On a stifling morning inside the tunnel, one of the resistance fighters rushed in carrying a small piece of paper.
He approached Yusuf and whispered a few words to him before leaving without looking back at the others.
Yusuf read the message, then folded the paper and put it in his pocket.
But everyone's eyes were fixed on him.
Daniel said hesitantly,
"What is it? News?"
Yusuf hesitated for a moment, then replied:
"There's a prisoner exchange coming up... and some of your names are on the list."
A heavy silence fell, quickly broken by Naoum, her voice trembling:
"Am I... on the list?"Yusuf looked at her calmly:
"Yes... your name is on it."
Naoum gasped, covered her face with her hands and burst into tears, laughing and crying at the same time:
"I'm going home... I'm going home..."
As for Uri, despite his injury, he jumped up and shouted angrily:
"What about me?! I served! I fought! Why her and not me?!"
Yusuf looked at him steadily:
"It's not in my hands. The exchange is based on political calculations... not on what you think is fair or not."
Khalid laughed bitterly:
"Even in captivity... some are luckier than others. And me? No one negotiates for a traitor."
Daniel trembled, his mind racing with questions:
"What about me? Will I stay here until the tunnel above my head is finished?"
But what shook him most was seeing Yusuf, who remained silent and contemplative, as if he knew that Naoum's departure would not be just a transfer of a prisoner... but the beginning of a new change in everyone's psychological balance.