> summary

A man called Mr A had been driving on an open country-road for hours… He was quite tired but did not want to stop anymore. The sky was grey, the weather sad and the road… desert. He was thinking of his last crime, when he had killed five persons. What a trip ! He wasn't a criminal but he hated all those he couldn't bear… He was lost in his thoughts when his tyre suddenly got a puncture. " Bad luck ", he exclaimed. He got out of his car, went and opened the boot and took his last spare wheel. He changed wheels in less than ten minutes. It was OK, he could go on his way. That's what he was thinking… Twenty minutes later, he was still there : his car wouldn't start. Something was wrong in the engine but he didn't know what. " It isn't my lucky day, really. " the man said. There wasn't a lot of cars driving by that time. He had to wait for some help. He turned his warning lights on and waited. During two hours, none of the cars which went past him stopped despite his signals.He was desperate. Then he saw one, slowing down behind him.His hopes came back.He didn't know what to say, when he saw a black man appear next to him. Mr M. " Do you need some help ? " Mr M asked. " No thank you " Mr A answered. " Are you sure ? " " Oh, yes, really ! everything is allright. " " Well, I can leave you, then ? " Mr M insisted. " I said it was OK. You can go now " Mr A said angrily. " Hey, dude, calm down. I just wanted to help you. Bye… " When Mr M got into his car, he didn't start straight away. He was sure the man needed some help. He started, moved on and turned back after five hundred metres.He didn't know why, but something told him he wanted to have a conversation with that man. He wanted to know his name. He had already sen him somewhere but… where ? Mr A was still at the same place. He didn't want to see the black man again, but he had no option. He had to be somewhere at a certain time and a solution was welcome. The matter was that ever since he was a child, he hadnot been able to bear people he considered as inferior to him : the Blacks, the Jews, the Arabs… and the black man was black. " Nice to see you again " Mr A said to Mr M. " I must say my car must have a big problem. It really doesn't want to start. The engine… " he continued. " Could you do something ? " Of course, Mr A knew about it all. What he did not understand was why the man hadn't accepted his first offer of help. - " I can drop you somewhere… " Mr M said. - " I accept, but i can't hide from you the fact that I feel ashamed. " Mr M was wondering why Mr A. suddenly accepted his help. " You're welcome ", Mr M said. In the car, Mr M was driving and Mr A was thinking about something strange and cruel at the same time. Mr A was tense. He hoped this situation would ease up as soon as possible. - " Excuse me, sir. Are you Mr… er… Mr… ? " " Mr A ", the man replied. " Mr A ? That's all ? " Mr M asked, astonished, thinking something was wrong with that man… " Yes, A. Only A. " he said. " OK, Mr. So what's going on ? " " Nothing. Don't worry. I was thinking… just thinking… " Then they talked about their lives. Mr M was a man who was fighting violence. He was considered as a leader by his " brothers ". Mr A didn't say much about himself. He found Mr M was nice to him because he was always smiling. He was also a funny man. It was the first time Mr A was laughing with someone and that one was a black man. He seemed to appreciate the company… but… " What's your name ? " Mr A asked. " M.L.K. Martin Luther King. " Mr A had already heard about that name. And, at that precise moment, Mr A felt something peculiar inside himself : a mixture of admiration, sympathy and hatred, for that black man. " Hey, Martin ! Have you already heard about Adolf Hitler ? " he uttered without really knowing why. " Oh, yes. Of course. A quite inhuman person, with brown hair and a thin moustache too…like the nazi star… but you… " Mr M couldn't finish his sentence. - " I am A.H. " said Mr A, with a gentle smile on his lips. Aniella Bertout