Forgiveness?

Eli stared out the door of the closet, hate pounding through his blood like poison. There was only one word in his mind, and such a hypnotizing word it was:

Revenge.

The man had taken Eli's wife Sarah, children, home, possessions... everything. The last time Eli saw Rabbi Solomon, he had told both Eli and Sarah about forgiveness. They had been fighting for months--years, even--and were thinking about divorce. God forgave you to set an example, the man had said. He forgives so that you may forgive each other, and others.

Eli had agreed with the rabbi then, but scorned the idea now. How could he--anyone--be expected to not only forget what this kidnapper and theif had done, but also care for him? Love him?

Rabbi Solomon had to be out of his mind. He was an old man, unmarried. How on earth could he know what it felt like to lose everything to live for?

Slowly pulling the knife out of its sheath and edging out of the closet door, Eli took aim. Some said that learning how to throw a knife was a waste of time, but they, obviously, were wrong.

As he stared at his brother, now the head of the house--Eli's ex-wife's husband, and his children's stepfather--he laughed inside at the ridiculous idea.

Forgiveness. Yeah, right.

"What the world needs is love, sweet love; that's the only thing there's just too little of." Burt Bacharach.