At 7:24 p.m. on Friday, October 12, in one of the mountains of a country in southern Africa torn apart by conflict and war, a group of armed mercenaries are gathered at the top of a mountain with their weapons. In front of them stand a group of civilians on the edge of the cliff, tied with ropes, clear signs of hunger and fear showing on their faces.
Among the mercenaries, we see their leader sitting in the middle on a chair, lighting his cigarette. He then orders one of his soldiers to announce the verdict on the "criminals." The soldier steps forward and says:
"The sentence against you is treason, attempting to ignite war, and spreading classified information about the state. For these acts, you are sentenced to death by firing squad."
One of the civilians shouts angrily:
"Who are you to sentence us to
death?! You are murderous mercenaries! You killed my son, and my mother died because of hunger and the siege — all because of you! And when we decided to migrate outside the village, you captured us, and now you call us traitors!"
The man then falls to his knees, crying.
One of the mercenaries steps forward, raises his weapon, and shoots the man coldly several times, as the terrified civilians scream. Then several mercenaries advance, raise their weapons, and without warning, they open fire on everyone who screams — until only two people remain: an elderly man showing signs of extreme old age, and a 13-year-old boy who keeps his eyes down, expressionless.
Unlike the others, the boy's skin was not entirely dark African; his complexion was closer to that of North African people. The leader looks at him in surprise and says:
"Strange… that level of composure and the fact that you're not screaming in this situation means one of two things: either you've suffered so much in your life that death no longer matters… or you're insane."
He then laughs loudly, stands up from his chair, walks toward one of the mercenaries beside him, grabs his weapon, and heads toward the old man. Without any warning, he shoots him. Not only that — he grabs the corpse and throws it off the cliff.
After that, he walks toward the boy, smiling, and says:
"Hey, you… why don't you react at all? Kids your age are usually afraid of death… especially when it's like this, right?"
He then looks into the boy's eyes, and his expression changes:
"You don't seem to be from this village… no, you're not even from this country, are you?"
The boy remains silent, staring at the ground.
The leader steps closer and places the gun over the boy's head, saying:
"Tell me… what is your last wish before I shoot you?"
The boy smiles and looks at the leader, saying:
"What is your name?"
The leader looks at him in confusion and replies:
"That's your last wish? How strange… my name is Mamadou. I'll give you another chance — choose a different wish."
The boy smiles again and says:
"What is the difference between those at the top and those at the bottom? Why are we always condemned to humiliation by those above us?"
Mamadou smiles and says:
"That's all you want? You're quite wise… and interesting."
He lowers his weapon and takes a drag from his cigarette, then looks at the boy:
"You're interesting… I'll answer you — but in my own way."
He then yells at one of the mercenaries:
"Untie him!"
He walks a little down the mountain and says:
"What's your name, boy?"
The boy replies while one of the mercenaries is untying him:
"My name is Hakim."
Mamadou laughs and says:
"Take him down the mountain and move him to the camp… I won't just answer your question — I'll teach you the answer."