A rooster crows, signaling the beginning of the new day. You stand in front of your store watching your customers pass by. The air is crisp and cool this morning. A stream of people pass your store. I walk with them, only another unknown face. A small child runs in front of me and I stumble over him. My hand reaches out to stop my fall. It wraps around your arm. As we both fall to the dirty ground, I notice the contrast between your white arm and my dark skinned hand. A look of horror crosses your face as you spring back to your feet. A crowd gathers around us as I also push myself to my feet. A man in a uniform, a deputy sheriff, approaches you.
“What happened?” He asks you. You walk over to me and stare into my eyes. The look of hatred on your face fills me with a terror that penetrates my very soul.
“This here Negro attacked me!” There is a gasp from the onlookers in the street. They back away as you raise your fist.
“I never would do such a thing, suh!”  Before I can raise my arm to protect myself, you strike my right cheek. I fall to the ground and try to rub away the soreness. You walk towards me ready to strike again, but the deputy stops you. He whispers something that I can’t hear from where I lie. The deputy helps me up and leads me through the mob on the street. I can hear you shouting filthy words at me. My ears burn as I feel the shame of touching one of my betters. I am led into the small jail. The deputy locks me into a small cell where I can no longer cause any trouble. I fall onto the wooden bench and hang my head. What have I done?

The jail is bright as the hot noon sun rises above the town. I hear the door open and with it comes the sound of your voice. Your voice draws nearer and finally I see your form outside my cell. You look down at me, your face is filled with contempt.
You say, “Sheriff, I want to see his corpse hanging by tonight!”
“Now, you know we can’t do that. It ain’t lawful!” The other voice is that of the sheriff. He is a good man, nicer to me than most white folks.
“I don’t care! What he done to me wasn’t lawful and he must pay!”
“We have to get a trial date set! This man deserves…”
You cut off the sheriff and rant. “Deserves? That son of a Baptist deserves nothing less than death, and I’ll see he gets his due!” With that, you leave the jail. I hear the door loudly slam behind you. The sheriff looks down at me with a pitying grimace on his face. He begins to speak, but closes his mouth. He leaves the jail and I am left alone. My thoughts are the only company I have in the empty silence.

A loud noise wakes me up. It is only now that I realize I fell asleep. It is dark inside and outside the jail. Any moonlight is blocked by the buildings on either side of the jail. I do not know the source of the noise. I rise to my feet and look out the door of my cell. The door to the jail breaks with a loud crash. Light streams into my cells. Shadows dance on the wall as men with torches enter the jail. I see your face illuminated in a demonic glow from the torch. You flash an evil smile as the others set fire to my cell door. I back away from it as flames lick the doorway. You kick the door twice before it gives way. You grab my wrist and yank me out of the room. I slam into a wall and fall to the ground. You wrap your hand around my neck and lift me to my feet.
“Please, suh…” I try to beg for mercy, but you do not care. You are filled with bloodlust, and you will not leave until you have fulfilled that lust. You pull me out the door of the burning jail. I see the sheriff outside, watching with grim regret. He shakes his head and walks away from the mob. Women and children watch from windows high above the ground. Smoke pours out of the open door of the prison. You lead me to a large tree in the center of the town square. Its tall branches once provided me with relief from the burning sun. Now it brings death. A noose hangs from one of its strongest boughs. I look into your eyes and see murderous hate as you look back at me.
“I’ll teach your kind respect! I’ll teach you all respect!” You spit in my face as another man leads a horse underneath the tree. You have me stand on the horse’s back. I nearly fall and you catch me by the hair. When you right me, you tie my hands together. I struggle to keep my balance. You stand on a bench and slip the noose around my neck. As you tighten the knot, a tear runs down my cheek.
“Please, suh…” I can say no more. You check the knot and get down from the bench. You take a torch from one of your neighbors, one of my neighbors also. You set fire to the base of the tree. The flames are small at first. The rope scrapes uncomfortably against my neck as the horse shifts. I manage to stay on my feet as the smoke begins to sting my eyes. Miraculously, the horse stays still. Finally, you grow impatient. You walk to the rear of the horse and stand underneath me.
“Now, ladies and gentleman! We show them what they will receive for their disrespect! They will know respect! Today, this town will taste truth! They will know the truth, and the truth will set them free!” You slap the horse on the rear and it runs in fear. I freefall for an eternity. The rope snaps back and I hear my neck crack. I struggle to breathe and my eyes bulge out of my skull. You look up at me and laugh. You laugh as the rope strangles me and the flames consume me. You have shown us. Yes, you have certainly shown us.
I watch from heaven as the sun rises above the town. Morning has come. A few still linger in the smoldering square. Wisps of smoke rise up to the sky. The country around is beautiful. Flowers are in bloom and their scent spreads over the world. With this smell though, comes the sickening smell of burning flesh. You stand over what remains of last night’s trial. The verdict and sentence were yours to deal, and you dealt them severely. You turn to walk away from the scene of your crime, but something catches your eye. You look at it and trip. As you fall, I realize what it is. It is my pocketknife. It plunges into your chest as a rooster crows to signal the dawn of a new day. Justice and injustice have been committed. Good and evil have waged their battle. Though the square burns, the old day has ended, and a new one has begun anew.