The soldier’s story by Hamed Bezani

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Reza, a thin and tall soldier with a freshly shaved head gleaming under the stark sunlight, standing in the middle of a desolate landscape of city ruins. He is clad in a form-fitting black shirt and low waisted tight light blue jeans, secured with a leather cowboy belt. His eyes, filled with a mix of surprise and pain, are glued to the figure of a young, cunning boy with straight brown hair sprinting away from him. The boy's foot is mid-air, having just delivered a swift kick to Reza's testicles. The harsh contrast of the sandpaper-like texture of Reza's freshly buzzed head and the softness of the child's hair is emphasized as his hand lingers in the air where the boy's head was a moment ago. The background is a canvas of destruction, with crumbling buildings and debris scattered around, hinting at a recent apocalyptic event. The vividness of the boy's youthful features and the sharpness of his movements are a stark contrast to Reza's momentary vulnerability and the dullness of his surroundings. After the boy's swift escape, Reza is left in a moment of agony, his knees slightly bent, a grimace on his face, and his hand clutching his injured crotch. The scene is a blend of the innocent and the macabre, the playful and the predatory, captured in a single frame that tells a story of an unexpected encounter and its unfortunate turn of events.

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