Richard's Penance (Casey's Last Ride, Kris Kristofferson)

"We'll always be together."
- Isabella, Ab Aeterno

Richard: Can you absolve me of my sins so I don't go to Hell?
Jacob: I can't do that either.
Richard: I never want to die. I want to live forever.
Jacob: Now that... I can do.
- Ab Aeterno

Ab Aeterno gave us a whole lot of background on Richard, a fundamentally decent man who accidentally killed a man in the heat of extreme agitation, much like Desmond did with Kelvin. (And y'know, maybe I can go ahead and blame Jacob for that bus accident; he seems especially good at orchestrating crashes for the purposes of bringing people to the Island...) We saw his profound love for his wife and his deep desire for absolution. Scarred by a corrupt priest's statement that he was going to Hell unless he could perform sufficient penance, which would take a long time indeed, he welcomed Jacob's offer of a job that would allow him to do a lot of good. Here's a reflection on his story to the tune of John Denver's Casey's Last Ride.

Richard’s Penance

Richard was a humble man who labored with a lofty plan
Of going with the wife he loved to seek another world.
Stumbling to the table of the doctor who seemed able to
Repair her broken body, Richard’s desperation swirled.
His hands were built for farming, and he had no thought of harming
When he left his little cottage and rode out into the rain.
But Richard made an error at the apex of his terror,
And he heard his love’s last words as he was dragged away in chains.

“Here,” she said. “Take along my only worldly treasure.
Go,” she said, “mindful of the promise that you hold.
Please,” she said, “know that we will always be together.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.”

Richard swapped a prison cell for passage on a ship to Hell,
Or that’s how he perceived it when the vessel came aground.
There he met a Man in Black who told him that he must attack
The Devil; then an angry whack from Jacob turned him ‘round.
That’s when Jacob mentioned his disdain for intervention
With the pawns who earned detention on the Island he controlled.
But his rival’s reach was greater, so perhaps a mediator
Was a fitting compromise who could advise his flustered fold.

“So,” he said, “what will you be paid for this endeavor?
No,” he said, “I cannot absolve your sins for you.
Still,” he said, “you insist you want to live forever.
Now,” he said, “that is something I‘ll be glad to do.”

“Here,” she said. “Take along my only worldly treasure.
Go,” she said, “mindful of the promise that you hold.
Please,” she said, “know that we will always be together.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.”