Dismas, the Forgiven

This book is a historical fiction that tells the story of Dismas from his childhood to the time he was crucified with Jesus Christ. After his family was murdered by Roman soldiers, Dismas became lost. He wandered the desserts of Palestine with bandits. Dismas later on gets abandoned by his gang of thieves and roams the outskirts of Jerusalem and Jericho seeking truth. Despite his bad habits, there is still good in Dismas as revealed in how he had helped Mary and Joseph escape to Egypt and later on look for the young Jesus in the temple. While in Nazareth, Dismas also had a brief encounter with the young carpenter. Eventually, after man years of soul-searching, Dismas finds John the Baptist at the river Jordan when Jesus was being baptized. This starts the struggle between the evil within Dismas and the goodness and love offered by Jesus with every encounter they had. Each chapter reveals how the life of Dismas was intertwined with Christ's earthly life from the time of Christ's birth to his baptism until his betrayal by Judas and crucifixion. Before Jesus died, Dismas was able to ask for Christ's mercy so that Jesus promised him paradise.