The hill stretched far into the distance, covered in green grass. At its center stood a lone tree, silent beneath the golden glow of the setting sun.
A man sat beneath it.
His face was covered by a beard, and his eyes remained fixed on the horizon as tears streamed down his cheeks, illuminated by the fading sunlight.
He murmured softly, as though speaking to himself... or to the entire world.
"Humanity... before anger."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Then his tears began to fall more heavily, and he finally broke down, crying with all his heart.
The scene changed.
In a small city somewhere in this world, the school courtyard was filled with the noise of students.
They talked, laughed, and wandered around in groups, while a lone boy sat on a bench, silently watching them.
One of the students happened to pass by and bumped into him.
"Get out of the way, idiot!"
The boy said nothing.
The student grew more irritated.
"I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me?"
The boy raised his head. He was about to stand up and confront him, but a girl quickly approached and pushed the student and his friends away.
She then turned toward him with a bright smile.
"Hey! I don't think I've seen you sitting here alone before."
Wael looked at her in confusion, as if he couldn't understand why she was talking to him at all.
He remained silent.
She smiled again and pointed toward an empty bench nearby.
"Come on. Let's sit over there."
They sat together.
After a moment, Wael asked cautiously,
"What do you want?"
She shrugged lightly.
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"I don't know... I just felt like talking to you would be fun. Don't you think?"
Then, with a curious smile, she added,
"Anyway... what's your name?"
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then Wael gave a small smile, one that his face hadn't worn in a long time.
"No one has talked to me in a while..."
He paused.
"Wael. My name is Wael."
The girl smiled warmly.
"That's a nice name."
She let out a light laugh.
Their conversation continued, and as the minutes passed, Wael slowly began to laugh again.
For the first time in a long while, he wasn't drowning in sadness.
But the moment didn't last.
Three young men approached them.
One of them walked forward with confidence.
"Amira, who's this boy? Didn't I tell you not to hang around with just anyone?"
Amira looked at him with annoyance.
"Go away, Bahaa. And stop trying to tell me what I can and can't do. You know I hate it when you act like this."
She pointed toward Wael and smiled.
"This is Wael. I met him today, and he's a great person."
Bahaa smiled in a way that was difficult to interpret.
"Oh... yeah. I know him very well."
He stepped closer to Wael and stared at him for a moment with an unsettling smile.
Then he turned around and left with his two friends without saying another word.
Wael looked at Amira.
"How do you know Bahaa?"
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well... you could say he's my boyfriend. He can be annoying and arrogant sometimes, but he's actually a nice person, and he really loves me."
She smiled.
"So don't pay him any attention."
Wael looked up at the sky calmly, as if something had suddenly come to mind.
At that moment, the school bell rang, signaling the beginning of the next class.
Amira quickly stood up.
"Sorry, our teacher doesn't tolerate lateness. It was nice meeting you, Wael. Let's talk again later."
Wael smiled.
"Sure."
He watched her walk away before heading to his classroom to collect his belongings and return home. His classes had already ended.
As soon as he entered the empty classroom, a voice came from behind him.
"So... you finally gathered the courage to talk to a stranger. Good job."
Wael turned around.
Bahaa stood there with his two friends.
"What do you want, Bahaa?"
"Nothing... I just don't want to see you talking to her again."
"She was the one who approached me. I'm not as arrogant as you are to the point of ignoring her."
Bahaa laughed.
But his laughter suddenly disappeared.
He drove his fist into Wael's stomach.
Wael collapsed to the floor in pain.
Bahaa bent down toward him and spoke coldly.
"I'll say this only once... Don't talk to her again. Otherwise, I'll make this pain seem insignificant."
Before Wael could respond, a voice came from the classroom doorway.
"Hey! Are you three seriously bullying one guy? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?"
Mark ,one of Bahaa's companions, stepped toward the newcomer.
"Stay out of things that don't concern you."
He raised his fist to strike him, but the stranger caught his hand before it could reach him.
"Let's not resort to violence... agreed?"
Anger flashed across Mark's face, but Bahaa stopped him.
"Calm down, Mark. I promise you'll get to take all that anger out on him..."
He paused.
"But not today. And not here."
Bahaa stepped toward the stranger until they were standing face-to-face.
"Let's not resort to violence... right?"
He gave a quiet laugh.
The other boy simply stared at him with a sharp expression, saying nothing.
After a few moments, he stepped aside.
Bahaa, Mark, and their third companion left the classroom.
The stranger approached Wael.
"Are you all right?"
Wael took a moment to catch his breath.
"Barely... but yeah."
The man extended his hand and helped him to his feet.
Together, they left the classroom.
"Listen," the stranger said. "Forget what happened today and do what Bahaa told you. It's for the best."
Wael stopped.
"You want me to obey him even though I did nothing wrong?"
The stranger looked at him in a way that unsettled him.
"Next time... I won't be there to help you."
He paused.
"They might kill you."
He continued walking without looking back.
"Wait! What do you mean?"
But the man didn't stop.
He disappeared, leaving Wael standing there in confusion.
For a moment, Wael simply stared after him.
Who was he?
And what had he meant by those words?
They might kill you.
Wael clenched his fists, unable to understand why a simple encounter at school had suddenly become something far more serious.
But he wasn't the only one thinking about what had happened.
From a distance, someone stood silently, watching Wael.
He had been there the entire time.
His gaze remained fixed on the boy for several moments before he finally turned away.
Wael knew nothing about him.
He didn't know why he had been watching.
And he certainly didn't know that this strange encounter at school was only the beginning.