Hannibal
Once upon a time in
the great city of Carthage, it was believed that the gods were walking
leisurely along the coast. Fascinated by the city and its palaces, the green
mountains surrounding it and the happiness and joy of its people, they exchanged
statements of praise. These eloquent phrases annoyed one of the gods, who
apparently was bad tempered on that sunny day. He stopped, faced his divine
companions and screamed in anger, “I’ll curse all the men of Carthage from this
day till the end of time”. shocked by such unexpected wrath, they all quickly
tried to bestow blessings and save the innocent city and its people. One god
gifted them with courage, another gave them wisdom, a goddess was generous and
granted them beauty and charm. Gods kept offering the Carthaginians with all
the great deeds, but apparently the curse was strong and effective. It was
destined for every son of that beautiful city to carry his huge share of
blessings and yet he had to bear a faint trace of the eternal curse.
I met Hannibal, not
the famous Hannibal, not the one who dragged the African Elephants to the
Italian Alps. I met Hannibal, a handsome man with sharp smart eyes, a perfect
Roman nose and a magical wide smile. Sitting nonchalantly like the king of all
kings staring at the horizon in that balmy night. I came closer, saluted him
timidly. His eyes were radiating with confidence, joy and mystery. I stuttered
while he was calmly drowning me in an ocean of questions, assumptions and
accusations. His face with glowing with a charismatic flair as I was becoming a
bit tense, no, not a bit, I was starting to panic. Then Hannibal smiled,
paused, starred at my eyes and asked, “Who are you?”.
A thousand and one
graves suddenly opened in my soul, and all the sadness seeped. Numbed by
unbearable pain, how could I answer that Carthaginian hero, or even hide my
tears. Surprised by my agony, weakness and despair, he looked at me closely,
and with a caring voice, he asked about my story. Throughout Hannibal’s dark
eyes I saw a lifetime of joy, love and success, all far away, all in distant
lands, and unfortunately all in previous years. Egoistic or rational, he was
honest and blunt. Read my fortune, knew what will I face and simply understood
the pain. Before uttering a word, he shushed me and stood up, walked and told
me to follow. We walked in silence. I followed him obediently, till he stopped,
faced me and said in the saddest tone,” it will never work….” He sighed
bitterly and said, “believe me, it will never work”. The stars died as his
words echoed in a murky sky, I gasped, escaping a bitter taste of the color
yellow and trembled as he moved away.
“Hannibal…please wait”
these words were never heard, these words were never said.
