Sin Salida

Driven by patriotic pride, Tomy decides to travel to Stephenlandia with a band of mercenaries and kill Pimienta for betraying Mierdanistan.

What he does not know is that the notorious impostor commander, the man called Pimienta, has already died.

Pimienta suffered a sudden heart attack while attempting to satisfy his wife sexually. Garfia, who had been secretly watching the intimate encounter with voyeuristic curiosity, was the first to realize that something was wrong. She rushed toward them in desperation, without covering herself, and tried to revive him. She desperately performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and held him in her arms, but nothing worked. Pimienta was dead.

His wife stood watching, stunned by the tragedy unfolding before her.

Meanwhile, Tomy and his elite team seize control of Stephenlandia’s cybernetic infrastructure and cellular telephone bases. They bring down the communication antennas, but a miscalculation turns their operation into a worldwide catastrophe. Suddenly, the entire planet is plunged into absolute darkness. Cellular networks collapse, and every other form of communication disappears.

Chaos spreads across country after country. With no reliable means of communication or coordination, societies descend into violence. Assaults, sexual violence, and murders proliferate, and the global population is reduced to a mere quarter of one percent of its former size.

Yet Mierdanistan’s archaic technology survives the collapse.

Using an antiquated communication system, Tomy manages to contact the Generalissimo. His mission is declared a triumph. With assistance from other nations hostile to imperialism, he is successfully extracted from capitalist territory and brought safely before the Generalissimo.

“Thanks to your cunning, Pimienta is dead,” the dictator declares. “And now we have control through chaos, together with our Islamist allies.”

A vast crowd gathers to celebrate the returning hero. Since the electricity is still out, everyone holds a little candle in one hand and applauds by striking the other hand against the side of their face.

The Generalissimo presents Tomy with a makeshift medal: a flattened soda-bottle cap bearing a star.

Tomy receives the decoration proudly against his bare chest. Its hook pierces his flesh, and a tear rolls down his cheek. The darkness conceals the finer details of the ceremony. His skin is tough, the Generalissimo is clumsy, and the hook takes several awkward attempts to secure. Finally, it goes in.

Seeing Tomy’s tears, the Generalissimo embraces him.

“The homeland owes you more than words can express.”

Tomy turns toward the crowd. In the front row, he notices Sinsa.

She’s beautiful, he thinks. And I’ll take her here, in front of everyone.

He reaches for her hand, but she rejects him and runs away.

Sinsa has her own desperate ambitions. She wants to escape poverty, whether through an invasion of Mierdanistan by Stephenlandia or by some foreign nation destroying their country with an atomic bomb. To her, almost any catastrophe seems preferable to a life of endless deprivation.

She runs through the crowd, confused by her own feelings. Despite everything, she longs to be with a man. Tomy had been her secret, idealized love until that fateful sleepover shattered her illusions.

Nearby, Lida and Abdulah watch the ceremony honoring Tomy. The Generalissimo announces the hero’s appointment as the new Commander.

Sinsa stumbles into her brother Abdulah. Lida seizes the opportunity to whisper:

“Go on. Take advantage of this chance to be with a hero.”

“You go up there, idiot!” Sinsa snaps.

“But Sinsa, you like Tomy. And he killed the traitor.”

“Garfia announced an hour ago that Pimienta was dead.”

Abdulah embraces his sister and turns to Lida.

“It’s difficult for us. You have to understand. Pimienta was the best stepfather we ever had.”

“What are you talking about, little brother?” Sinsa replies. “I don’t care about any of that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I hate being poor.”

Before anyone can respond, a military policeman grabs Sinsa and tears away her nightgown. With the assistance of other soldiers, he drags her onto the makeshift platform.

Tomy sees her being brought before him and assumes she has climbed onto the stage of her own free will. Without asking her permission, he takes her.

The crowd erupts into applause. Tomy stands in triumph, his new decoration glinting faintly in the candlelight, while Sinsa becomes the unwilling centerpiece of his celebration.

Three minutes later, Sinsa descends from the platform, trembling and trying in vain to cover herself with her hands. Tomy pulls up his trousers.

The Generalissimo raises Tomy’s arm in victory and shouts:

“Long live the freedom of Mierdanistan!”

“Long live!” the crowd answers.

Sinsa flees through the deserted streets. Darkness hangs over the city, and the empty roads are dangerous. She runs and cries at the top of her lungs, unable to contain her grief.

A few minutes later, the electricity returns. Cellular communications are restored, and the world begins to reconnect.

But Sinsa is still running.

Just a short distance from home, she falls into a swamp. She makes no effort to get up. Her stepmother rushes toward her.

“Sweetheart, what happened to you?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing.”

“But…”

“Enough!”

Sinsa finally rises, and her stepmother realizes that she is naked.

“Why are you coming home like this?”

Sinsa looks up and sees the concern in the older woman’s face. For a moment, she thinks about the pain her stepmother must be enduring after Pimienta’s death.

“He’s dead,” Sinsa whispers. “Daddy is dead.”

“I know. I hope he’s burning in hell. Fortunately, Tomy…”

“Oh, Mommy! He died of a heart attack. Tomy didn’t kill him.”

“But Tomy frightened him by threatening to cut off the telephone and electricity services. Everything went dark, and…”

Sinsa laughs bitterly, then finally nods.

“Yes, Mommy. That’s how it happened.”

Her stepmother does not entirely believe her, but she decides not to press the matter. Sinsa gradually calms down.

“Do we have anything to eat?”

“Of course, sweetheart. What would you like me to prepare?”

“You already know…”

Sinsa gives her a knowing wink.

“Of course, darling. Your favorite dish…”

Together, they announce:

“Water soup!”

They burst out laughing. Sinsa begins telling her mother what Tomy did to her in front of the crowd, describing the humiliating public encounter in a mixture of bitterness, confusion, and dark humor.

Just then, Abdulah and Tomy arrive.

“What happened to you, Sinsa?” Abdulah asks.

“To me? Nothing that I know of.”

“You ran away crying after the ceremony,” Tomy observes.

“Why have you two come here?”

“To see Sinsa,” Tomy replies. “I even did you the honor of…”

“Do you know they dragged her onto that platform against her will?” Abdulah interrupts.

“Listen, you two,” Sinsa says sharply. “Whatever happens to me is my business.”

“Are you still upset because of that idiot?” Abdulah asks.

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

“I hate being poor!”

Her voice fills the room.

“Little sister,” Abdulah says gently, “why do you want to be rich? I’m not rich just because I stole from Garfia.”

Tomy joins the conversation.

“Exactly. Wealth can make you an accomplice to an infinite number of criminals and pirates who, throughout history, have laundered their spoils through whichever monarch happened to be in power. Nowadays, they do it through central banks and…”

“Or perhaps,” Abdulah interrupts, “you’re talking about another kind of wealth?”

“Why can’t you understand me?” Sinsa shouts. “I HATE BEING POOR!”

“You don’t have to scream,” Abdulah replies. “We understand.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll bring you plenty of money,” he promises.

Sinsa laughs bitterly.

“Hahaha! That’ll make you feel like a capitalist. You’ll feel rich.”

“And it won’t do you any good,” Tomy adds. “Money has no real value. It’s just paper and metal. It’s not skin, flesh, or a heart.”

“I don’t want your filthy money,” Sinsa snaps.

“Then what do you want?”

Sinsa has no answer. Confused and exhausted, she finishes her bowl of water soup and licks her fingers.

“See you tomorrow, boys.”

She gets up and walks toward the mattress on the floor, leaving Tomy momentarily distracted and at a loss for words.

Her stepmother returns carrying two more bowls of water soup.

“You boys must be hungry.”

“No, Mommy,” Tomy replies. “The Generalissimo distributed pizza.”

“Pizza? Where did he get that? As far as I know, pizza is considered ideological divisionism here in Mierdanistan.”

“He made an exception. Besides…” Tomy grins. “It’s me!”

He laughs and accepts the bowl of water soup.

The three of them spend the rest of the night talking and laughing. They exchange stories, joke about the Generalissimo, and remember the strange events of the day.

From the outside, it might almost resemble a happy family gathered around a humble meal.

But Sinsa cries in secret.

And beneath the laughter, Mierdanistan remains a country where poverty, power, and the pursuit of freedom have become indistinguishable from one another.

End.