat in the very back of the courtroom. The place was filled with all the people from the town who wanted to see the 'witch'. There was a lot of chatter going on so when the Judge Hamilton was ready to begin he had to smack his gavel several times to get everyone's attention.

"Order I say! Order!" Finally the room settled down. Judge Hamilton began looking at the papers in front of him and spoke at the same time. "It says here that you've confessed to being a witch. Is that true?" He peered over his glasses as Sarah.

"Yes, your honor. That is the truth." Sarah answered boldly. If she felt any fear at all, she did not show it.

"Do you know what happens to witches, Miss Sarah?" Judge Hamilton asked.

"Yes, your honor. They are burned at the stake." Again, Sarah came across fearless.

"So why would you confess to something that you knew would have such terrible consequences?" He inquired.

Sarah thought for a moment to try to come up with the answer they would want to hear. "I know that what I did was wrong and I must pay for my sins. I leave it to God to judge me. If he would have me be burned, then let it be done."

"Your honor, may I say something?" It was Reverend Parris. He stood up from his seat that was in the front row.

The judge furrowed his brow and said, "Go ahead Reverend."

"Your honor, I believe the defendant has not been entirely truthful. I believe that her children are the evil ones but that she has claimed to be the witch responsible for the attack on my daughter, Betty. I believe that she is only doing this to protect them and therefore preventing true justice from being served." The Reverend said.

Judge Hamilton pondered this. "If what you say is true, there is no way to prove it. She says she's a witch yet you say she is not."

"I beg your pardon sir, but there is a way to tell if she be a true witch." Reverend Parris offered.

The judge seemed intrigued. "Go on Reverend."

"Back in England they would use the practice of tossing the accused into a body of water. If the waters accept the person and they are able to sink, then the person is not a witch. But if the person floats and is rejected by the waters, then they are a witch." Reverend Parris seemed pleased with himself.

Abby couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stood up in the back and shouted "You're a mad man! To prove her innocence she must drown? And if she doesn't drown you convict her and kill her anyway? Where is the justice in that?"

The judge began slamming his gavel again as the entire room began their chatter once more. "Order! I want order in my court!" When the room finally hushed back down, he continued. "Reverend Parris you bring an interesting concept to light. I have heard of these trials by water before and I have to say that I agree with you."

The room broke out in an uproar again and Abby was screaming at them that they were not making the right choice. Sarah, however, stood there with quiet dignity.

Judge Hamilton slammed his gavel several more times until the room obeyed his order for silence. "I have made my decision. We take her to Salem Harbor for the trial by water. If she sinks we will eventually save her from drowning. If she floats, then I am afraid that she will have to be burned at the stake according to Massachusetts law." He slammed his gavel once more.

Everyone stood up and began moving at the same time. Abby screamed Sarah's name and tried to get to her but it was useless. The room was already a frenzy and the guards had taken her away.

Abby was beside herself. Were they really going to drown her sister? Was she really going to just watch it happen? She felt as though she had no other choice. She followed the crowd of people as they went to the harbor.

When she finally got there, she caught a glimpse of Sarah sitting on the ground near the water. They had her changed back into her white dress and it appeared as though the stains had been washed out. Her hair was also adorned with white flowers. It was the Reverend's doing. He wanted her to look presentable to meet God for her judgment. He expected her not to survive the trial by water.

As strong and brave as Sarah had been in the courtroom, she now looked scared. Again, tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew that the end was near. Abby ran to be at her side and she wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Sarah, I can't let this happen to you!" Abby sobbed. "Tell me what to do, Sarah! Tell me how to stop this!"

Sarah hugged her sister back and stroked her hair. "Shhh, it'll be alright. This is the end and I am ready for it. Truthfully, the Reverend has offered me a more merciful death than to be burned at the stake. I will make myself swim to the bottom and hold onto anything I can find. I will allow myself to drown. It's better this way Abby. Just remember your promise to me to take care of the twins and I can die a peaceful death." She kissed the top of Abby's forehead.

It was then that two of the guards took Sarah by either arm and began to pull her away, into the water.

"NOOO!" Abby screamed through her tears. "Please God, no!" Another guard grabbed hold of Abby to keep her from chasing after Sarah into the water.

Sarah looked back over her shoulder and called "I love you Abby! Tell Jane and Alec how much I love I them too!" She was now crying as well.

"Sarah! Please, no!" Abby was still screaming but everyone ignored her. She turned to the crowd looking for help. Surely all these people were not going to just stand by and watch this act of cruelty. In the crowd she recognized Cotton's face. She broke away from the guard and ran to the family friend.

"Cotton, please! We have to do something! Please Cotton, help her!" Abby begged.

Cotton looked ashamed and sad. He turned away from Abby. When she realized that he had no intentions of helping she began to hit him repeatedly. "You coward! Cotton Bishop you are such a coward!" She spit the words through gritted teeth. The guard came back and grabbed Abby to pull her off of Cotton. She tried to fight him as well but it was useless.

The Reverend walked over to her and threatened, "Unless you wish to join your sister, I recommend you stop this foolishness."

Abby's shoulders heaved as she tried to calm herself down. She would not be able to keep her promise to Sarah if she was dead too. Abby did the only thing that there was left to do. She watched.

When the water reached a certain depth, the guards pushed Sarah out even further and then they swam back to where they could easily stand in the water. Everyone had their eyes on Sarah. She knew what she had to do.

She dove down into the waters until she could feel the sea floor. Her fingers felt around and she found a large rock with some seaweed growing out from under it. She wrapped the seaweed around her arm as tightly as she could and then held onto the rock. She spent her last thoughts on Alec and Jane, the two most important people in her life. She knew that they would be in good hands with Abby to care for them. She let the last bubbles of air slip past her lips and then she opened her mouth and allowed the water to fill her lungs. It was an intense burning sensation that she desperately wanted to fight. Every survival instinct in her fought to stay alive. Her body struggled and wanted to let go of the rock and seaweed but her mind forced her to stay in place. It was the only way… Sarah's body had a few more jerks but eventually gave up. Then everything seemed to go white. The light was so beautiful. In the center of the light she thought she saw someone that she recognized. It was her husband, Patrick.

From the shore Abby watched the last bubbles float to the surface. She was crying so hard that her body was shaking. The guard eventually let her fall to the ground. The despair was overwhelming. Abby buried her face into her knees as she hugged her legs to her chest. It was the sound of everyone gasping that made her look up.

When Sarah had lost consciousness, her fingers released their grip on the heavy rock. Her body pulled upward towards the surface but the seaweed pulled on her wrist and kept her under. The kelp was only wrapped around her wrist a few times and eventually came unraveled. With its release, Sarah's body floated to the surface.

When Abby looked up she saw that Sarah's body had reemerged. Abby couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked. Then the guards made their way over to her and dragged her body back to shore. When they laid her down she was slightly turned on her side. Reverend Parris went and kneeled down beside her. He checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn't. Just when he was about to announce that she was dead, her body threw up the water and began coughing the liquid out of her lungs.

The crowd gasped again and no one was more surprised than Abby. She rushed to be at Sarah's side. "Sarah? Can you hear me?" Abby asked, breathlessly.

Sarah was still coughing and then she finally opened her eyes. She saw Abby first and looked confused. Then she saw Reverend Parris above her and knew what had happened.

"No, this can't be!" Sarah tried to speak but her throat was still burning. Silent tears rolled down the sides of her face. Abby leaned over her and tried to comfort her.

Reverend Parris stood up to address the crowd. "Sarah had failed the trial by water. She has been rejected from the harbor and has therefore proven that she is indeed a witch." He paused momentarily. "She will be burned at the stake."