Trinidad: Rise of a Queen

Guilty. The video footage left no doubts in the minds of the jury. They clearly saw her raise the knife and stabbed the victim several times. The poor victim had fallen asleep on the couch where he had been reading a book. She entered, sat on his lap, and plunged the knife into his heart.

I am guilty. She never answered a single question, just repeated the same sentence for every prompt. When the DA asked her why she did it, she said I am guilty. Frustrated by her mono stereo planned response to the questions, the judge ordered the attorneys to his office, then gave them twenty minutes to deliberate the issue with their party.

Her defense attorney laid it out to her, this is Trinidad, they will hang you high in the morning. If you plead insanity, you could be out in ten years. The judge would welcome such a plea, they would get a psychiatrist to evaluate the case and the gallows would not become an option.

Her response was cold and harsh. She threw the papers to the floor and stamped her feet on them. She reminded him that it was the court that placed an attorney on the case. She didn't ask for help. She had no plans of going to jail. I am guilty, hanging me is justice.

Visits of Mercy

When her sister came to see her, tears rolling down her cheeks, she bade her not to waste them on her, better save them for the wedding. Her sister left molested. Why would she weep on her wedding day? It would be in five days; they were going to hang Trinidad in two days.

Her son Bill smiled at her. He raised five fingers to his lips and said five days more, please don't disappoint me. He blew her a kiss on the bulletproof glass that separated them. So, it is in Trinidad. A murderer has no rights and may not make physical contact with anyone at all.

The little boy’s lips stayed printed on the window with his breath. He shot her a thumbs up and repeated to her, please don’t disappoint me.

She chided him, he shouldn't forget that she was Emily Trinidad the 13th, and it was her time. She had shown him enough for him to be brave and get along with life. She would always be with him, always.

Her young, daughter, Emma, cried too, she hoped her dad never had to die. She confessed her desire for her mother to rot in hell. That the gallows were made that same day, and they would cut her head off with a butcher’s axe.

She was completely disappointed with the bailiff, who only showed signs of weakness. She just wanted a small visit to hug her mother one last time and plunge the same crooked blade into her wretched heart. Stupid guard.

Her mother kept silent and said nothing. Deep inside she knew that Emma would mature soon and come to thank her for her brave work in freeing her husband’s spirit. She forged a smile as the guards led the child away.

The DA came to see her again, the in-laws were offering an insanity deal for the children's sake. No child should grow up without their mother's arms nearby. A towel to clean a bruise, handkerchiefs to dry each tear, a warm embrace to console every broken heart - they deserved it.

She became angry. She had made her stance very clear. Just hang me and get it over with. She shouted harassing threats at the lawyer and then at the family, promising to hunt them down if she ever was set free. One by one, blade by blade. Not an ounce of leniency would be shown.

The attorney left, swearing under his breath.

Finally Death Came

The jury deliberated the case. Tommy had been a good husband, father, and community leader. His death was cold-blooded and savage. They ruled out any insanity pleas and any chance of provocation from the husband that may have sparked the attack. They even retraced the moments leading up to the attack. But nothing in the footage suggested anything different or new.

They found her guilty. The judge was hesitant, hoping to salvage a last-minute life sentence. His hands had been full of blood that week and did not want another gallows in less than a month. If only there was a way to convince this woman of her insanity.

But she burst into horrific laughter and promised to send the court at least one prisoner per day. How would the judge like the bodies: maimed, broken neck, missing organs, or just the old sweater dangling from the ceiling?

The judge ordered the hanging. He had never brought his hammer down so fiercely. His wrist even hurt a bit from doing it. She kept on laughing, and he was even more certain of her insanity. But the crowd was already screaming “Gallows! Gallows!”

He got up quickly without dismissing the jury, rushed into his office, washed his hands and face, and gazed into the mirror. What had he seen in her eyes? It was lurking on the back of his head, he just couldn’t quite bring it to life. Yet he was sure that he saw it. It was there. No, not madness. Something.

He called the bailiff and gave him the hanging orders.

The Gallows of the Mount of Faith

Here in Trinidad, they danced Calypso all night until morning rise, drinking root beers and red label wine. They set ablaze the great bonfire, roasted beef, and chicken on its flames, while the township built a gallows for the last of its founding ancestors.

It is here where Diana Emily Trinidad wed and raised her family. No one knows where she came from. Some said she walked out of the seas, shed her tail and fins, and became human forever. Others believe that she came from the mountains. A banshee looking for a fiery bird, a phoenix, to marry.

She founded the city at the foot of the hills and lured men there to mine for its endless treasures. They went in numbers but only a few came back. And each time was the same. Soon the town gave up on the mining project for their safety.

Today in Trinidad, the sunrise is celebrating another public holiday, dedicated to those whose crimes would find no forgiveness. Those crimes that make the great spirit of the river hide away in the shadows, unwilling to help them cross over.

She has no new last words, just the same line. I am guilty. The in-laws cheer cautiously, justice was being served but the children would suffer later. They worried for Billy and Emma, maybe the grandma would take one each side. There were no remaining Trinidads left. She was the last.

The little boy is dancing to the soft memorial songs. The aunts and uncles cast pity, believing him mad. But the band is playing his favorite music and he finds reasons to celebrate even as they tied the ropes around his mother’s neck.

Death on the Mount of Faith can be cruel. There are no benches that will be kicked away, no planks that will open. Just the rope around your neck and that gentle push off the hill into the open air. The body flies in the morning sun before a hard pitfall into the abyss of death.

The music stopped, and the judge raised his hand. He had no sermon to offer, no sweet caveat of victory. No, not today. Today they celebrated the end of a hideous crime committed on one of their own in cold blood.

The executioner placed his hands against her back, gripped the rope firmly, gazed at the judge, gazed at the people, and softly shoved Emma over the cliff.

The sharp bang of the unwinding rope killed the chatter. She seemed to fly into the early morning sunlight, kissing the rays that brushed her lips and caressed her cheeks. Her body came to a sudden stop and remained there, dangling back and forth, even as she kicked from the pain flowing through her body.

The little boy is still dancing, maybe now to the music made by the rope brushing against the upper bars of the gallows.

The crowd roared, the band played, and the Calypso got underway. Diana Emily Trinidad was dead.

The little boy continued his dancing, joined now by his sister. She is celebrating revenge for her father. In her eyes, justice had won. Her mother would finally face the hounds of hell. And deep in her heart, she hoped that there would be nothing left.

The dark clouds are amassing, there is a small tremor, and the people pause for a minute. There's a rumbling sound like a giant glacier echoing from the hills where no one has gone for years. No one except for Trinidad and her husband, Tommy.

Now it roars anew like the old days of the volcano Misper. But that was long ago and only the older folk recall. The youth, the new generation has never seen a volcano shout fire and brimstone.

The little boy lets out a whooping shout that floated above the dancers and the music. The glass windows in the watchtower trembled, rattled, and finally shattered.

The dark clouds amassed and covered the skies, and the music stopped. The people no longer danced. They fled now as a bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the body of Trinidad. It burst into flames and fire consumed the gallows from which she hung.

The little boy is singing and shouting, and his sister watches in glee. God has sent justice. The huge beast spread its wings showing off its gold layered feathers as it dove slowly on the Mount of Faith. Its beak releases streams of fire that set the hills ablaze.

The people screamed as panic and fear seized them and threw the guards and the leaders into an unprecedented frenzy. Amid the falling brimstone and the blazing flames, they scurried down the hill leaving horses and wagons behind.

The animals did not stay put; they rushed to open glades below and blended into the forest.

The plaza is bare except for the two little children. The township has fled the scene. They didn't see when Tommy lowered from the back of a huge beast, calling his children to him. Their hugs and tears expressed their immense joy at his return.

Finally, the beast lifted its head and cried with all its power. The hills rumbled once more and the kids watched in awe as Trinidad rose from the flames, dusting the ashes from her clothes.

In Trinidad, they failed to see when the four mounted onto the backs of giant eagle-like beasts and flew into the hills, where the rumbling sound of the volcano welcomed the new queen and announced her reign. Soon Tommy and his phoenix would need to feed. And the town would become handy.

This is Trinidad where the police and the national guard found no trace of the bodies of two little children and their mother.