The sun was beginning to set behind the hills of Val Merlin when seventeen-year-old Issa walked along the pine-lined path. The day’s heat had vanished, replaced by a coolness that belonged only to late winter afternoons. He walked quickly, hands in his pockets, absorbed by a single thought: finding Leo. Since their argument a month earlier, Leo hadn’t been the same. His laughter had lost something, a spark. And Issa, loyal in friendship as few at that age can be, refused to give up.

Leo lived at the end of the path, in a gray house whose facade bore the marks of an often-absent father and a mother who struggled to stay afloat. Issa stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. Then he knocked.

Silence.

Then hurried footsteps.

The door opened to reveal Leo, looking surprised, his hair a mess.

“Issa? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk. Remember that walk we talked about? I thought we could… I don’t know… clear the air.”

A moment of hesitation crossed Leo’s eyes. Then he nodded.

“Yeah. Hold on, I’ll grab a jacket.”

When they returned to the path, the sky had turned orange and pink. They walked in silence at first, each searching for the right words. Finally, Leo broke the silence.

“You know, Issa… I’m sorry about last time. I was just… I was fed up with everything. School, the teachers, home… and you’re always getting into trouble, it annoyed me.”

Issa sighed, but his smile remained gentle.

“I know. And I talked to you like an idiot. I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re like a brother to me.”

Leo looked up at him, and something relaxed between them.

“You too.”

They shared a quiet laugh, fragile but sincere. The silhouettes of the trees around them stood out like dark walls as they walked deeper into the woods.

“Looks like it’s going to get dark sooner than expected,” Issa commented.

“Let’s just turn back,” Leo suggested.

“Already?” Issa looked up at the branches. “No, come on. There’s a place, just over there, where I used to go with my uncle when I was little. A clearing. The sky is magnificent there.”

Leo hesitated, but followed.

They finally reached the clearing. The ground was covered in dry grass, and a large rock stood in the middle, like a forgotten throne. They sat down on it, shoulder to shoulder, and watched the colors of twilight slowly fade.

“It feels good,” Leo breathed.

“Me too.”

They stayed there for a moment, silent, letting the peace settle over them like a warm blanket. Then Issa turned his head toward him.

“Do you think… that we could stop arguing about stupid things?”

“I’d like that.”

And a smile passed between them, a smile they both thought was lost.

It was almost dark when they climbed back down from the rock.

The path had darkened, and the shadows were long and shifting. They quickened their pace.

“The forest gets creepy at night, though,” Leo said, trying to lighten the mood.

“It looks like a set from a horror movie,” Issa replied, laughing.

But their laughter was suddenly broken by a sharp noise.

A crack.

They froze.

“Did you hear that?” Leo whispered.

“Yeah…”

They turned their heads. Through the trees, flashes of white light screeched—flashlights.

“Maybe hikers?” Issa suggested, unconvinced.

The figures drew closer. Four tall men, dressed in black, masks covering their faces. And in their hands… Issa felt his stomach clench.

Batons.

Leo paled.

“We should run,” he breathed.

“No. Don’t move. It’s no use.”

The men surrounded the two boys. One of them spoke in a muffled voice.

“What are you doing here?”

Issa raised his hands.

“We were just taking a walk, sir. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Another lie,” one of them sneered. “This is a private surveillance zone. You’re destroying our sensors, are you?”

“We don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Leo protested.

A blow rang out—quick and violent. Issa took the baton in the ribs and fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

“Stop!” Leo shouted.

He tried to intervene, but another man pinned him to the ground, his knee in his back.

The blows rained down like stones. Issa tried to protect himself, feeling his vision blur. In a whisper, he called out:

“Please… we’re minors… leave us alone…”

“Shut up!”

Then one of the men seemed to notice something.

“Wait. That one…” He shone the flashlight on Issa. “He has a protected school badge. If we take them, this will go further up the chain of command.”

The others stopped for a moment.

“So we let them go?”

“Yeah. We’re wasting time.”

A final shot rang out, gratuitous, vile. Issa felt his head hit the ground. Then nothing.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in the clearing, his breathing…

Léo shook his shoulder, tears streaming down his face.

“Issa! Hey! Issa! Answer me!”

“I… I’m here,” he grunted.

“We have to move. They’re gone, but I’m afraid they’ll come back.”

Issa tried to stand, but his legs gave way.

“I can’t…”

“Then I’ll help you.”

Léo bent down, placed Issa’s arm around his shoulders, and helped him to his feet.

The next few minutes were a struggle. Every step Issa took was a jolt of pain. Léo held him as best he could, his hands trembling.

“We’ll make it, Issa. I won’t leave you.”

The words were fragile but burning with sincerity.

They finally emerged from the woods. The road appeared, bathed in a pale light.

“We’ll call an adult,” said Leo. “Mahaut’s father, maybe?”

Issa nodded weakly.

A few minutes later, a car pulled up with a screech of tires. Mr. Lemoine, Mahaut’s father, got out, bewildered.

“My God… what happened?”

Leo spoke first, his voice breaking.

“They beat us up, sir. Four men… with bats. They followed us into the woods.”

Mr. Lemoine paled.

“Get in the car, quickly. I’m taking you to the hospital. Afterward, we’ll go to the police station.”

Issa closed his eyes. He had never felt so tired.

He had just wanted to see his best friend.

At the police station, Mahaut was already waiting for them, clearly panicked. She rushed towards Issa as soon as he crossed the threshold.

“Issa! Are you alright? Oh my God, what are these bruises? Who did this to you?”

“It’s… it’s complicated,” he murmured.

The police officer assigned to greet him looked up from his screen.

“Gentlemen, miss. If you would be so kind as to sit down, we’re going to take your statement.”

They sat down. Leo clenched his fists, unable to remain calm.

“You’re going to arrest them, right?” he shouted. “They know we’re minors, they don’t care! They almost killed us!”

The police officer raised an eyebrow.

“First, we’ll listen to what you have to say.”

Issa tried to explain. He recounted the march, the men in black, the blows. But as he spoke, he felt disbelief settle over the room.

The police officer put down his pen.

“So… you’re saying that four masked adults attacked you in the woods… for no reason… and then disappeared.”

“But that’s what happened!” Issa insisted.

“We have cameras in the area,” the officer replied impassively. “We’ll check. But what I find strange… is that there’s no trace of any vehicles. Nothing.”

An icy silence fell.

Leo was exploding.

“You don’t believe us! Is it because he’s Black? Is that it?”

“Leo,” Mahaut murmured, trying to calm him down.

But the police officer remained frozen, as if he had heard a personal provocation.

“I would ask you to remain civil. We’re doing our job.”

“No,” Leo repeated, breathless. “You’re not doing anything at all. Nothing.”

Issa stared at him.

“Leo. Stop. It’s pointless.”

Leo turned to him, his eyes red.

“They’ll give up, Issa. They always do.”

Issa tensed. He knew Leo was right.

The interrogation was long, humiliating, and pointless.

As they left, Mahaut walked beside Issa, her arms tightly around her.

“I’m sorry… I don’t know what to say.”

“You didn’t do anything. It’s not your fault,” he replied softly.

“I mean… I wish I’d ​​been there. Maybe I could have…”

“No.” Issa gave a small smile. “You would have just gotten hit too.”

She gave a nervous laugh.

“It’s not funny.”

“I know.”

They stopped near a lamppost. The yellow light illuminated their tired faces.

Mahaut took a deep breath.

“Issa… what happened to you is unfair. And… I don’t want you to be alone with this.”

He lowered his head.

“But I’m not alone. I have Leo. I have you.”

She blushed.

“Yes… you have me.”

The wind blew lightly, as if to erase the tension.

The next day, the story had already leaked out at school. Some students whispered while looking at Issa, others asked awkward, sometimes hurtful questions.

“Why were you in those woods?”

“Are you sure you didn’t provoke them?”

“Maybe it was just a test?”

Issa took it all in, silent.

But Leo refused to stay silent. At recess, he slammed his fist on the table.

“Issa deserves the truth! Not excuses!”

An argument broke out among several students. Mahaut intervened, her voice trembling.

“Leo, stop it, you’re going to get in trouble!”

“I don’t care!”

Issa stepped in.

“Leo… please.”

Leo stared at him, then lowered his head.

“I just want someone to do something.”

Issa smiled sadly.

“I know.”

Days passed. The police gave no updates. Not a call, not a visit. The file seemed to have already been filed away in some forgotten drawer.

But Leo’s friendship remained strong. Every evening, he came to Issa’s house, played video games, and talked about anything and everything. Sometimes they said nothing, but their presence was enough.

And one evening, while they were watching

They were serving at night through the window, and Leo murmured:

“I won’t abandon you. Not this time.”

Issa felt his throat tighten.

“I know.”

What they had experienced would remain etched within them, like a long, thin scar, invisible to others but searing to them.
A simple truth hung between them:

In an unjust world, they still had friendship.

And that light, no one could take from them.