An explosion louder than any before it reverberated.
The tunnel shook so violently that it almost collapsed completely, and rocks fell from all
directions.
Daniel threw himself to the ground, trapped between dust and stones, gasping for breath.
He cried out in despair:
"I can't... I can't breathe!"
But Yusuf rushed towards him in the midst of the storm, grabbed him with all his strength, and pulled him into a narrow opening in the side wall, barely big enough for his slender body.
He pushed him in with a shout:
"Move! Get out... quickly!"
Daniel hesitated:
"But you... you can't fit through!"
Yusuf smiled despite the sweat and blood covering his face:
"I'm staying here... You still have a long way to go."
As he tried to follow him, a huge rock collapsed on Yusuf's shoulders, pulling a pile of rubble with it.
His body stopped suddenly, trapped under the weight.
Daniel rushed towards him frantically:
"No! Yusuf! Wait!"
But Yusuf raised his trembling hand, signalling him to stop.
He smiled, then whispered hoarsely as he recited the two testimonies:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah... and I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah..."
Daniel's tears fell profusely, his heart breaking.
He heard Yusuf whisper his last words:
"I have fulfilled my duty before my Creator... Is it your turn now?" Then he breathed his last, his features calm as if he had found his final peace.
Daniel approached, removed some of the rubble from his chest, closed his eyes with a trembling hand, and whispered:
"Rest... Rest now, my friend."
As he moved his arm, a small, dust-stained booklet fell from his hand.
Daniel picked it up and slowly opened it... He found faded photographs:
a man, a woman and two children smiling in front of a modest house.
He froze in place, his heart screaming:
"This is Yusuf... This is who he was fighting for."
He closed the notebook to his chest, tears streaming from his eyes.
Deep down, he realised that Yusuf was not completely dead... He had left him a legacy that
would haunt him for the rest of his life.