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The Via Crucis of
Camille - Crux 1 - Page 21
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The first part of the mechanics of a crucifixion
was now over. I didn't have to see the video to
know that it was going to be visually striking, even with
the lack of resources we had around, even with a setting that
was not even near to what I wanted as a background. Still,
Camille's performance, what I've seen and felt, was worth
anything I could think of.
As I walked around her to get to the next step I could
appreciate her more, from all angles possible. Too bad I
din't have a thousand cameras focussed in a thousand parts
of her body. One camera had to do the work of many.
Camille was resting, preparing herself mentally
for what was to begin in only a matter of a minute or two.
The time had come to raise her up to her cross. |
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Traditionally this process was depicted as a whole
cross being raised by a number of soldiers with the help of
ropes, with the victim attached to it with nails on the hands
and feet. The cross would then be inserted in a hole
in the ground sufficiently deep to hold the weight of the
cross and its content up.
But once I saw a movie about Jesus, where the cross was
not one pole but actually something more resembling a construction
site and the cross was not raised but Christ was raised
nailed to a log, a rope pulling him up.
That was what I decided would be the easiest for
me.
To raise a cross was out of the question, I was alone and
there was no way for me to do this safely and securely ..
not to mention the effort it would take.
Camille was aware of the plan of course.
She waited for me to get her ready to go up. |
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The last stroke of the hammer
was like the announcement of the moment the slave woman had
been waiting for since the moment she started her painful
ordeal. She saw with
anticipation as the soldier got up from his kneeling position,
looked down on Leticia who was still trembling in pain and
signaled his commander that she was securely nailed.
The commander gave a nod and
the ropes hanging from the pole were pulled down to reach
the timber on the ground. The soldier tied the end of the
rope a few times around in the center of the timber, making
sure it was strong and tight.
It took only a few minutes when
he was done.
The slave woman, hanging from
her cross, felt the time of her final moments approaching
fast. She was relieved, but still suffering for her mistress,
whose ordeal had only begun. |
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The third day found her facing
the sky, with the chain cutting the side of her mouth that
had been open for all of the night. The rag above her face
was dry, no longer held any water for her. But her mouth was
wet with her blood, she was almost choking since she could
not swallow normally.
The
rag was taken down and wetted again and raised to let her
have some more water before the start of her new day.
After she was done drinking her
head was freed, she could finally look down again, she saw
the soldiers around her, mocking her. She was again lowered
until her feet touched the ground. she was released from
the wood and her body feel to the dirt. She could not move,
she was like a piece of ripped rag, nothing more.
Her wrists were chained to the
log again and she was raised to hang facing the post this
time. To add to her torments the soldiers opened her legs
and tied them to two spikes buried on the sides of the pole.
A soldier took a heavy whip and got ready to flog her again.
Bets were placed before he started. |
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I was careful to tie the rope around the wood securely
enough to hold Camille safely up. While
I tied the knots I gave her some whispered instructions,
she was not required to respond, just to listen. There
were some security issues to go over. I was going
to pull her up, her body was going to pull down, her wrists
were going to be at the mercy of these opposing forces.
We didn't want to break her wrists.
Any problem at all she had to let me know.
I was ready to pull her up. I got up, looked
down at her resting body one last time.
I wished us both luck.
The time had come. |
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