“Would you die for him?”
The question hung in the cold air, sharp and unyielding like the edge of a blade. Maya stared at the man before her, his face partially obscured by the flickering glow of the single candle between them. His eyes, dark- intense searched hers for something she wasn’t sure she had to give.

“Answer me,” he said softly, but there was an urgency in his voice.

Maya’s chest tightened. She glanced at the door behind him, heavy and bolted shut, trapping them in the small, crumbling chapel. Outside, the chaos of the rebellion raged, a cacophony of gunfire, shouts, and the unrelenting hum of helicopters overhead. Inside, it was just the two of them, a priest who had disappeared hours ago, and the question.

Would she die for him?

It wasn’t the question she had expected when she had come here, running through the streets with blood on her hands, not hers, not yet. She had been following him since the beginning, believing in his vision, his fire. Elias was more than a leader; he was a force of nature, a beacon for the hopeless. He had given her a purpose, a reason to fight. But this…this was different.

She thought about the countless lives they had taken, the people they had lost along the way. Her younger brother’s face flashed in her mind, his wide, innocent eyes pleading with her before she left home that final time. “Stay, Maya. Please.” She hadn’t stayed. She had chosen Elias.

Now he was asking for the only thing she had left.

“You’re hesitating,” he said, leaning closer. “Why?”

Maya felt the sting of his words. She had faced death before, more times than she cared to count. But dying for him? It wasn’t just about loyalty. It was about meaning. If she said yes, it would be the ultimate surrender, the ultimate trust. And if she said no…

“If I die for you, what changes?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Will it end the war? Will it bring peace? Or am I just another name on the list of sacrifices?”

Elias didn’t flinch. “It’s not about the war. It’s about belief. About proving to yourself that you are more than just a soldier. You’ve always said you’d give anything for this cause. Now, I’m asking for everything.”

The candle wavered, casting shadows on the walls. Maya felt the weight of his words, the finality of them. She thought about the girl she had been before the revolution—a quiet, frightened girl who never stood up for herself, who let the world trample over her dreams. Elias had awakened something in her, taught her to fight, to believe.

But was belief worth her life?

She stood up, her legs shaking. “I’d fight for you, Elias. I’d bleed for you. But die for you?” She shook her head. “No. Not like this. Not here.”

Elias rose slowly, disappointment flickering across his face. “Then you don’t believe in me.”

“I believe in the dream,” she said, her voice steady now. “But I won’t die for a man who can’t see beyond himself.”

The door burst open, and a soldier ran in, breathless. “Commander! They’ve breached the outer perimeter. We need to leave.”

Elias didn’t move. His gaze lingered on Maya, as if he were trying to etch her face into his memory. Finally, he turned to the soldier. “Go. I’ll catch up.”

The soldier hesitated but obeyed.

Elias looked back at Maya. “If you’re not willing to die for me, you’ll have to live with the consequences.”

And then he was gone.

Maya stood alone in the chapel, the sound of approaching footsteps growing louder outside. She tightened her grip on her rifle, her decision burning like a brand in her chest. She had chosen to live—not for Elias, not for the cause, but for herself.

For the first time in years, she felt free.

Would you die for him? Or would you live for yourself?

~Corina