The idea of God always brought the view of a sun set in Alina’s mind. A peaceful sight, the color and intensity perfectly calming her nerves. Touching her heart with a gentle graze. The sun, a great big fire romantically inspirational, golden and orangish, barely above the horizon. A powerful symphony quieting down, becoming more beautiful and emotional as it descends leaving us unguarded from the darkness of the night. Its light skewed among the clouds, with some violet, some orange, some red, all vibrant and alive. A work of art only God himself could make on the naturally dead and empty tapestry of black space. A setting that makes you feel and know that there is far more to life than routine we subject ourselves to on a daily basis.Of course that is not what our text books had to say. God was omnipotent, omniscience. He is the creator of the heaven, world universe and yes, Hell. And all the beings inside these spaces our created by him. He is the creator of everything. And, we humans worship him so we can reach to heaven or deny him so that, can burn in the eternal fire of hell. Well every religion has its own say in this matter, but this was the major crux. Alina knew there was more to this, more to the idea of God.Her religion didn’t comply with Alina’s view of sunset either. And she never particularly felt attached to God following her religion. She didn’t know how to worship either. She just used to talk to God and hoped he will show her the straightway. That’s what her mama had told her, talk to god and he will listen. That’s what Jesus had said as well.Where Alina lived, Islam was the predominant religion. Most of the masses followed it. Christianity and Hinduism were also there but in a very acute minority. Islam! Hatred brewed in the pit of Alina’s stomach for Islam. A smoldering feeling similar to intense indigestion accompanied by the animalistic urge to obliterate the religion. This religion that had claimed the lives of her family and kin. The memory was still fresh, and would forever remain so. Alina had been thinking of the latest song performed by Atif Aslam in his live concert. She was traveling on the bus with mama and baba to go to the mandi to purchase a few vegetables. Then this guy got onto the bus. His hair was all wild and messy and dripping wet with some liquid, water or oil. He looked crazy with his unblinking eyes widely open, filled with content of murder. His body was covered with a dirty patched old rag. The moment he got up mama, baba and I got down. Baba was paying the driver, mama right beside him and I was proceeding to the entry gate of the mandi. There was a moment of silence, shivers shot up Alina’s spine as she turned around.“Allah o Akbar”A loud deafening whistle blew in her ears, drowning the voice of everything else nearby. The earth whimpered beneath her feet and blinding light hit her accompanied with extreme agonizing pain within her chest. She could feel intense heat on her face. For an instant all she could perceive was the earth then sky, then earth then sky again. It was revolving within her view. A view that was gradually dimming, rejecting the lights close by. A deaf numbness within her body, and a final thud and… blackout. ***Alina opened her eyes, and light tortured her shocked retinas as she snapped them shut. She opened one again, squinting hard, bearing the pain for a brief second and snapped them shut again. She was somewhere else. Next to her bed was sitting a fragile old man. He had a big long beard, white and scruffy, and white eye brows. A few wrinkles around his extremely sincere eyes that spoke nothing but humility. Light yellow teeth, probably from over excessive drinking of tea. He had tired eye lids, some fat under the eyes, and some sagging skin on the cheeks. His face was like a map with showed more than a million routes to a very generous and tender center. He had a pair of extremely soft hands that were covered by a white layer of hair and often trembled. His voice was soft and his words were well thought of before being uttered. He was Molana Humdard and he was a Muslim.
To be continued…..
