When we read history, we usually perceive the historical events as something that happened a long time ago which doesn’t concern us.

We rarely empathize with the people who went through difficult times, forgetting that it was the destiny of our ancestors and neglecting their real stories. Moreover, we tend to forget that history repeats itself, sometimes in different forms, but it never ceases to come back and haunt us. 

The story of one of the last Cathars is a second-person narration. This is what fiction is all about: instead of being a mere spectator, you can dive into one of history’s greatest mysteries. 

The year is 1209. You’re living in a small, peaceful community in the south of France. Whether you’re an Occitan lord, a Cathar devotee, or a simple peasant – the same fate awaits you.

The Crusaders are approaching your village, willing to annihilate your people. The Albigensian Crusade is about to start and it will last for the next twenty years. You fail to understand why your community, known as “the good men and women”, would represent a threat to the kingdom.

From an early age, you were taught that the greatest virtue one can possess is a calm spirit and patience. You were also told to equally love and tolerate all people. However, you were warned that the world you live in was far from being perfect. With so much injustice, you know that there could be no heaven on earth. Either you give in, or you fight. 

You wish the rumors you heard weren’t true. At this point, all you hope for is to wake up from the terrible nightmare. As time goes by, more news of people being captured, tortured, and murdered arrives. The streets are empty, the life you once knew no longer exists. 

Your brother Bernard was already expelled from the city for not wanting to surrender. Many of your friends, refusing to leave the city, were brutally killed by the Inquisition. You’ll never see them again. You’ll never be able to ask for justice since the authority you’re asking for justice is against you.

You thought nothing could get worse than this. Your village has only 500 people, all of them unable to defend themselves against the great papal army.

The pure ones were condemned to disappear. But not forever. The last Cathar, Guilhem Belibaste, before being burned at the stake, said that one day, the laurel shall be green again.

That will be the day when the good men and women return.