"I admit that I stole Jenkins Williams's identity, but it was not sothing I did by choice. After taking his place, I remained devoutly... loyally faithful to the Sage. I followed His teachings, embodied His spirit, and studied His scriptures. I may not be Jenkins, but I am a follower of the Sage. God loves all people, and I believe in God. If the Sage has accepted , this devout and unfortunate stranger, can you, His followers, truly not do the sa?"
The voices of the church mbers died down. They no longer stared at Jenkins, but instead whispered amongst themselves, heads bent together in discussion. Soon, they reached a conclusion. They gave Jenkins a solemn nod and filed out of the room in an orderly fashion.
Now, less than ten people remained in the hall.
Though Jenkins often felt he was far from a model believer, he knew one thing for certain: he was no traitor. He might be a heretical god, but he genuinely admired the Sage's teachings. And nowhere in any sacred text did it say that one god could not have faith in another.
And so, Jenkins was at peace with his own faith, and thus, he could face the mbers of the Church without guilt.
Even though the hall was much emptier, the voices of accusation had not ceased. Jenkins turned his gaze to his teachers and friends: Papa Oliver, Miss Broniaons, Miss Audrey, Professor Burns, the old elf...
"If I had never co here, Jenkins Williams would have scarcely ford the bonds you all share with him now. I took his place, but in doing so, I gave 'Jenkins' a better life, a brighter future. This may be difficult to accept, but the soul you know is not his—it's mine. The person you ca to know was never the man of the past, but the stranger I am today. I have never exploited his identity. I respect it, and I am committed to bringing it honor and dignity."
Papa Oliver stopped speaking. He tugged on Professor Burns's sleeve, and the professor revealed a satisfied expression. Miss Audrey and Miss Bevanna had actually fallen silent the mont Jenkins began to speak to them. They smiled at him, then led his teachers and friends out of the room.
Jenkins believed he hadn't wronged the original Jenkins. On the contrary, having arrived in this strange world through no fault of his own, he had, in fact, helped the deceased Jenkins achieve a better future. He hadn't wronged him, nor had he deliberately taken what rightfully belonged to him.
When it ca to his friendships and the bonds he had forged, his conscience was clear.
Only four people were left standing in the hall: Mary Williams, Robert Williams, Newman Williams, and John Williams. They were still waiting for his answer.
Jenkins could have spoken his mind, but facing the four pairs of eyes fixed on him, a thousand words caught in his throat. Even if it wasn't his intention, he had ultimately taken over Jenkins Williams's body. That was an indisputable fact. He, this despicable stranger, had indeed stolen another's identity and was living with another's face.
He made no attempt to explain, muttering instead:
"I'm very sorry about Jenkins."
"You..."
"But I wasn't the one who killed him. By the ti I arrived, he was already gone... I received so of his mories, so I know his soul was shattered the mont he laid eyes on a Mysterious Object. Fragnts of his soul clung to mine, and that's how I gained his scattered mories. I am truly sorry about Jenkins. I've used his identity and lived his life. But I swear, I will not tarnish his na, nor will I use his identity for evil."
The Williams family's accusations and curses didn't stop. The four of them recounted stories of the old Jenkins, all while denouncing the impostor before them.
After a long ti, they finally said all they had to say. Each one of them glared at Jenkins, but in the end, they turned together and walked out the door.
Jenkins felt guilty before Jenkins's family. Though he was a god of lies, he couldn't often deceive himself.
Now, only Jenkins on the sofa and the corpse on the floor were left in the room. Yet, Jenkins hadn't returned to that cold, damp basent, which ant this was not over.
He scanned the room, hoping to see Chocolate leap out from so corner, owing accusingly that he wasn't Jenkins.
But then he realized Chocolate would never think that. After all, even the na 'Chocolate' was a gift from him. To a cat, there was no such thing as a stranger. The Jenkins it knew had always been this Jenkins. Of that, there was no doubt.
The first half of the trial was to test if Jenkins could endure the loneliness of being a "stranger." The second half was to test if he could accept the identity of a "stranger."
"So who else is here to accuse ? Why isn't it over yet?"
He wondered.
"Have you forgotten about ?"
The voice ca from the floor. The blond 'corpse' of Jenkins sat up and looked at the black-haired Jenkins on the sofa.
The Jenkins on the sofa breathed a sigh of relief and started to laugh.
"What right do you have to accuse ?"
"You took my body,"
the corpse said calmly.
"But it wasn't my choice! I was forced into this as well! I didn't kill you. And having your identity is a good thing for you—a dead man. Your family doesn't have to grieve. Your future is guaranteed to be bright. Your entire destiny has changed. What reason do you have to accuse ?"
"You took my body."
The corpse repeated, as if to remind him of the fact.
Jenkins felt a sense of ease. Everyone in the hall had put imnse pressure on him, but this Jenkins, of all people, could not. He continued to smile as he spoke, but there was a faint hint of anger in his voice:
"Did I take your body, or did your body imprison my soul? Jenkins Williams, if you hadn't died, how would I have beco Jenkins Williams? How would I have ended up in this godforsaken world, this backward era? How would I have been forced to live this insane life? I beca a stranger, I beca what I am now—don't you bear so responsibility for that?"
"Even without , you might still have ended up in soone else's body, as a stranger."
"But the fact is, I beca you. So I can't bla so other dead person. I can only stand here and ask why you had to die. Why did I have to beco you? Why did I have to take over your life? Did you think becoming you was so great fortune? Don't you think I've lost things because of this? That I've been hurt by all this?"
The corpse remained silent. After a long mont, it let out a sigh, lowered itself back to the floor, and once again beca a true corpse.
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