2 families were given a sliver of hope today. They know better than to count on it.

Today, two families have been given a sliver of hope. They know better than to count on it.

Imagine knowing that millions of people want to kill your child.

Imagine knowing that it’s only a matter of time before they get their way.

Imagine knowing that there’s a finite amount of occasions that you will get to see and hold your child before one day they are taken from you and shot to death.

Imagine not knowing how many times that will be. Two? 10? 20?

One day you are told that tomorrow will be the last time. Imagine whether you could sleep that night. Imagine what would go through your mind as you lay awake.

And imagine that the next day, you were told, no, this is not the last time. There will be more. But we don’t know how many. One? Five? 10?

Imagine the unusual cruelty of that.

Read more: “My life is an absolute waste.” A powerful letter from Andrew Chan. 

This is exactly what the families of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukarmaran are living through.

A sliver of hope, followed by crashing darkness, followed by a silver of hope.

Today, a new window has been cracked open as Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a press gaggle that Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo is “considering his position” after a direct phone call between the two leaders this morning.

It’s news that will be cautiously welcomed by the supporters Andrew and Myuran, those who know and love them, and those who only know their names.

But the families dare not hope too hard. They have been here before.

It’s been 10 years, after all. 10 long years of hopes raised and dashed, of an unthinkable new normal for two suburban Sydney families, forever affected by the bad choices made by their sons.

Myuran’s parents, Raji and Sam, his brother Chinthu and sister Brintha, have been in Bali for a solid month. Visiting Kerobokan Prison as often as they are permitted, to sit and visit, to talk and pray and have their portraits painted by their artist son.

Read more: A 12-year-old’s powerful letter on the Bali Nine might change your mind. 

For Chan’s parents, it proved too much. Helen and Ken flew home last week, their frail health negatively affected by the stress and the climate and the conditions. They returned to Australia, leaving Andrew’s brother Michael behind to support and campaign for their son, with a close group of supporters.

They said goodbye with no idea of whether they would see their son alive again.

Imagine that.

Yesterday, the families in Bali did something else that is almost impossible to imagine – they sat in front of TV cameras and begged for their sons’ lives.

“I am begging the president not to execute him,” Raji Sukumaran said. “To give him another chance, for him to stay in the prison and continue to do all the good things he is doing.”

You can watch the video here. The family’s statements begin at the 50-second mark. [POST continues after video].

Imagine the day you brought your baby home. Imagine all the things you thought would happen to them and for them.

You could never have imagined this.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are grown men. They are responsible for their actions. Their families are not.

And the hellish rollercoaster that they are on only serves to illustrate the unusual cruelty of the death penalty.

It is not just. It is not retribution. It’s not a deterrent. It’s unthinkably cruel. A punishment that tortures not only the two intended criminals but has an unending ripple effect on everyone who cares for them.

It’s inhumane.

Which is why we are still daring to imagine mercy.

It’s not too late to do the same.

You can still pledge your support for mercy for these two men, here.