On a quiet evening inside the tunnel, the resistance fighters entered and announced:
"Naoum, get ready. Tomorrow at dawn, you will be transferred as part of the exchange deal."
A heavy silence fell.
Naoum remained stunned for a moment, then slowly got up, as if she could not believe what she was hearing.
She smiled hesitantly, tears glistening in her eyes:
"I'm leaving... tomorrow?"
Yusuf nodded.
As for Uri, he turned towards the wall, his fist trembling with jealousy.
Khalid just gave a short, sarcastic laugh, then whispered:
"One leaves... and we die here."
But Daniel... just stared at her silently.
Inside, he felt a fear he had never known before:
"What if Na'oum leaves and the world returns to her... and I remain here, buried in darkness?"The next day, everyone was looking at Naoum when two masked men from the resistance came to take her away. Naoum approached Yusuf, her voice hoarse:
"You... you treated me better than I deserve. I don't know what to say."
Yusuf replied with a calm smile:
"Go... and live your life. But don't forget what you saw here. One day, you will realise that the truth is heavier than all the slogans."
Then she turned to Daniel, paused in front of him for a moment, and said in a trembling voice:
"Take care of yourself... Maybe... Maybe one day you'll come home too."
Daniel didn't know what to say.
He just shook his head, but felt a sting of bitterness in his heart.
"What home awaits me after this?"
Then she said to Ori:
"I'll tell your family about your situation so they can pressure the government to complete an
exchange deal for you as soon as possible."
Ori said nothing, smiled and nodded his head, and then she left that tunnel.
That night, everyone remained silent.
Ori was boiling inside, Khalid was drowning in regret, Yusuf was contemplative as usual, and Daniel kept staring at the ceiling of the tunnel... wondering if luck would save him one day, or if the tunnel would remain his final destiny.