A woman meets a strange man, and learns that he is responsible for her father’s death. A woman in her early 50s, Margot Van Slutzman, owned a publishing house in Toronto. Her publishing house used to receive donations on a daily basis.
However, one day she received an anonymous donation which had a name written on it by mistake. This single mistake of the man took Margot down memory Lane. She had vivid memories of whatever happened on the 27 March in 1978 when she was a young girl.
It was a usual afternoon for her family when her father went to a clothing store and instructed her to remain in her house as he used to work at the clothing store. Nobody thought that it would turn into something so horrendous.
Although it looked like a normal professional visit, it turned into an unforgettable event as he never came home again. Where was Margot’s father? Why didn’t he return? All these questions flashed through her mind. After some stressful hours, police informed Margo’s family that her father became a victim of a robbery attack that took place in his store.
As he was shot by the robber, he could not survive due to the gunshot. The police somehow managed to get hold of the murderer and after some trial sessions, the court sentenced him to 15 years in prison due to the murder that he had committed. 15 years later, when he got out of prison, he made a donation to a publishing house which again connected him to his past and the horrible act that he had committed.
Although the donations were made anonymously, he forgot to remove his name and Marga recognized that he was her father’s murderer. She was shocked to see his name as it took her down memory Lane and she could not forget the pain and trauma her family went through.
Due to Glenn’s actions, however, things took an unpredictable turn. Nobody could ever imagine that Margot and Glenn would talk to each other someday and that too on email. Why did Margot sent him an email?
Was she ready to confront her father’s murderer or was it just a way to inform him about the trauma that he had caused her and her entire family? Most of us would think that she must have wanted to confront him about his miserable actions.
However, Marco sent him an email and the two began talking via email. After some emails were exchanged, they decided to see each other and talk in person. Many people believed that Margot was not being fair as she had decided to meet her father’s murderer.
They thought that she should never see his face again as he was someone who had destroyed her whole family. While remembering the fateful day, Margot herself said it was a nightmare, a complete living nightmare.
However, she still wanted to see the murderer. As soon as she came face to face with Glenn, her dad’s murderer, she could not stop her tears. They hugged each other and Margot kept on crying. She stated that she believed that her dad’s memory should be honored and she could do this by working for justice instead of blaming the murderer who had already paid for his actions. After spending 15 years in prison, Glenn had realized the severity of his act and had paid for it as well.
So now Glenn and Margo collaborated in order to create awareness about restorative justice. The restorative justice was based on the murderers and victims. She believed that the only way to bring peace to her life and her father’s memory was to work for justice.
Many of us might be thinking that one can never forget or forgive a perpetrator and that too when they are the reason behind your loved one’s death. However, Margot’s actions make us believe that one can always work towards the betterment of the society after a person has realized their mistake and paid for his or her sins.
Society can only move towards peace when the trait of forgiveness is adopted in everyone.
