-SERGEI-

“FORGIVE ME, MY FRIENDS...”

Sergei was born and raised in a small town in Russia, known for his colorful personality, he had become a beloved clown in the local community. From a young age, he started working in the circus and decided to become a clown. Making people laugh was his passion, and in every performance, he did his best to bring the audience to tears of laughter. He didn't possess perfect comedic timing, but the sincerity hidden beneath his clown costume made him a cherished figure.

However, like every artist, Sergei had his off days. One night, a performance turned into a complete disaster. His jokes were slow and tasteless, his acrobatics were clumsy and uncoordinated. Where there should have been laughter, there was silence. When the show came to an end, the circus tent was filled with a disappointed hush, and the audience was crestfallen.

Following this catastrophic performance, a critic mercilessly tore into Sergei in a newspaper article. The critic described Sergei's performance as "idiotic", "clumsy" and "unfunny." The caricatures of Sergei as a foolish clown drawn by the critic garnered more laughs than Sergei himself. His name was now associated with being a foolish clown. People started attending his shows after reading the scathing critique, but they were no longer there to enjoy his acts. They came to witness his foolishness. Each performance was eagerly anticipated with curiosity, as people lined up to see what kind of absurdities he would display.

Sergei was deeply ashamed of being reduced to a fool in the eyes of the public, a far cry from his days of making them genuinely laugh. He blamed the public for his downfall, feeling that they had discarded him too easily and quickly. However, he still loved the people and wanted to make them laugh from the heart once more. The criticisms had become overwhelming. Even his successful performances were overshadowed by the perception of foolishness. Sergei, once a source of joy, had lost his clown identity, marking a tragic turning point in his life.

Over time, the darkness in Sergei's mind consumed him, driving him towards madness. One day, he took to the stage in an unusually wild manner. He shouted about the hilarity of foolishness with an air of anger and tension. People were shocked and somewhat frightened. Sergei, laughing maniacally, suddenly burst into tears. He loosened the knot of his oversized red clown hat and turned it inside out. He gazed at it for a long moment before placing it on the ground. His crying ceased, leaving him in a vacant state. He looked deeply into the eyes of the audience and uttered these words: "Forgive me, my friends." From inside his hat, he pulled out hand grenades, pulled their pins, and began tossing them into the crowd. The show had turned into a battlefield. No one survived. Everyone who had come to watch Sergei's foolishness had become the final ticket holders to his performance. In the front row of the audience sat the most prominent culture and arts critic, a popular journalist whose articles had become a sensation...