Outnumbered

By Ahmad Itani

It was a huge empire built of stone.  Feared by many kings, and ruled by a ruthless one. He was known as Daldahab, the king who lived in his castle of gold, the gold that once belonged to the peasants.

                His empire was the most powerful and most feared. His rule stretched so wide that people often spoke of him as the king of the earth.

Every day, this king would set out with his “annihilators”, an army of five hundred men, to take from the poor what “belongs to him” and leave them nothing but the ashes of their homes. His pride and joy dwelled in watching them bow before him as he threatened their children.

                But what the king did not know was that he was also a part of the kingdom…

One night while he was doing his usual patrolling around his lands, he decided to pick on one of his subjects : a crippled old man who lived in a small broken down shed on the edge of a cliff.

“Men of Daldahab!” – He yelled.

“It has been another tiring day! For we have been marching across the lands,  cleansing the earth of those who are corrupt! And I must say, I have done quite a good job. The lesser kings speak of me as the king of the earth! I reckon they have finally come to their senses to admit this undeniable truth. And Yet still SOME of my…subjects…still fail to recognize the greatness that I have brought! Yet again the old man of the cliff has not raised my flag above his house! And what happens to those who dare defy me?”

“ANNIHILATE AND DESTROY” – The earth shook as his entire army yelled.

“Splendid! Then let us march straight forward and teach the old man who owns who!”

                His army was on fire. They took out their swords, the king mounted on his horse and they rushed towards the edge of the cliff.

They stopped before the door, and Daldahab tore down the door, without even knocking. The old man was on his chair at the end of the room, facing the wall.

“Knock knock! Your king has arrived, and you fail to greet him with respect? It’s a shame an old wise man such as you would do such a stupid thing! Now stand up, and bow before me! Then you shall offer me all your goods, and I shall spare your life”- Said Daldahab with a grin on his face.

But the old man just sat there, he wasn’t afraid. He did what none of us would do in these circumstances. He just said “no”.

“What’s this? A rebel I see!” – The king said trying to mock him.

“ And you have the courage to stand before us all? You see this army? I can order them to kill you now, and I assure you they WILL do it if I tell them to… I will give you one last chance…BOW before me! Or perish at the hands of the king!”

The old man just sat there.

“No. I won’t.” – He muttered with his face to the wall.

“Fool! I have more power now than you can imagine! I own the land upon which you live! I own the air which you breath, I own this army you see before you!  You are clearly outnumbered, and yet  you dare deny me?!”

The old man smiled, and pointed to the sky...

“The birds” – He muttered.

For a while there was silence.

“Ha! Looks like our old man has gone insane! Do you honestly think birds can scare me?! I am king of the earth! I’ll have my men take them down with pebbles ! HAHA! Laugh with me men! ”

And the annihilators laughed with the king, but the old man spoke again.

“The birds…what keeps them from falling? “

Now the army was surprised, and gasps and whispers could be heard.

“You claim to own the earth…well tell me…what keeps it from swallowing you inside of it?”- Said the old man again.

“Enough of this! You will perish for your disobedience! Remain silent and bow before me now!” -Yelled Daldahab as he took out his sword.

“Don’t you get it? Look around you for a moment. Who makes the rain fall? Who drives the wind between the leaves? Who strikes the lightning on the earth? You claim to be the king of the earth…but you forget that you are part of the bigger kingdom”

“The kingdom? Mine is the only kingdom! That’s enough! I am king of the earth, none have power over me!” Said the tyrant. This time he was completely fed up, and began to charge towards our hero.

And yet the rebel remained calm, and continued his speech.

“You see, once you realize that everything…the trees, the earth, the animals, the water ,the grass, the  winds…all of it submits to just one force, and that even the very cells that make up your own body…all of it answers to only one…you can see it…you can see the kingdom”

The king jumped in air, and was just about to give the blow.

And then the rebel whispered  “Tell me who’s outnumbered now”…