1001 Nights Cast

Slowly. Very Slowly. I have to be very careful. I am standing in the middle of a mine field, and even the fart of a scorpion could cause an explosion. I have already walked at the pace of a snail for five metres. Seven horizontal red lines divide the field. The more I cross, the more I can prove myself and show them who I am. I only have five more lines to cross and I do not know if I will make it.

I have been using a long army knife to help detect the mines. The knife is almost permanently inserted in the soil. I am so delicate with it as if I were cutting a piece of a lemon meringue pie. If I am not careful, my brain might explode and take on the same shape of that cake. I was quite composed with my first step, but now my heart is pounding faster and faster as I move towards the end of the field. I am not a sweaty guy but my hand is as wet as if I had dipped it in a bacteria-infected pond.

Two more steps, only four lines left.

I was full of hope before entering this field but I am slowly changing my mind. What awaits me at the end? Will I make it in one piece? As I am walking slowly and checking for mines, a crowd of journalists are taking my picture. They are standing along the lines of the mine field behind a protective and transparent wall and commenting on my advancement as if it is a soccer game. Do they hope that I will fail or succeed? Behind them, in the stands, mixed with various representatives of lobby groups, I find some of my political colleagues. Some are cheering; many of them must surely keep their wish for failure inside of themselves.

Shit, a mine just in front of me. I touched metal with my knife and thank God I did not leave a scratch. The crowd is now silenced but pictures are still being taken; many with flashes as if they were meant to detonate the mechanism. I slowly manage to move around the mine and must look like an idiot sweating like a pig in a sauna and crawling like a baby.

On my left, I see a couple of people moving and someone puts himself very quickly between them and throws something over the wall at me. I don’t know who it is as he was in my peripheral vision. I can’t move without taking the risk of exploding. Just got time to put my hand in front of my face and hope it’s only a rotten tomato. Damned! The heavy thud against my skull tells me this is no vegetable. It was a rock. I don’t listen to my pain. I let some blood drip along my left ear and keep concentrating on these mines.

Three lines left. Only three; just three! It has to be easy. I have come from so far to be Minister in this government. It will be ungodly to fail at this stage. The crowd is getting worked up; and more security guards are coming. Is it really to protect me from the crowd or to make sure that I explode all by myself?

Only two red lines left. Shit; another mine! I am slowly moving to the left and find another one. I continue in the same direction and find one more. I am crawling towards the right and find again more mines. There is an entire row of mines on the 6th red line. The fuckers! They trapped me on this field! They are not playing a fair game.

What can I do? Jump over the line? But then, will I land on one mine just in front of the 7th line? My knife is not long enough to check the field beyond the 6th red line.

I am pausing and sweating. The people who were giving me the evil eye before are now smiling. A few of those who appeared to have supported me before seem to now change camp and smile at my despair as well. I can also see a few kind faces trying to gesture their support.

I hear someone shouting in the crowd: ‘If you want to live, you will have to give your resignation’. A few people agree with him and shout ‘resign’ in repetition as if they were using a sub-machine gun.

I walk back a couple of metres exactly the same way I came. I have now a good length to prepare a jump over the 6th line. Unfortunately, the jump won’t be long enough to pass the mine field. I could throw my knife on the spot where I could land but if it detonates a mine, I will certainly die. I only have one choice: taking a chance. I have to stop thinking that the 7th red line is full of mines like the 6th and that I have a chance to land on a safe spot.

I have made up my mind. I am taking the chance, I can’t go back. My run is followed by a dead silence. The crowd is in suspense; they like risk takers even for politicians.

I have jumped over the 6th line and am landing before the 7th. I look at the ground wondering if there is a mine underneath. I will touch ground in less than half a second and my political life goes like a movie in my mind in less than a quarter of a second. Being appointed as Minister was a risk from the beginning but I had no idea that the mine field I was ready to cross was going to be trapped like this.

Just a 10th of a second left before I live or die. Flashes are going off constantly, trying to immortalise this moment. One solid wall of white light now.