About Nothing

A leader of a country executed one of his best friends. The execution was in line with the law of that country; his friend was convicted for an offence punishable by death. So the leader, being fair and all had no choice but to kill his friend. He did the execution himself (a public execution), without a hint of any emotion. Calm and emotionless. But later, another friend saw him alone in a room crying (3 of them were best friends, during the time when they fought against a cruel and evil king).

So that guy in trying to console the leader said something along the line of “You did nothing wrong, don’t blame yourself. You had no choice but to execute him. No one is above the law, not you and not him. You did the right thing.”

Hearing that the leader turned to his friend, looked him straight in the eyes and said, “These tears are not because I lost a friend. These tears are not because I killed my best friend, my brother. These tears are mourning myself, mourning what I have become. I just lost a friend, I just killed my own brother but not even a faint of sadness in my heart. The calmness you saw in me when I swung the sword was not an act. That wasn’t me putting a brave face in front of the public. I feel no guilt at all. What have I become? And for what? ……What have I turned into?”

THE END.