Dominic Bandall is a condemned man. A once powerful attorney in New York City, he and his law partner, his wife Sharon, focused towards their never-ending fight for justice.
Now an aged man, his body is battered and bruised from the crippling ailments he has endured in his lifetime-his mind is burdened by the memories of the 9/11 attacks that killed Sharon and so many others he loved.
On February 28, 2019, a young law student named Angela Grant met him at his office in Honu'apo, Hawai'i, to conduct a series of interviews. What transpired over the next 10 days began with his first confession.
Chapter 2 - Voice: Angela (draft – editing in process)
“I asked you here to talk about moments. Moments are energy. The sight, sound, and smell of every moment exists, even if we don’t experience all of them together in one particular moment. The energy in moments cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy simply moves on to a different combination, thereby creating a different moment. That’s the best explanation I can give you.” He had lost me. I could not understand what he was talking about. On top of that, I had forgotten my notebook and couldn’t even take notes. I hoped I could remember enough about what to be able to write it down later.
“Angela!” he snapped. Once again, my thoughts betrayed me. Perhaps he sensed I struggling to understand what he was talking about. “I tried for a long time to fully understand the scientific theory behind moments of energy. When I was student, I dedicated a lot of effort to figuring it out. When I discovered there was little information, and certainly no definitive facts about it, I switched my focus to this,”—he gestured to the massive library—“the law.” Law is a collection of interpretations and judgments, but are they rooted in historical fact? Most are. Some, however, are misinterpretations, incorrect assumptions of thought and intent, or flat-out falsehoods. For almost fifty years, my focus has been the law, first as a student and then as a practicing attorney. All the books and documents you see here? I use them all to help me practice law. I sense you are puzzled by the odd assortment of books in my library. We will get to that in time. Before we talk about where I am now, I feel it’s my responsibility to share my journey with you.”
Dominic leaned back into his chair. He started to say something, but couldn’t seem to find the right words. He then leaned toward the side of his chair, then slowly swirled himself around. With his chin safely crooked between his index finger and thumb, he appeared to drift off. He was lost in thought so long, I reached over and placed my hand on his arm. “Dominic? Are you okay?” He turned his chair back toward me and gave me a look like he had known me his whole life and was thinking, ‘Where have all the years gone, Angela?’ It was odd.
“I can see moments in time, Angela.”
“What do you mean”?
“I can see the moments that existed before. Combinations of energy form whenever time exists. As I said before, energy is neither created nor destroyed; instead, it is something that is always changing. It is in constant motion. I can recall unique combinations of energy and am able to replay them in my mind. I know what happened in the past.
“We usually know about the past from what others have told us. The problem with this is that we always have to rely on another person’s impression or maybe even fabrication of what happened. I can recall the past without having to rely on someone else’s version. I am able to see the past firsthand.”
I could tell Dominic fully believed what he had just told me. Looking at him and feeling the greatest sense of pity was just a horrifying experience. I had researched his life. I knew about his hardships and his accomplishments. I had read about the tragedy he experienced on 9/11. He lost everything that day: his wife, all his colleagues, his company. While I was on the plane, I had tried to imagine what his life had been like since then—the day his public life ended, and his private sentence began.
“Please don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I assure you I am not.” He was firm and calm.
Moments, a historical fiction saga, is scheduled for release in late March 2019
"…fantastic stories, where I'm limited only by my imagination, not by the confines of this stupid disease."
Kevin Byrne
NMSS Leadership Conference
Denver, CO
November 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment