Dugagu, National Security Committee headquarters.
Headquarters... it sounded awfully grand.
But remember, this was the Republic of Burkina.
Poverty and backwardness were the main themes here.
So, in reality, it was just three modest high-rises standing side by side. The middle one had eight stories, while the other two had only five.
At a glance, each story looked about three meters high.
The sun sank in the west.
Its lingering rays spilled over the earth, painting the three buildings and the entire landscape red.
Add in the bare tree trunks.
For a moment, there was the pleasant feeling of standing among country fields, looking at distant tiled-roof houses reddened by the evening glow, wisps of cooking smoke rising from them.
Rather than feeling that one was in a nation's capital.
The Agricultural Reform Intelligence Support Department.
This was a temporary department Kroko had specifically established within the National Security Committee to support Sankara's agricultural reforms.
Inside a meeting room.
The fiery evening glow slipped in through the windows, spilling over the seven officers seated inside.
The officer at the head of the table held the rank of major.
Since Kroko, the chairman, was only a lieutenant colonel, the heads of the various departments within the National Security Committee could hold no rank higher than major.
The major leaned back in his chair, a stack of documents in his hand. Looking at the other six officers before him, he said:
"We just received intelligence that a group of landowners led by Gabriel visited Kanel in Nayafaso Village at around ten this morning.
"I'm sure you're all well aware of who Kanel is. He and his family control nearly a tenth of the country's arable land.
"If only one person were to stand up against the president's ongoing agricultural reforms, it could only be him, and no one else.
"We don't yet know the specifics of their conversation, but it certainly wasn't anything good!
"The president's agricultural reforms are meant to resolve our country's food crisis. Anyone who dreams of obstructing and opposing the president is our enemy and must be rooted out!
"So, I'm giving you one day to find out exactly what they're planning, and at the same time, stop every move they're making behind the scenes!"
"Yes, sir!"
The next day.
Sunlight shone straight in from outside onto the calendar on the table. A green snake was also printed on it.
Riiip-
Suddenly, a slender but somewhat rough hand appeared and tore a page off the calendar.
Now,
the date displayed on the calendar was December 15.
"Mom, I'm off to school!"
Just then, a somewhat familiar boy's voice came from outside.
"William, it's still early. Have breakfast before you go."
A woman's voice followed. Its owner was not far from the calendar. The hand just now had belonged to William's mother.
At the dining table.
Without even taking off his schoolbag, William had his head down, wolfing down his food as though racing against time.
"Slow down. Don't choke!"
William's mother reminded him from across the table. Then she picked up her bowl, took a sip of porridge, and asked curiously:
"By the way, why haven't I seen you going to school with Aaron lately? Did you two have a falling-out? William, let me tell you, between friends..."
Before William's mother could finish her nagging, William raised his head and interrupted her. Forcing down the food in his throat, he said:
"We didn't have a falling-out. It's because Aaron joined the army!"
"What!?"
William's mother startled, even spilling a little porridge from her bowl. But she paid it no mind, immediately asking in disbelief:
"Why would he join the army? His grades are so good. Just a little while ago, the priest told me he was going to recommend him for university in France after this semester ended!"
Then, without waiting for William to answer, she continued in a deeply worried voice:
"And I heard there's fighting going on somewhere called Nijia. Terrible fighting. They say several thousand people die every day! Some even say tens of thousands die every day!
"Isn't Aaron gambling with his life by joining the army now? How could his family agree to it?"
"..."
William fell silent. Especially when he heard that tens of thousands died every day, a look called fear flashed through his eyes.
He was afraid that his best friend Aaron might already be dead!
A few seconds later, William answered:
"Aaron enlisted last month, and he went in secret. He didn't tell his family. Mom, I'm going to be late. I'm done eating. I'm off to school!"
With that, William got straight up and ran out of the house.
"Honestly, that boy. It's still early!"
William's mother glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and spoke in puzzlement.
"What's going on? Why did William run off without finishing breakfast? I thought I heard you talking about Aaron just now? What happened to Aaron? Did they quarrel again?"
Just then, a bleary-eyed middle-aged man walked over to the dining table, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Then he plopped down, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and began shoveling food into his mouth.
"Aaron joined the army. William might be feeling a little down because of that."
William's mother answered.
"What!? Aaron joined the army? Why would he do that? His grades are so good!"
William's father, who had been eating like a boar at a trough, froze and looked up in surprise, speaking in bewilderment.
"Who knows? William might know, but when I asked him just now, he wouldn't say."
William's mother shook her head, then started chattering to William's father:
"It's so dangerous to be a soldier now! I heard there's a place called..."
"Tick, tock, tick, tock-"
Before long, it was eight thirty in the morning.
William's mother, now wearing gray work clothes, appeared on a road riding a heavy, twenty-eight-inch bicycle.
On that road,
there were also a crowd of people dressed just like William's mother, either riding the same heavy bicycles or swinging their own two wind-fire wheels.
When William's mother reached the end of the road and turned the corner,
a factory called "Dugagu (State-Owned) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd." came into view.
"Good morning."
"Good morning to you, too."
"Let me tell you, I earned three hundred and twenty North African francs yesterday alone!"
"What? That's incredible!"
"We're hiring! Base pay is eight hundred North African francs a month, but we also offer piece-rate pay. That means the more you do, the more you earn!"
"Boss, this cotton of mine is top quality! Look, it's really good cotton. Whatever else, you've got to give me at least eight hundred and fifty, right?"
"Pah! You think I don't know quality when I see it? Yours is average at best. But seeing as you hauled it here so early and went to all that trouble, I'll give you a little extra. Eight hundred and twenty!"
"Come look, come see! Sweet, delicious big steamed buns, only fifty North African francs each! Eat one and you won't be hungry all day!"
All sorts of voices converged at the factory gates, making it as bustling as a great market.