Daniel woke up in a clean white bed, with machines monitoring his breathing and tubes stuck in his arm.
Everything around him seemed overly sterile, as if they were trying to erase all traces of the tunnel from his body.
It wasn't long before the door burst open and his mother rushed into the room.
"Danny! My son!"
She hugged him tightly, while his father and sister crowded behind her, their eyes filled with tears.
But their joy lasted only a few moments before they were overwhelmed by the camera flashes behind the glass.
Photographers captured the scene, reporters whispered:
"The miracle soldier... returned from the dead."
Daniel smiled faintly, but he was hiding something under the blanket.
His hand remained clutching a small bag that he had hidden under his clothes since the moment he was rescued.
Inside it was Yusuf's notebook.
He did not allow anyone to see it.
Whenever a nurse or even his mother approached, he tightened his grip.It was as if the notebook had become part of his body, a piece of his heart that could not be torn
away.
A few days later, he was called into a closed room.
Three officers in uniform sat opposite him, their faces cold and unsympathetic.
The oldest began to speak slowly in Hebrew, as if delivering an indisputable command:
"You are a hero, Daniel. But you must know... your story is not your own. What you tell the world is part of our national security."
Another officer interjected:
"Don't mention any humane treatment of the prisoners. Don't mention names. Nothing about life in the tunnel. Only the torment... only the nightmares."
Daniel remained silent, his eyes lost.
Inside, he could see Yusuf's face as he breathed his last breath, his voice echoing:
"I have fulfilled my role before my Creator... Is it your turn now?"
One of the officers slammed his fist on the table:
"Do you understand?! Not a word about anything else."
Daniel smiled nervously, nodded his head, but clutched his chest where he had hidden the
notebook.
"They won't know... They won't take it. Yusuf will stay with me."
He left the room surrounded by cameras and the media, but his heart remained elsewhere... in Tunnel No. 7, where he had left his true friend and the truth he did not yet dare to speak.