Everything is black and dark… but there is a flicker of light… yet the darkness consumes it.
"Dad! Mom! Outside is going crazy!" Mayex shouts.
"Don't worry, kids. Just hop into my car. We're going to the village — our village, with our relatives. We'll live there for a while until things settle down," his father says.
Everything is still dark. The flicker of light grows brighter — only to be swallowed again.
"I will go to Turkey and work there. That way, I can earn enough for your travel — the legal way. None of you will have to cross like I did," his father says, and pulls each of them close one last time.
The darkness returns.
"We have to go illegally. Your father couldn't manage it in time… we have no choice. We go now, kids," their mother says.
The light grows.
"You see that motorcycle? When I say run — we run. The driver will take us across the border. Your father will be waiting on the other side."
They run. All of them, as fast as their legs allow.
"And when we reach Turkey, your father will take us to Germany. Can you imagine?" their mother says, breathless and smiling.
Mayex, his older sister Rokia, and his little brother Amir shout together —
"YES!"
They reach the motorcycle. One by one, they climb on. But as Mayex moves to get on last, the driver raises a hand.
"Sorry, kid. No more space. Wait here — I'll come back for you."
The engine revs.
They pull away.
Mayex stands there, watching until they disappear into the dust. He waits.
And waits.
The sun shifts. The shadows grow long.
"…Where are they?"
He turns in a slow circle — dirt, sand, and stones in every direction. No road signs. No voices. Nothing.
"Is the driver not coming back?… And Mom… Amir… Rokia… why is no one coming back?"
He waits longer. The silence answers him.
"They didn't abandon me… right?"
Something shifts in his chest. Something hot.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!"
He starts walking. Then faster.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!"
"DON'T YOU DARE ABANDON ME!!!"
He breaks into a sprint — and his foot catches a stone. He goes down hard, hands scraping the dirt.
He doesn't get up right away.
"WHERE ARE YOU, MOM?!"
His voice cracks.
"DAD — MOM!!!"
Tears fall onto the dry ground.
"WHERE IS EVERYONE?! THIS BETTER NOT BE A JOKE — BECAUSE IT ISN'T FUNNY!!!"
And then something changes. The grief hardens.
"YOU ALL BETRAYED ME!. ALL OF YOU!!!."
He pushes himself up slowly.
"I DO NOT TOLERATE THIS. I WON'T BE LEFT BEHIND!!!."
He looks at the empty horizon.
"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!."
The light becomes blinding.
He wakes up.
Mayex lies still for a moment, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Slowly, the room takes shape around him — bare walls, thin mattresses on the floor, and children sleeping in every direction. Strangers. All of them.
He sits up quietly and says nothing.