Calming Deaths

By Paul Chacon

Tragedy has struck Verona City on this day as two teenagers, who have been identified as Romeo (from the Montague family) and Juliet (from the Capulet family), have been found dead in one of the crypts in Verona graveyard. Romeo was found on the floor, next to a bottle of what had contained poison, while Juliet was found next to Romeo with a knife stabbed through her heart. Friar Lawrence, one of Verona City's friars, told us the whole story of these 2 people. Some time ago, a party was held at the Capulet household, where it was believed that Romeo met Juliet for the first time. From the first time they saw each other, they were instantly in love, and they were secretly married soon after by Friar Lawrence. Even after Romeo was banished from Verona City for killing Tybalt Capulet, Juliet's cousin, some days ago, Juliet kept trying to find ways to be together with her lover. In order to get away from her parents, who wanted Juliet to be married to Paris, a relative of the mayor of Verona City, she went to Friar Lawrence, who gave her drugs that would make her seem as though she was dead. Juliet took the drugs, which made everyone believe she was dead, including Balthasar, Romeo's servant. Balthasar told Romeo about Juliet's "death", which turned Romeo's whole world upside-down. Romeo went to the crypt in Verona graveyard where Juliet was laid to rest, and when he saw that Juliet was apparently dead, it was believed that he killed himself by drinking poison to be with her. Detectives believe that once Juliet woke up and saw that Romeo was dead, she killed herself by stabbing herself through her heart with Romeo's knife. The deaths of these two people have ended the anger between the Montagues and the Capulets.


Romeo, a teenager of about 16 years, was a son of the Montague family. Most people who knew him knew that there were two sides to him: his social side and his love side. When he was with his friends, he would show his social side, making jokes and doing dangerous things. However, when he was with (or was thinking about) someone he loved, Romeo would show his love side by passionately talking on and on about how his girlfriend was so beautiful and breathtaking. It was believed that Romeo was still going out a woman named Rosaline, but that was before the public learned of his relationship with Juliet. Romeo was known to be friends with Benvolio (who was Romeo's nephew), Friar Lawrence, and Mercutio (who was Romeo's best friend and was recently killed by Tybalt during a fight). Friar Lawrence told our reporters that Romeo was "someone who was loyal to his friends and would die for them, no matter what." When interviewed, Benvolio said that he thought of Romeo as "a very good friend that you could rely on for anything." Benvolio also told us that Mercutio had thought of Romeo as "one of the best friends anyone could ever have."


Juliet was a 13-year old girl who was the daughter of the Capulet family. Juliet's parents revealed to reporters that she used to be a "very innocent girl, since being in love and getting married were the last things on her mind." However, all this changed when she met Romeo. Friar Lawrence told us that "after meeting Romeo for the first time, Juliet was in love with him, and she would do anything in order to be together with him. She learned to take charge of the situation, even if no one was there to help her." She changed from a girl who didn't have experience in the world to a woman who was decisive and had confidence in herself. Sources tell us that she was associated with Friar Lawrence, her nurse, Lord Capulet, and Lady Capulet. Friar Lawrence believed that Juliet was "a very dedicated wife to her husband, Romeo." Juliet's nurse also said similar things, adding that Juliet was "a child who had quickly matured into someone who could make decisions for herself." Lord Capulet thought that Juliet "was the perfect daughter for anyone because she would always follow our orders and would never cause problems." Lady Capulet told us that Juliet was "someone who followed her heart, even if it meant that it would go against what me and my husband wanted her to do."


Statements from a Capulet:
We interviewed Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet, about these deaths. This is what she said:
"I never thought that this would come to happen. When I thought that she was dead the first time, when she had taken the friar's drugs, it hit me hard. I never believed that she was still alive then. Now, after she has truly died, I feel worse than before. This is because I know that I could have done something when she was still under the drugs' effects. If only I had listened to Juliet about who she really wanted to marry, then she wouldn't have died. I knew I shouldn't have chosen who she was to marry. My Juliet..."




Statements from a Montague:
We also interviewed Balthasar on what he thought about these deaths. This is what he said:
"I feel very depressed about Romeo's death, since he was someone I knew, someone I was loyal to. I also feel angry with myself for telling Romeo that Juliet was dead when she had taken the drugs. In a way, I feel as though I led Romeo to his death. I should have known that telling Romeo about Juliet's supposed death would make Romeo kill himself. I should have told him not to do anything like that. I had a chance to stop him from killing himself. But, I didn't tell him anything other than bring the bad news that weren't even true. And now, he's gone forever, never to come back to life..."

Although the deaths of Romeo and Juliet have ended the rage between the Montagues and the Capulets, the mayor of Verona City has said that both the Capulets and the Montagues will be punished for leading to these deaths. The mayor has said that they will be punished by sending the people whose actions started (and continued) the fight between both households to prison. The mayor of Verona City has said that their imprisonment will last between seven and ten years, although an exact number of years has not been announced. Lord Montague (Romeo's father), Abram (servant of the Montagues), Lord Capulet (Juliet's father), Lady Capulet, Sampson (a Capulet servant), and Gregory (another of Capulet's servants) are possible people that will be punished and put on trial for leading to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. This is because they contributed to fueling the Montagues' and Capulets' anger with each other. A trial will be held to see who caused the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. One of the people that will most likely be put on trial is Friar Lawrence, since it has been revealed that he is the one who gave the sleeping drugs to Juliet, making Romeo believe that she was dead.

However, these punishments will not calm the sadness of the Capulets and the Montagues. Their children will never come back to life. The great sadness of these two households will forever haunt them. Just as the mayor of Verona City said to everyone: "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."