Chapter XVII. Names’ similarity

He had a small pistol on his belt on his left side and was holding a chopping knife in his left hand, wishing he had used his right hand to do so because he is left-handed. He thought quickly, throwing the knife and surrendering, releasing his left hand from it, then with a lightning movement pulling out the pistol, lying down on the ground, and firing, the boy will not outrun you since he is inexperienced with using weapons and his hands are quivering.

He raised his hands gradually and threw the knife, which landed on a stone and resounded when it impacted the stone.

He heard a growl coming from behind him, something moving quickly, then a horrifying squeak.

A wild boar was racing straight at him at full speed and strength, with a strike that would break his ribs and be followed by cutting and slicing, when, only a few meters away, the sound of the pistol resounded, as if time had frozen, and the man raised his head and his eyes bulged out.

He almost swore that the bullet saluted him as it passed by his head before coming to rest in the boar’s head.

The salesman’s advice, “If you’re going to do something, do it well,” led the boy to learn how to shoot for two days. Now that it is functioning, the boy has just saved his life.

When the death specter appears, terror also does.

Basel must take serious action to bring the boy back and complete this mission as soon as he can, but first, he must coerce Walid to come out of his shell; if he dares to reveal the reason why he fled here, he must be made to speak before he can convince him to come back.

After taking a breath and checking on one another.

He initiated the conversation: Walid, I think we should go back since the place appears unsafe

– This is the first time I’ve seen a wild boar here, he said. It must have followed the aroma of food, but I’m unable to return.

-Why? Tell the truth, you just saved my life, and I owe you one.

He did not need to hear this in order to give him confidence. How oddly human nature works, saving Basel’s life had the same effect on Walid’s faith in him as if Basel had saved his life.

When someone saves another person’s life, he realizes that the second owes him his life and that it is therefore immoral for him to betray him. As a result, he can trust him, just as if the second had saved his life, in which case the first would have become his debtor. The outcome would be the same: a high level of confidence.

Walid just experienced this after saving Basel’s life, and all barriers were consequently broken. Unconsciously, he started to realize that Basel owed him his life and that he could trust him since he would not betray him and would unavoidably not harm him.

Before talking to him about something like this, the boy paused briefly. He needs to be reassured about something that has preoccupied him ever since they first met.

Walid: To be quite honest, I would like to ask you something.

He looked at the cow, came back and paused, then took courage: The cow, since the first time you came to it, did not show any distrust towards you, as it typically goes away from strangers, does not stay near them if they approach it, but it seemed to be used to you, can you explain this?

Basel pretended to laugh while actually being shocked by the boy’s observational acuity. He had never considered this and it had never even occurred to him, which is understandable. Sure, it makes sense; the cow was with me long enough for her to get acclimated to me, yet it exhibited no reaction, Basel thought to himself.

– He responded, I apologize for my laughter, but I was unable to restrain it. I honestly do not know why; this is the first time I’ve heard of cows being capable of such an action. While I’m from a village, I’ve never lived there; I’ve spent my entire life in cities, so I don’t understand what you’re saying.

Walid has his misgivings, but he is satisfied with the response. He’s already been caught in the trap. He now loves him, and their bond has grown closer, just as it did when Basel tried the juice and found it appetizing. He is providing enough arguments for him to believe that the merchant is somehow interested in sterilizing. Yet despite his reservations, this is what actually happened. He chose to accept the response because he reasoned those emotions, especially those of love and trust, are the things that people can get the most involved with and that doing so might render them entirely blind.

-So let me tell you about it. As my father has been imprisoned for political reasons for a very long period, it appears that some individuals despise me enough to lodge a complaint against me.

-Who do you believe was responsible?

-I wish I knew, but I ran away when I saw the police breaking into our house.

Basel firmly responded to Waleed after feigning interest in what he had to say, “Listen, Waleed, you just saved my life, and you already know that I am an Alawite. However, you may not be aware that I have powerful relatives in the police. I will stop at nothing until I find out what happened, and no harm will come to you. I promise.

Walid hesitated for a moment, then said: But when the police came, they had civilian cars, like the ones you know…

-Do you mean Air Force Intelligence?

-Yes, maybe, I don’t know.

Wonderful, Basel said to himself, this is the time for the decisive strike…

– This is really strange, is it possible that you are that boy who is meant by rumors?!

-which rumors?

-I visited our village before heading out on the hunt. They were claiming, according to branch members, that the Air Force Intelligence made a mistake when they were ready to detain a sixteen-year-old boy in one of the communities in Kurd Mountains due to the similarity of their names.

Walid’s eyes danced at this news: Is it possible?

-Were any of your relatives arrested after you fled?

-No, I only have my mother, and I went at night to check on her. I watched her from afar, she was at home, and everything was normal!

-Walid, you must be the target of the rumors, so how is your mother at home while you’re on the run? Basel laughed.

He came forward and winked at him: You know as well as I do, they would have arrested your mother to pressure you to come back.

-Do you really believe that I won’t be arrested?

-Well, let’s not rush. We will go to the area around the village to observe any of the residents and question them about the situation. I will be watching you from a distance; if you spot any issues, alert me right away. Do not be worried; we must find a solution.

Just before sunset, the two were about 500 meters from the village, by a dirt road used by farmers.

Walid proceeded to the road while Basel hid in the woods. A short while later, two locals walked by. They shouted loudly to Walid as soon as they caught sight of him from a distance.

– Here you are! your mother is almost going crazy for fear of you, why did you run away? It was a similarity of names, you’re not the one they’re chasing.