Michael and Joss

My rendition of Romeo and Juliet

They were so young and so in love, but their gangs hated each other.  What were they to do?  Where were they to go?  Who would’ve thought that their love would be so strong?  That such hate could turn into such love?

 

Our story takes place in Barrone, the city of beauty, where the Capulet and Montague Gangs are at each other’s throats about something that happened years ago.  None of them actually knew why they were fighting, but because the leaders of the gangs said that they had to, they did.  On this day, the Capulets had been attending the annual carnival, when the Montagues waltzed in.  Sam and Greg, both from the Capulet Gang, started swearing at Abe, a Montegue, and a brawl started.  The police was there to break them up and the Sheriff, Blake Chatwind, said, “Throw down your weapons, and hear the sentence of your angry sheriff.  You have disturbed our beautiful city’s peace three times now and hurt everyone in Barrone, not just each other!  If you ever disturb our streets again, your lives will pay the price!  Now go and remember the price you’ll pay!”

 

That evening, a fancy dress party was held at the Capulet residence, and the Montagues weren’t invited.  Needless to say, the Montagues wanted to join in the fun and snuck in the back.  Everybody was dancing, drinking, just having fun.  Ben, Marc and Michael, all Montagues, went their separate ways to explore the house.  Michael, who was head-over-heels for Rose, wondered around the house, looking for fun, when all of a sudden, he saw the most beautiful sight.  He followed her around the room, trying to get a better look.

  “Who is that babe with the face that brightens up the room?” he asked a waiter.

  The waiter replied, “Unfortunately I do not know, sir.”

  Watching her dance around the room, Michael said to himself, “Oh, she does teach the light bulbs to burn bright!  It seems that she hangs upon the cheek of night, as a rich jewel in an African’s ear – a beauty too rich for use, too dear for Earth.  She is as a snowy dove in the midst of the crows.  I’ll watch the place where she stands and, touching hers, bless my unworthy hand.  Did my heart love ‘til now?  I swear that I have never seen true beauty ‘til this day.”

  Standing nearby was Tym, a member of the Capulets, and he recognised Michael’s voice.

  “This, by his voice, should be a Montegue.  Fetch me my gun, boy.”

  The waiter ran off to fetch the gun.

  Tym continued, “How dare the pig come here, covered with paint, to ruin our night of celebration?  Now, by the honour of the gang, to kill him now I feel it no sin.”

  Tym walked to the back of the house.

  “Why, dear friend, do you storm in like this?” Charles, the leader of the Capulets, rose from his chair as he spoke.

  “Charles, this, a Montegue, our enemy, a scoundrel that is here to wreck our party.”

  Charles looked confused, “Michael, is it?”

  “’Tis he, that rat Michael!”

  “Calm down, gentle soul!  Let him be.  He is behaving like a gentleman.  And to be honest, the people of Barrone say good things about him – that he is a respectable and well-governed young man.  I will not, here in my house, insult him.  Not even for all the money of this country!  So take no note of him, I urge you.  Mingle with the rest of the crowd and take that frown off your face.  It is a very unsuitable expression for a party.”

  Tym sneered, “It fits when such a creature is a guest.  I will not withstand him.”

  “He will be withstood!  What I say shall be done.  Am I the leader of the gang, or are you?  Go now.  I know you’ll not endure him.  God will mend your soul if you cause a riot amongst the crowd.  You’ll feel like the ‘big man”, wont you?”

  Tym shook his head, “Well, Charles, it’s a shame.”

  Charles started getting angry with Tym, “Go away now!  You are disturbing our guests!”

  He and Tym walked back to the front and Tym said, “I will withdraw this time, but this intrusion will, now seeming sweet, turn into a bitter hate.”

 

Michael had been following the young beautiful girl around the room and now, finally, had a chance to talk to her.  He took her hand and stared deep into her eyes, “If I damage this holy shrine, with my unworthy hand, an acceptable sin this is: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, stand ready to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

  Joss pulled her hand away, “Good pilgrim, you only do wrong to your hand, which proper devotion shows in this.  For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy pilgrims’ kiss.”

  “Do saints not have lips, and what about holy pilgrims?” Michael asked.

  Joss looked shocked, “Yes, lips that they use for prayer.”

  Michael fell more in love every second.  “Oh dear saint, then let lips do what hands do.”

  He then kissed her.  “Now my sin is transferred.”

 Joss was worried, “Then do my lips hold your sin?”

  Michael quickly said, “Sin from my lips?  Oh give me back my sin.” He kissed her again.

  She smiled at him, “You kiss by the book.”

  Joss’s maid came to call her, “Your mother wants a word with you.”

  Joss hesitated, but went to her mother.  Michael was on ‘cloud nine’.

  “Who is her mother?” he asked the maid.

  The maid smiled proudly, “She’s the lady of the house.  A good lady, a wise and virtuous one too.  I looked after her daughter with you whom you spoke.  I tell you, the man who gets her, will have all the riches.”

  Michael walked away.  Had he just heard right?  “Is she a Capulet?  Oh dear Lord!  My life is my enemy!”

  Ben came over to Michael, “Let’s go.  The best of the party is done.”

  After finding Marc they left.

 

  “Come here maid.  Who is that guy?  The one who wouldn’t dance?”

  “I do not know.”

Joss was getting agitated, “Go ask someone.”

  The maid went off to ask someone.

  Joss stared out the window, “If he is married, my grave will be like my wedding bed.”

  The maid returned, “His name is Michael.  And he’s a Montegue!”

  Joss’s eyes filled with tears, “My only love sprung from my only hate!  Now I know too late!  This is a monstrous birth of love to me – that I must love a loathed enemy.”

 

Michael walked away from his friends into the garden, “Can it be true?  Can she really be the one I must hate?”

  He stood in a bush smelling a rose, when Joss walked out onto her balcony.

  Michael’s mouth dropped open, “It is the east and Joss is the sun.  Rise beautiful sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that you, her maid, are far more beautiful than she is.  Don’t be her maid, because she is envious.  Her clothes are but sick and green, and nobody else but fools will wear it.  So take it off.”

  Michael sighed, “It is my woman, oh it is my love.  If only she knew that she was.  She speaks, yet she says nothing.  How can that be?  Her eyes express her thoughts; I will answer it!”

  He moved towards her, but quickly moved back, “I am too proud.  It’s not to me she speaks.  Two of the fairest stars in Heaven, absent from their job, beg her eyes to twinkle in their spheres ‘til they return.  What if her eyes were in the Heaven, and the stars in her head?  The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight does a lamp.  See how she leans her cheek on her hand?  Oh I wish I was a glove on that hand so that I could touch that cheek!”

  Joss stared out into the darkness of the night, “Oh, my Michael.  Why are you ‘Michael’?  Deny your leader and refuse your gang, or if you don’t, be my sworn love, and I will no longer be a Capulet.”

 

Michael climbed up a tree to get to Joss.  She jumped when he landed in front of her.

  “Michael, I love you!”

  “And I, you!!”

  Michael took her hands and they looked deep into each other’s eyes.

  “Come with me.  Let us run away from here!  We’ll be happy, forever!”

  Joss didn’t know what to say at first.  She glanced into her room and turned back to Michael, “Let’s do it!  The hate between our gangs should have no effect on our love.  I’m not going to let Charles run my life!”

  They shared a long kiss before climbing down the tree together.  A car was waiting for them at the bottom.

  “Come on.  Get in.”

  Joss glanced back for a last time as she heard someone calling her name, “Quickly, Tym is coming!”

  Joss jumped in and Michael took the driver’s seat. 

  As they drove off, they heard Tym screaming, “I’ll get you, Montague!  You have done our gang wrong for the last time!!”

 

Tym went to the police station and asked to speak to Sheriff Chatwind.

  The sheriff came out, “What can I do for you, son?”

  Tym’s face went blood-red with anger, “That Montague, Michael, kidnapped a member of our gang!”

  “When did this happen?”

  “Earlier, just outside our house.”

  Sheriff Chatwind told him that they would so what they could.

  “Is that it?  Aren’t you going to put out a search warrant out on him?”

  “Of course, Tym.  What do you think I am, an idiot?  We’ll put out a warrant for his arrest as soon as possible.”

  With that, Tym got up and walked out of the room.  Chatwind go onto the radio with all the cops in the area and told them to look out for Michael’s car.

 

The Capulets weren’t going to wait for the cops to find Michael, so they went in their separate cars, in different directions.  Eventually, after three days of searching, they found Michael’s car.  It was pretty messed up – bullet holes all over, broken windows, etc.  They neared the car carefully and saw Michael in the car, full of blood.  Joss was also in the car.  She had a gun in her hand.

  The Montagues had also arrived at the scene, and when they saw Michael full of blood, they took out their guns and starting shooting at the Capulets.  The Capulets returned fire and wounded a few of the Montagues.  By the time the police had arrived, almost everyone was hit.  They were still alive, but bleeding badly.  The cops rounded up everyone and took them, first to the hospital, and then to the police station for questioning.

 

Every single member of each gang was locked up for the murder of Michael and Joss.  They were given the death penalty, as promised by the sheriff.  No matter how hard they tried to plea their innocence, no one would believe them. 

  After two years in prison, they were sent to the electric chair.  What really happened to Michael and Joss still remains a mystery.  It was just so easy to blame it on the gangs.  The truth was never discovered…

 

Copyright©JosieWentzel2000

 

Reviews

[WriterMe]

WOW.
This was very VERY good. I am... pretty speechless I dont know what to say. The story was so well written in terms of grammar, speech, description, heck you even got the lyrical poetry in your words. Just like Shakespeare.
Loss of words, really. People should read this, I dont know why no one has reviewed this yet. Bloody brilliant. o_o
Excellent write. Truly marvelous.