Lvneel Kingdom , North Blue
The fifth day in the Lvneel Kingdom started just like the four horrible days before it.
The loud clang of the bell woke everyone up from their short and restless sleep. The people moved like tired robots and their bodies weak from hunger.
They did their morning "prayer," bowing to the picture of Monkey D. Dragon on their walls, the man they were forced to pretend to worship. They stood in the long line for their single loaf of bread which was never enough for them. Then, the men and women were marched away to work all day.
But today was different. Today was Friday. And on Friday, there was a new and special kind of torture.
It was called the "Confession Ceremony."
As the sun began to set all the people of Lvneel were herded into the main town square.
They were forced to stand in front of the big statue of Monkey D. Dragon that the soldiers had built a few days ago. The statue's stone face looked down on them, cold.
soldiers stood everywhere with their guns held ready to strike at any moment. Their cold eyes are watching the crowd.
An soldier with the same cold eyes stood on a wooden stage in front of the statue.
"Today we will cleanse our souls!" the officer shouted in his flat, robot voice. "The revolution is a pure and perfect thing. But we are not perfect. We are weak and we make mistakes. Today we will confess our sins to our great Supreme Leader. We will admit how we have failed him."
The people stood in the evening and their stomachs started hurting from hunger. They did not understand. What did they have to confess?
The soldier continued. "You will come here, one by one. You will confess to the Supreme Leader how you have been selfish. You will tell in front of everyone how you have not worked hard enough for the revolution. And you will also criticize others. You will point out the weakness in your neighbors to make the revolution stronger."
A cold fear rushed all over the crowd.
This was worse than anything else. They were being forced to lie about themselves and even worse they were being forced to lie about their friends and neighbors. It was a cruel game designed to break the last little bit of trust they had left.
The soldier pointed to a woman in the front row. "You will Begin."
The woman was a young baker with flour still glued on her apron. With her trembling steps she walked up to the stage. She stood in front of the giant, ugly statue, her whole body shaking.
"I… I confess," she stammered, her voice small and scared. "I confess that yesterday...my thoughts.... my thoughts were not pure. I was tired for a moment… I wished I did not have to work so hard. I have failed the Supreme Leader."
"And what about your neighbors?" the soldier asked.
The woman looked at the crowd of the sad and hungry faces.
She did not want to do this. But she knew if she did not say something, she would be get shot by the revolutionary army.
After a few moments her eyes fell on an old fisherman whom she had known all her life.
"I… I have seen my neighbor Old Man Apple resting when he thinks no one is looking at at him," she said, the words are feeling like poison in her mouth. "He is old and his weakness might be a threat to the revolution."
Old Man Apple looked down at the ground his face was full of shame. The young baker quickly left the stage and tears were streaming down from her face. She had saved herself but she had hurt her friend.
One by one, people were forced to go up on the stage.
They all said the same kinds of things. They confessed to being tired, or selfish, or sad. They accused their friends of being too slow or not showing enough spirit. It was a parade of lies and forced betrayals. The puppet soldiers wanted to turn them all into spies and enemies.
But then something unexpected happened.
A man named Lenny, a sailor with a loud voice and a brave heart was called to the stage.
Lenny was a man who loved the sea and loved freedom more than anything. He had seen his friends get shot. He had seen his neighbors starve. He had seen the joy of his city turn into a living nightmare. And he had had seen enough to make him feel the rage.
He walked up to the stage, but he did not look scared. He looked very angry. He strand in front of the statue of Dragon and looked out at the crowd of his friends and neighbors. He did not confess.
"I have nothing to confess to this… this son of b*****," he said, his voice booming across the silent square. He pointed at the statue. "This is not a leader. This is a devil. Look at us We are starving. Our children have been stolen by him. Our friends have been killed by him. Is this the freedom you promised us?"
The crowd gasped after hearing this words.
The puppet soldiers all turned to look at Lenny and their hands tightening on their guns.
But Lenny wasn't finished. "This revolution is a lie" he shouted, his voice filled with all the pain and anger of the last five days. "This Monkey D. Dragon is not our savior. He is our enslaver. I will not bow to this statue. I will not pretend to be grateful. I curse his name And I curse this revolution."
For a single beautiful second a spark of hope lit up the sad faces in the crowd.
there was a man who was brave enough to speak the truth. there was the spirit of Lvneel Kingdom they all remembered.
But that moment was very short.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three gunshots being fired which was loud and clear.
Lenny the brave sailor fell to the ground and his brave speech cut short forever. He lay on the feet of the statue he had cursed and a pool of blood spreading out from his body.
The crowd stood in horrified silence. The spark of hope was gone now replaced by a new deeper wave of terror.
The soldier looked down at Lenny's body and then looked back at the crowd.
"There is a difference between confession and disrespect," the officer said in his cold, flat voice. "We encourage you to confess your own small weaknesses. But disrespect towards our Supreme Leader will not be tolerated. It is the greatest threat to the revolution."
He then pointed to another person in the crowd. "You are Next."
After a few moments trembling old woman slowly walked up to the stage. She stepped around Lenny's body. And with tears in her eyes she began to confess her made-up sins to the cold stone statue.
The ceremony of lies continued till the night.
The people of Lvneel had learned their final lesson.
It wasn't enough to obey. It wasn't enough to work. They also had to lie. They had to betray their friends. And most of all, they had to pretend to love the very thing that was destroying them.
And under the cold eyes of other statues in Fresta, Sortis, and Balsamico. The same cruel play unfolded. The names of the brave and the betrayed were different but the ending was always the same: a body on the ground and a long line of liars which are waiting for their turn