One year ago, the Patriot was welcomed like a great hero. People filled the streets with roses and myrtle flowers, and they were thrown in his path. The rooftops were crowded with cheering people waving flags. Even the church spires looked bright with colorful flags. The whole town was full of joy and celebration.

That day, the church bells rang loudly. The old city walls shook with the noise of the crowd. The people loved him so much that if he had asked for something impossible, like bringing down the sun from the sky, they would do so. Then, they would ask what more they could do for him. Such was their love and admiration.

The Patriot says he tried his best to do great things for the people. He gave everything he could. He left nothing undone. He wanted to achieve something extraordinary for the sake of his people. But now, after only a year, people have forgotten his sacrifice. Instead of being rewarded, he is being punished.

Today, there are no cheering crowds on the rooftops. Only a few weak and old people look from their windows. Most of the townspeople have gone to the scaffold, where he is to be executed. They now wish to see him punished.

It is raining as he walks to his death. His hands are tied tightly with a rope that cuts into his wrists. People throw stones at him, and he feels blood on his forehead. The same crowd that once praised him now insults and hurts him.

The Patriot remembers how he entered the city in glory just one year ago, and now he leaves it in shame. Yet he comforts himself by thinking that though the world has repaid him with cruelty, God will judge him differently. God’s judgment is fair and kind. So, he feels safer in God’s hands.