Seeing Is Believing
by
Alexander M Zoltai
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It was a pleasant village—about 600 meters up, on the leeward side, tucked into the mountain valley.
People lived there to get away from the overcrowded cities; and, to avoid detection…
In fact, there was no proper record of exactly who lived in the village.
Up a bit higher, tucked into ascending forest, was a clutch of buildings; and, armed guards in abundance surrounding them.
There was no way to know that those “gone missing” from the overcrowded cities spent dire days in the carefully constructed buildings—buildings full of the most unique machines of torture…
There was no way to discover the people shackled to walls, left to die and rot…
There was no way to learn people were being ground up into “meat patties”…
No way…
Yet, Simon had found out some of what was happening; and, he barely got back out of the woods and down the mountain…
He was twelve and wily as a squirrel—he’d hiked all the way up the mountain—his usual route—a bit to the east of the hidden torture camp…
He approached the heights above the camp, daydreaming as usual…
He veered a bit west, well hidden by trees and foliage; and, as he sat on a large rock, he noticed some movement below…
He stayed there for the entire afternoon, seeing people being tied to poles and whipped—having their legs broken by long metal pipes—saw the dead and decaying bodies carried from one building to another…
Near sundown, Simon skittered around the camp and down the mountain—ran through the city—got home before his curfew.
His mother questioned his dirty and ripped pants and shirt.
He couldn’t say a word…
She called his father.
He loomed over Simon, who began to shake, violently…
His father grabbed his shoulders and said: “Calm down boy, how in hell can I whip you if I don’t even know what happened?”
Simon slowly stopped shaking—tried to speak; but, could only choke out half-formed words…
His father told his mother to fetch a cup of water.
Eventually, Simon got his story out—made his father wonder if he’d been bewitched by that shady lady in the neighborhood…
His father doubted his son’s sanity—his mother believed Simon.
The next day, Simon and his mother visited the lawyer who lived a few blocks away.
The lawyer believed the story; but, he dared not let them know…
After assuring them he would look into the matter, he instructed Simon’s mother to take her son to the pharmacist—handed her the money for the medicine he recommended; then, he visited one of the well-placed and privately despicable men who held his life and livelihood captive.
The lawyer told his tale…
Simon and his family disappeared………
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