Sleep was impossible that night.
Yusuf's words hung in the air like thick smoke, impossible for anyone to ignore.
Daniel sat in his place, then looked at Khalid in the dark corner.
He hesitated for a moment before asking him:
"Khalid... why? Why... did you betray your people?"
Khalid slowly raised his head, his eyes drowned in the darkness of guilt.
"At university... I met a girl. I wasn't stupid... but I was weak. My whole life revolved around her, until I discovered that I was being played. They filmed me... and threatened me. They said: scandal or... cooperation.
"He took a deep breath, his voice trembling:
"I was tempted by the money... the house... the life they promised me in Tel Aviv. I told myself:
maybe this is my destiny. But... it didn't last long. My mother exposed me. She found the
communication device in my room... and turned me in before I could bring shame upon her."
Silence fell.
Even Yusuf, despite his deep anger towards him, turned his face away for a moment, as if he couldn't bear to look.
Khalid muttered:
"Now... all I have is to wait for the verdict. I live among you, but I have been dead for a long time."
Daniel felt a shiver run down his spine. He saw in him the image of a man who had been
swallowed up by betrayal until there was nothing left of him.
Then he turned to Na'oum, who was staring at the wall with a stony expression.
"And you, Naoum... why did you join the army?"
She laughed lightly, but it quickly faded away:
"I didn't hate it. Like Uri. For me, it was... routine. The checkpoint was boring. People lined up... showed their papers. We laughed at them, yes... but it wasn't personal.
Yusuf interrupted her in a calm but firm voice:
"Not personal? Humiliating a person and making them wait for hours under the sun... that's very personal. Laughing at a man who is crying because he is late for his son's operation... that's very personal."
Naoum bowed her head, unable to respond.
She muttered:
"I hadn't thought of it that way... until now."
Daniel kept watching them all:
Yusuf = the deep wound that turned into strength.
Khalid = the weakness that led him to betrayal.
Naoum = the superficiality that turned into regret.
Ori = the solid wall of hatred.
Daniel realised that each of them was a mirror of a different aspect of this war, and that he alone was stuck in the middle, learning from every voice.