As a response, I concentrated to hear what he was talking about.
"I mean he's one man. one man alone. why do we have to fear him." said one of the men sitting at the corner. The one who spoke wore yellowish white shirt under the faded dark jacket and occupied on the actual corner spot. Next to him, to his left sat one in all dark—including the shirt. he held a newspaper consisting of very poor quality black and white images. The one sitting opposite them wore red shirt and appeared to be the youngest. All three men additionally wore dark flat caps.
"He's got a gun," said the youngest, he seemed as young as the bearded kid, if not younger. He was the only one of the three without a tie.
"Dan!" the white shirt man called out.
"Sir," the youngest answered.
"We are over ten. He's outnumbered by far too much. We can subdue him before he can make a good use of the gun," The white shirt man explained.
"Sacrifice," the dark shirt man muttered suddenly. His mates stared at him, "A couple persons have to be sacrificed before we can subdue him. That's the practical truth."
The white shirt man leaned back, he clearly didn't like the idea.
"Sir, we have no other option. There's no way we can just lunge at him without him pulling the trigger a few times. Sacrifices are necessary by all means. That's how our president, Ngwazi came to power too. That's how we got the independence. We all benefited from the sacrifices made by the martyrs who paved way to self-governance. Relatively few lives are usually paid for redemption of tens, thousands and millions," the dark shirt man explained, long and definite enough for the white shirt man to understand.
"Okay, sir," he bit his lower lip. There was visible pain all over his face, "That's how it always works in such situations like this one. the truth is painful."
When the dark suit man heard the white shirt man's words, he nodded in approval and satisfaction.
"Who's gonna serve as innocent sacrificial lambs?" Dan inquired, phrasing it in a way that brought more pain on the white shirt man and annoyance on the dark shirt man.
The latter swept his gaze across the room and met my gaze. I avoided his gaze only to look at him again in the next instant. He leaned forward and gathered his mates. With heads almost touching he led the conversation in voices too hushed for me to hear. I looked away from them with a sigh.
"Concerned?" Mah looked at me inquiringly.
"A little bit," I admitted, "I'm relieved they cannot move around to fool someone,"
Mah tried to speak and sip coffee at once. Both failed. He ended spilling coffee on his grey wool shirt. A logo of some company called Blackhave's with a dark border suffered the stains. I found it's tagline ridiculous. It read; "Since 2025", stylized in all capitals.
"I'm glad the coffee is not too hot," he said while wiping the affected spot with a napkin, "I wanted to say that I am pretty sure they are going to find a way..." he threw the napkin into a bin before resuming, "to fool someone."
I blinked twice and fixed the beanie on my head. Afterwards, my face flashed, "I have an idea,"
I dug into the pockets of my coat. I brought out a pen. I still moved around with a pen and notebook regardless of the craziness of the digital era. Except that, this time I forgot the notebook. I gazed around momentary and snatched the menu from the table. I wrote on it and tore out around the words. I gave it to Mah to read. It read; "I believe no person worth less or more than another person in regardless of sex, age, race or anything else. we are equal. Therefore no life should be taken in place of another unless one is willing to sacrifice oneself."
Mah stared up at me as soon as he finished reading.
"How come some people hold authority over other people's lives?" he gave me back the note.
"That is the most unfair thing that happens in the world," i said whilst clutching the note into a ball. then i threw it towards the corner men. it hit the dark suit man in the face. he was stunned. he raised his head in a jerk and stared at me, aghast. I pointed at the ball. He easily understood what I meant. He picked it up, flattened it and began reading. He didn't let his mates read it until he finished.
"That's not how things are supposed to work. No!" I shook my head, proceeding where I stopped.
"That makes the world a terribly unfair place then," Mah said, "You see, individuals have commanded millions and killed millions. The likes of Hitler, Stalin, there's a whole set of them. the so-called chiefs, military commanders, kings, heads of states—rulers."
My face darkened, I felt terrible resentment and disappointment. I hadn't been so disappointed in a long time. Humans treat other humans with utmost cruelty and unfairness.
"Joseph, Adolf, they disgust me. Rulers of the world—particularly the political ones—disgust me," My facial expression confirmed it all, "Look, none of them is supernatural. I can knock out some of them with a mere punch. We are equal beings. We were both born naked and with nothing."
"You are right, but to whom we are born provide a basis for a distinction between us. Factors such as sex, race, wealth, education, talents and skills play significant roles too,"
Mah was not wrong. In eastern societies particularly in Africa the 18's and 19's were quite an era. A mere literacy gained some respect and authority. A mere skin color—precisely the white skin color—made some overlords. It went like that to an extent.
"I would say we born equal," I insisted, "To whom we are born is a first factor that distinct us. That is according to our sinful perspective. In our words sinful eyes or worldly perspective. In reality, that is to say; outside our sinful per—" I broke off as I caught a ball thrown by the dark shirt man.
I flattened and read it, "It is necessary for a few people to die for many. It is what Lord Jesus did too. The lost lives are always regarded as the most important and will forever be remembered and honored."
I rolled my eyes and stared at the dark shirt man and his companions. they were staring at me too.
I handed the note over to Mah as I made another. When I finished I showed it to him before I sent it through the air to the corner men.
"Propaganda. Such propagandas have led millions to graves, fighting for sinful people whose true goals are power and wealth. the honors and commemorations do not benefit the dead in any way." That is what I said in the note.
"Let us discuss about the most influential people in history. According to worldly perspective," Mah sought to continue our discussion as we waited for the arrival of another mail, "There are many educated, wealthy, talented and skilled people. Many people with powerful backgrounds. Each gender and race consist of many people. Yet still some individuals stand out. Such people as Hammurabi, Plato, Socrates, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Romulus, Confucius, Leonardo Da Vinci, Kant, George Washington, Karl Max, Vladimir Lenin, Isaac Newton, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Albert Einstein, the list goes on to the edge of the world. My point is, these people in different spheres of life have distinguished themselves as extraordinary. what do you think is really the magic?"
"In worldly perspective, fine," I murmured and nodded.
"Of course," Mah quickly added, "Why do these people stand out among many people with similar gender, race, background, education, talents and skills?"