1 NULLA QUAESTIO

In complete silence, a butterfly hovered over a light. That light came from a barred window, illuminating a part of the small, dark room. And inside that room, which was a prison cell, there was a man. The man stood with his elbows crossed and supported on the window's edge, staring out in total silence. He seemed to have been in that position for a long time, where, he reflected reservedly about something very seriously in his thoughts. A hot wind blew against his face, but the man remained indifferent, immobile. In the sunlight streaming through the window, a butterfly hovered.

A metal door has been unlocked. Judging by the sound of rusting iron, the door seemed to weigh tons. At the sound of footsteps crackling down the corridor, a prison officer was walking, accompanied by two guards. All with serious expressions, they carried swords in their waists. In the various cells, men were talking to each other. Some with their backs to the corridor. Others were leaning against the metal bars of their doors, watching time go by. Suddenly, those who were talking began to hear footsteps. Immediately an uproar breaks out and the prisoners rush to the grid doors of their cells, shouting and calling the guards as they pass through the corridor. They didn't even seem to bother with all the shouting.

— Open it, please! Cell number thirty-six! - Said the officer, after stopping in front of the only cell in that corridor where there was no uproar.

One of the guards quickly picks up an extensive set of keys. For a moment, he analyzed all of them until he found the correct one. As soon as he found the correct key, the guard unlocked the ordered cell.

— Inmate Hidana Fiuza! Your sentence has just been completed — exclaimed the officer loudly — Are you free. Please accompany us to collect all your belongings!

However, the detainee continued to look out the window in his moment of silence. It was as if he hadn't even heard the man who called him. The officer and the guards remained in the same position as they were in front of the inmate's cell door waiting for his answer. A certain unease began to emerge, right then, and to travel over the air after a considerable delay on the part of Hidana's response. In the background, other detainees were still making noise and making a lot of noise. The guards rested their hands on the hilt of their swords, watching for any suspicious movement that might come from the man in the cell. Finally, after such a delay, the detainee left the window of his cell and walked towards the guards, in total silence. The butterfly that once took advantage of the sunlight, flew towards the window. It passed smoothly through the bars and disappeared into the world outside.

— Lock the cell again! — ordered the officer after Hidana left the cell.

The penitentiary was isolated on a very high hill, surrounded by mountains. There was no house nearby at that location. The nearest was miles away.

Upon exiting the penitentiary, the ex-inmate was faced with the fact that there were only two roads before the prison exit: one to the right and one to the left. On the floor, beside him, a suitcase had been given to him with his few belongings. Hidana, who was standing with his back to the huge prison gate, faithful to the silence for another moment, stood there while he smelled the freedom permeating his lungs like the tobacco he used to smoke. Behind him, with the main gate still open, the officer and the guards watched him.

The ex-detainee looked around and came across the countless trees that surrounded that area. A hot wind blew its leaves. That forest looked much smaller from the inside of his cell. Hidana bent down and opened her suitcase. He took out a pack of cigarettes, but soon saw that he had no lighter. He put a cigarette in his mouth and turned.

— Could any of you do the favor?

His unusual request caused the guards to exchange angry looks with each other. At the top of one of the guardhouses of the penitentiary, a guard did not take his eyes off all that interaction. Despite being alone there, Hidana was the only one who showed no apprehension. He ignored all the attentive looks on himself. His eyes were still on the guards, waiting for one to light his cigarette.

— I know you have a lighter — said Hidana pointing to one of the guards — How about lighting my cigarette?

The appointed guard took his audacity as an insult. In response, he remained quiet, ignoring him.

— See this as a gift for my freedom, after so many years in this place.

— Your gift is your own freedom. Now get out of here, Hidana! You're already free! — replied one of the guards.

Hidana shrugged.

— Yes, and right now I want to smoke a cigarette. What is freedom, if I can't do what I want?

— Doing what you want is what got you here. — replied the other guard. — And if you don't want to go back into your cell, you better go on your way.

Hidana looked at them and accepted the answer with a smile on her face. The guards, however, rested their hands on the hilt of their swords again, in rhetoric. The ex-inmate looked at his swords, but soon turned his gaze to the guards. A fine drop of sweat was running down the face of one of them. But before anything, the officer said:

— Light his cigarette!

Even though he did not understand, the guard obeyed his superior's order, approaching Hidana carefully. The ex-inmate brought his cigarette, still in his mouth, into the guard's lighter. When the flame burned its tip completely, he swallowed gray smoke, puffing it into the heavens.

— You can keep the lighter — said the guard, looking straight into his eyes.

— Thank you very much... Soldier. — he replied, giving a weird intonation at the last word as he took the lighter and put it in his pocket.

After what happened, Hidana takes her bag and starts walking. Nevertheless, he denied taking either route. Instead, he walked towards the closed forest in front of him. The same one who spent hours of her day watching from inside her cell.

— You are free, Hidana — said the officer from a distance, watching the ex-detainee walk away. — I hope I don't have to see your face again.

Hidana, even listening to what the officer had said, continued to walk, without looking back, answering to himself in a low voice after another strong drag on his cigarette, releasing once more the smoke that came from his lungs to the heavens.

— You can leave it — A tiny smile, almost imperceptible, appears on his lips. — I won't make the same mistake again.