Chapter 4 parallel universe. part 1

Birds swam like fish in the blue of the sky.




The children ran, panting, behind a ball rolling on the sands of the seashore. Some children started plotting by digging holes, covering them with newspapers, hiding them with sand, and fleeing laughing if people fell into their traps.




 




 




Families sat, women scattered on the sand. kids play. Women and girls talking and gossiping. Men and boys, playing chess, challenge each other to beat each other. Others play ball. Girls racing to the ice cream wagon.




The sea shore was beautiful, bringing serenity and peace to the soul.




 




In this blue sea sparkling under the golden sun, Salem stood staring rigidly at the waves of the sea. Like a tree planted in place. It took him two hours to stand. Without moving from its place or even making a slight movement.




 




Some people looked at him anxiously, some with inquisitive looks, and some whispered and laughed at his behavior.




But Salem, he didn't care about those looks. He stared at the sea with rigid eyes.




Salem was not distinguished by anything, in terms of his appearance, handsomeness, or even the trait of wealth that is engraved on the faces of the wealthy. was his appearance. Reflects his miserable and poor life.. He was like any man you see walking in the streets without noticing him.




However. The man's face was rigid, as if he was bored and tired of this life. His black eyes seemed devoid of life, as if they belonged to the dead.




And around those eyes, deep wrinkles were dug. It befits a man who has lived for long periods of time, and his black hair is very gray.




He was suggesting to the onlookers that he was in his fifties. Although in fact he was thirty years old. Salem was living alone after his family was killed in front of his eyes..




 




That scene killed everything beautiful in his life, and showed stagnation and indifference in his face and soul.




 Salem worked as a cook. In a vile restaurant. close to his house. And for you, he wished to work in his field of specialization, as he graduated from the university and obtained a commerce degree. 




 




But, in this country. Wishing, thinking about a better future drives its owner to madness or perhaps to the grave.




But these days. Salem realized that life. You won't stop making fun of him and spitting in his face.




 




Salem smiled , as if he was reciprocating life's sarcasm. He stared at the sea for a long time, as if he could not take his eyes off that place. Maybe it was a hallucination, maybe it was a dream or an illusion, maybe it was pure madness. He did not know. The strange thing is that no one noticed or even paid attention to that thing, which invades the eyes and draws them to it.. Salem did not understand anything. 




 




The whole sea was burning before his eyes.. The great blue sea, its waters turned into dancing blue fires.. And in the sky as soon as the birds flew over the sea. Until those fires burn, and vanish into the air.. Maybe it was fortunate that no one was inside the sea..




It was something that no human mind could comprehend. However, this scene was nothing new to Salem , as he had been seeing this thing for ten consecutive days, and even dreamed of it when he fell asleep.




When Salem saw this strange thing. He fully realized that he was starting to lose his mind, and that he had a few days before he went crazy.




 




However, the sight of those fires drew him in and attracted him to them.. Rather, he was feeling a strange kind of nostalgia. But, this day. It seemed different from the previous days, when the flames rose to the point that they almost licked the sky... and from that dancing blue, he felt that someone was watching him.




In a short moment, he saw something moving.. He started rubbing his eyes.. However, the scene did not change, but he clearly saw something huge approaching him. He looked sharply at that thing.




 




"Excuse me, Mr Salem . "Salem turned , and hated to be interrupted by anyone in these moments.




 She was a woman in her late twenties, with bright blue eyes, her blond hair, dancing over her shoulders. She was holding a microphone in one hand. Next to her was a handsome, well-dressed man holding a camera with their station's logo on it, and the man looked the same age.




 




Salem was upset by this. He said with impatience:




- "Ten years have passed... Is there no one but me in this virtuous city?" The woman removed her hair from her eyes and said:




- "What do you think of the money? .. How much do you want to meet this? ..".




 




-"You tempt me with money..not all people are slaves to money, miss."




"I'm not miss..."




-" Mrs ?..".




"I'm not a lady."




-"Is a woman suitable?".




"Don't call me that, please..."




"And they say I'm crazy...so what do you want, gentleman?"




"I hope you will treat me with respect, sir!" Salem sighed and rubbed his forehead with two fingers, saying:




-"I've read words somewhere, and they say, 'Am I crazy or the others?' I think I understand exactly what that person was feeling."




 The camera holder smiled and said:




"I think the author of those words is Einstein ." Salem ignored those words, and walked away from them, looking at the burning sea. The woman asked the owner of the camera to start filming, and they followed Salem . The woman said, trying to catch up with Salem's wide strides:




- "Mr. Salem .. is it true that you had a younger sister?" Salem answered without stopping:




"All the countries know this thing.. what do you want from me?"




"How did she die?" That question stopped Salem in place. Hadjha Salem look fatal. The woman backed away in fright, ascertaining that the eyes of the man in front of her glowed for a moment the color of gold. Salem said coldly, almost freezing her ears:




"You really make me sick.. you know, and everyone in this rotten country knows how she died..and yet, you always ask me this question. Do you think I'm going to cry, weep, and tear my hair like women.. isn't it? All of this." ...for you to be unique in this profession..people make me feel disgusted..yes,yes.I'm human..i know what you want to say.




 




The woman remained silent, placing the microphone in front of him. Yet I stared at him in disgust.




-"I like this beautiful look..but, I am the one who should be disgusted with you..is the camera working that..?"




- " Salwa ... my name is Salwa ... and the camera is working." Salem sighed .




"Okay. Let's finish this.. I know that you won't leave me alone until you finish this.. You have tongues that never stop.. Is it true that you can talk for a whole month without stopping?" With a smile, she said:




"Let's get back to the topic, if you please." He sighed and said:




-"She was sick of the heart..and since we had no money, and we had no pig relatives...Oh! I mean important." Salem giggled , feeling pure pleasure, cursing them in front of the camera. And he continued saying:




-"That is why we were unable to obtain an artificial heart. That is why the poor woman died and was relieved of this despicable world." Salwa said without any sympathy, raising an eyebrow in suspicion:




"But... why didn't you present your problem to the officials?" Salem said gloomily:




-"You must be joking...Do you know how difficult it is to reach the officials...as if they live above the clouds...but after several months we were able to meet our esteemed ruler..we begged him..my mother is like all poor mothers.They don't know what to do in these Circumstances. Except crying from the cruelty of life.. crying for her daughter..but, my father was a solid man. With great pride. When I saw him begging. He almost kissed the ruler's feet. I trembled. That scene shook me"




 




 He raised his eyes to the sky, staring at the birds that were burning and evaporating in a fleeting moment. And he said:




-"How can life humiliate men.. I was a young man at that time. But what the ruler said made me want to kill him at that time.. I was really about to do it, had it not been for my father's fingers clasped on me.. my hand almost shattered from the strength of his hands. At the time, my father seemed as if he was catching hot coals, trying to remain calm... the ruler of the country..."




Salwa ' said , as if she were a queen talking to a slave:




-"I will not allow you, to gossip and falsify known facts. But it is your legal right to speak what you want.. so I will allow you to speak what you want.. Tell me? What did our great ruler tell you?"




-"The Great is the Lord of the worlds..What are you talking about, woman?..The laws only work on the simple..People at the top. They are nothing but mosquitoes that absorb everything.They trade in human beings." She said, frightened:




"Oh, sir, this is what..."




 




-"I'm not afraid of anyone. No one will stop me from what I want to say, and don't think you can do it woman.. I'm bored, and tired of this life that is only governed by money. If I were rich, people would turn into carpets under my feet, and all smile at my sight .




 Even if you are poor. They would crush me under their feet, as if I were a disgusting thing.. We eat each other. As if we are predators. We fight over money. It is as if we are fighting over an oxygen bottle in a toxic room... and we don't see that we have become slaves of money.




The strong crush the weak without mercy.. this is our reality, which we hide with our beautiful clothes, and our cultured speech.. they are all masks. Humanity is over, and we are in the wild jungle realm. A vile life..."




"You seem to be the philosopher of your time, sir...although I see that you are a deranged and savage man like your criminal family."




"A criminal family "... He muttered those words in pain, and raised his eyes to heaven as he remembered the death of his family. No one can bear the death of his family in front of his eyes. Nobody wishes to see this thing. But. Unfortunately for him that day, he witnessed a robbery.




 




The scene looked like a satirical comedy presented by life. It happened quickly as if in a dream, as two people collided with him, who had hurried out of a store, and in an instant, heavy gunfire erupted as three policemen were shooting at the two men who were swimming in their blood.




 




The look with which they were looking at Salem was not a look of pain or fear, but rather a look of sadness and shame.. The thieves extended their hands and grabbed Salem 's feet in supplication. One of the men said, taking his last breath:




"Take good care of her until she dies."




 




 It turns out that the other man was a woman and she said the last word of her life:




"Don't hate me... Salem ...". For a moment, Salem did not understand what was happening.. His brain stopped working, and he kept staring at his dead parents, with empty eyes.. He didn't know how much time had passed. Time seemed to have stopped. One of the policemen put his hand on Salem's shoulder and told him to get away from here. But Salem did not remember anything after that, and found himself looking at the sea. Then I thought he was dreaming. He came home to realize that it was a bitter truth. On that day, the scene was shown on news bulletins and newspapers.




An armed gang consisting of three people stormed a jewelry company, leaving behind three dead policemen .




Under the title, a picture of a foreign man with thick white hair, and golden eyes.. And under the picture:




The remaining man from the gang, who killed the policemen, fled with the gang's money . Salem searched for this man and never found him.

Chapter end