THE LAST INSURGENT

Twenty

But I am a man that is lost, living at a cost, for being unjust. How can you live with me, when I seem not to fit into your world?”
“You have no right to play God because only God can judge.” She said, “I hope you-we get this self-condemnation behind us. Start afresh and I want to start with you. I beg you in the name of God to let it go. Seek for forgiveness, feel remorse and never do it again. That is how God makes it easy for us because of his infinite mercy. You condemn yourself while a lot of girls out there, with their parents, friends and loved ones are praying for you for saving them. Just promise me something….let it go.”

He looked at her and smiled.
That smile.
“I will try.”
“Nah. Don’t try, do it.”
He nodded.

“I don’t have a job, and when this madness got into our heads, most of us tore our credentials.”
“Oh my God! Was it that bad?”
“It is worse than you can imagine. We were made to believe that western education is nothing but a deviation from the laws of God. I was so gullible because I was in a situation where I hated the world for my sins. I don’t know where to start from.”
“This sect is really satanic.”

“You can say that again. Remember the night Jahl hit me for claiming to be your husband?”
“Yes. How can I forget the night that I was taken away?”
“I was sent to kill a sheikh. You know him because he was famous. As I waited to kill him, I heard his sermon which revealed things I never knew. It changed my views and I realised that Islam was a sine quanon of education and civilisation. I ended up not killing him but someone else did it. It had been resonating with me. I wonder who did it because I combed the place and saw all of the people around him.

That was the day I realised that I was serving God in the wrong way. In fact, I was nothing but an enemy of God. Then you became an instrument that took me away from that life completely. Now, I have no one but you. I don’t want to lose you but what if I am not accepted into your life by your parents?”

“It is going to be alright Manga.” She said almost in tears. He just said he had no one but her. And she could not believe she was instrumental to saving a soul; taking someone out of an abysmal life. This was the best thing she had ever done because for her sake, about hundred girls were saved.
“You will start court processes. Affidavit and all of that. I don’t know much about these things but you can just a give a story. You lost your credentials in a fire accident or something.”

He nodded like a child. At that moment, she saw a completely different side of him. The hardness in his façade was gone. He looked like a child, so innocent and vulnerable. The taciturnity was gone no one would have believed this was the dangerous Mufty that even the insurgents feared.
“Let us leave everything in the hands of  God.” She said . She knew it was not going to be easy. She did not even know how Adam was going to react. Who knew what he may have told them?

“What if they accept me and ask what I do  for a living or…ask me to start the wedding preparation?”
The question made her gave him a sharp glance.  The expression on her face got him wondering if he had said something wrong.

He thought she just realised that it would not work out and he felt a sudden fear. He could not remember the last time he felt so scared. He had been in very critical situations, chased and shot at by the police and soldiers but he never felt the fear that swept through him now that he may lose her.

“You want to marry me?” she asked in a low tone. He just talked about wedding. He truly wanted to be with her.
“Why else will I fall in love with you?” He dropped the rhetorical question. “If it was part of our tradition to get a diamond ring and kneel down to propose, I am sure that a diamond ring would have fallen from above right now. I want to marry you and if it was within my power, I would have done that right now.”