THE CHAINS

by Waheed Mohiuddin

  Who will save the human race from the cruel systematic acts of killing, I, you or someone else, if someone else then who? A new political system or the religious harmony or Jesus or Muhammad, or Moses or Krishna, or Devil, but who? Whoever may it be but when he will come, when everybody will die, when feelings of love will be crushed and hate will rule. When emotions will be turned into business, when weathers will be changed, when men will be women and women will be men, when moon will be torn off into pieces, when sex will be worshiped, when religion will be sold as gold and when man will be turned into beast. All is mystery.

  Where will be the end of the world? How will be the end of this world? Is it necessary to end the world? How hard it may be for painter to demolish his best painting? How many tests will yet have to be passed by the human kind? What will be the last one, third disaster is at the door and the fourth may be a twenty decades after. A long, a very long test is to be faced by man. The results cannot be predicted, maybe we lost or maybe we won, but what happens if we win or lost, the blood of our closed ones will not be regained, they will not be alive again. Will there be a place where the innocent dead souls will met and what will happen if they met or do not met? Is TIME really a healer? All is mystery.

  Man is killing man from the dawn of human kind, the race started when Cain killed Abel for the sake of his desire, but desire of what, of sex or something else? If desire then who gave him ‘desire’? Should it be believed that the reason of the first murder was desire for a woman or for sex, was it a mistake of Aqleema or Cain or Abel’s himself? Can it be thought that there is something lies in the human heart, a savagery, darkness, greed and brutality that man is not killing others only for religion or political powers even it can be seen that every day, real brothers come up to killing each other for personal grudge or for property, and teachers are raping students, doctors are selling kidneys of patients. What is this, the tradition of Cain, the inspiration of the fallen angels or the default savagery lies in mans’ heart? All is mystery.

  Who will decide whether heaven is for me or hell if I have no control on my destiny, the acts I have not done when my will is not under my control, and so would I be punished or rewarded for that? What is heaven and what is hell, a big lavish bungalow or a well of fire? How the hell fire can destroy the one who had seen the brutality of the tanks and drone air strikes and how the luxurious bungalow can fascinate the one who had enjoyed the golden caps. Heaven and hell, mere a dream, a poetic imagination or mythical stories for the children. All is mystery.

  Relations are stronger than anything else, if I believe then what is the time, as man forgets the relations with the passage of time, what is the time actually, a healer or issue creator or feelings convertor, or process of life for years and years long and nobody knows why? All is mystery.

  Time – O Time, a mystery or an open truth or the God? All is mystery.

  BOOK ONE

  “Death, I declare against the sins, crimes and erroneous ideas of that bloody traitor. He has raised slogans against our religious beliefs, against my political power and also against your social customs. He had no right to change our social customs and cultural trends we have them for hundreds years, we the men are the saviors of our women and are running our houses as we wish. How we can accept his ideas to give equal respect to the women as God has given to men. Who can deny the fact that women are half human? We, the men work harder under the scorching sun and in drizzling to earn the bread for our women. We are the ones who take care of them from every odd they face and we are the one who give them right to be mothers. If we are the responsible to provide the security to women and to feed them, then we had secured the right to kill them if they go wrong and we are the ones who decide what is right and what is wrong for women. This is a tradition for thousands of years. Our forefathers did not allow their women to get education and also to go out from the houses and do not allow them to speak in front of their fathers, husbands and brothers. Do you not see how our elders have fought wars for their women? Now, I declare the death sentence to him because he challenged the traditions of our forefathers and spreading the ideas to be the coward and to be ashamed. Are you with me?”

  The crowd of thousands of people raised their hands up in the favor of Bazil, the king of the land. Then Bazil got more confidence and decided to keep continue his speech to draw more people in his favor. He also observed that the crowd is willing to listen such harsh words against women.

  “Let’s kill him and hang him in the middle of the city so that we may prove our dignity to the spirits of our forefathers that we are the saviors of the traditions made by them. Let’s promise to the spirits of our elders to kill the one who will play with the honour of our families, and we will not only kill the women who raise their voices for their rights but we will also deform their faces and will cut their noses, ears and lips off because these are the customs of our society. We cannot allow our women to go with their hearts and cannot allow them to love because God has only given this right to men and women are only a source to provide pleasure to men, how we can accept women equal to us. Do you not know who fight in the battlefields for the country, who receive the bullets of the enemies and who ride on the horses and commands the camels and elephants, its men or women? Definitely men so today let’s declare that none of our girls will go to the schools and colleges because they do not need to be educated, yes they took birth for our pleasure what will they do to get education because men just need their bodies for pleasure and nothing else and this is the bloody education which gives courage, voice and words to the women, so from today none of our women will go to any schools, college or university and anyone who to be find on the way to school, she will be beheaded. Do you not know that God has given men more rights than women, we can enjoy sex with them, buy them, sale them, punish them and kill them and nobody has right to turn against this tradition, and men are the owners of women. Are you with me?” he asked to the people to get their attention and in response the whole crowd hails in his favor.

  “Death is the ultimate sentence for him because he blasphemed our religion. He claims to release the slaves. (He took a pause and looked all around the crowd with the nasty smile on his face and said) Tell me my fellow men did you not see that our forefathers had slave trades and even there was a specific slave market in the golden period of our elders and the ancient kings of our religions had thousands of slaves. It is our right to have slaves as we have secured the right of ownership of our slaves. We give them food and shelter so why we cannot get the benefits from them. How he can say that a slave and a king can be equal, a rich and a poor, a white and a black are equal, is that possible (he took again a pause and laughed with pride). How you and I could be equal, how can the insects be equal to the elephants (he laughed again and put his hands on his beard and said) I am your king, your ruler, your master and your destiny thus it is your duty to serve me and my family and if you do not serve me from the core of your hearts, you will be punished by God, don’t you understand?” The whole crowd nodded in his favor.

  “Death must be his destiny because he said to stop the killings in the name of religion. Are we not the saviors of our religions and is it not our responsibility to kill the one who desecrate our religion? If your answer is yes my country men then go and spread and find out the bastard and bring him to me and you will see that I will hang him in front of your eyes so that in future no one would dare to follow him. We cannot allow anyone to raise his/her voice for their rights in our country who belong to any other religion and sect. we are the best people and heaven is made for us and we are the chosen one by God Himself. How can we allow the rebels of our religion to live with us on equal basis, we will kill the one who will not follow our practices and ideals. The way we perform the rituals of our religion, is the only true way as our elders had done so we cannot bear the other ways of our religious traditions. I know you will agree”. The crowed again rose up their hands in his favor. The King Bazil started laughing.


  “Death but what else can be decided for him if he turned against our political system. I am the king as my father and his father and also his father. Do you and your fathers not know? How can I spare him when he says to share my powers to the common people? Do I not care you and your women and your children? If somebody gives you a new thought to be the part of the government, is it possible for me to spare him. Do you forget how your fathers and elders died for my fathers and elders and now, it’s your turn and believe that your God also want me to rule and you to obey. Do you think that you do have enough mental level to be the part of government? Did you not see when you have nothing to eat then I provide you the food and when you lost your houses then I give you shelter so do I not have right on your breaths. If yes then spread and bring him to me because this is your religious duty and your God will be happy to you if you bring him to be killed”. The crowd once again hailed in his favor to show their love for him.

  “Death must be awarded to him because he has tried to establish his own kingdom in my rule. He is a rebel and traitor; he is a traitor against our God, our country and our society. My people you must know that in the past times, such demons came to destroy the world. I declare that he is devil. I do not need to ask anybody for his sentence and you must have to do what I order you because you know that I and my elders remain the lords over you and your elders and this must be your belief. O my people, I let you know what I saw in my dream last night (he took a pause to create suspense and then he wiped out his forehead to show that he was going to tell something very special) that God came in my dream and ordered me to kill him and said that if your followers could not find him then you see that your women will not be able to give birth until he is alive and there will be no rain and your people will die for hunger. So show me your strength and find him out. Are you with me”? The whole crowd hailed in favor.

  Then king Bazil finished his speech and left the crowd with his advisers.

  After the vehement speech of the king, the people spread out in the cities and the towns to find him. The frustration of the people was increasing gradually and the king Bazil was also going mad to kill him - he must be because his kingdom was under threat and the rule of his ancestors was in a great danger. If the people starts to follow him then for how long, would king Bazil be a ruler so it was the demand of time for king Bazil to kill him in a very brutal way so that in future no one would be dared to think like a free man and then he and his family would remain in power for a long time. His death was the life of king Bazil’s rule. The level of his frustration can be easily assessed for the last three days, king Bazil had not enjoyed sexual games.

  There were so many groups who were searching for him. People did not spare even a little bush in this search operation. They walked hand in hand and made a chain to find him. One day when the sun was about to die, a man noticed a voice of some movements behind the bushes then he passed a message with his hand to come over and remain silent. They saw that he was sitting on a small rock and moving his feet and while talking to himself and smiling as he was talking to God behind the bush. Then the people stepped forward towards him and then captured him like a goat among the herd of hounds.

  This news spread across the country as twin towers down, everybody was happy as they have saved their religion and their kingdom. King Bazil order to his secretary to bring the most beautiful girl to him and also ordered to declare a full night prayer to God for God has given them an opportunity to kill a traitor, the demon so the whole night there will be a special musical programs with exceptional dances then tomorrow in the afternoon, I will decide the date and time of his death. So the whole night king Bazil enjoyed the sex with the women of his followers and the followers also enjoyed the whole night in music and dance in the name of God. The secretary arranged a nine years old pretty girl for the King as she was the youngest adult in the country, and the best gift to the king for the big night.

  Next day, in the afternoon, the crowd gathered again but with one addition this time, a man in chains was standing in front of the crowd. Six feet in height, middle aged man seemed in his early forties, having dark brown eyes, a bit longer hair that the hair was touching his shoulders, fair complexion with a muscular body. He was looking at crowd with eager eyes and the feelings of anger could easily be observed from his facial expressions.

  The king was proudly addressing the people way and explaining them how he will give him death. King Bazil told the people that invitations has been sent to the heads of the states all around the world and also to the global powers so that, the whole world would see how I treat the traitors and the way a traitor must be treated. My followers, I will make his death a fun for you, so you may feel pleasure and laugh when you see how I give him the death. First of all, he will be undressed completely by our expert dogs who will not touch his body but only tear off his cloths even till the last string on his body, then his nails will be pulled out from his fingers by the red hot iron instruments, we then will show the erotic dance of our beautiful women to the spectators for their enjoyment and pleasure, then a group of rats will be given the opportunity to eat the sweet flesh of his feet but will not be allowed to cross their limits and our snipers will shoot the rats that cross their limits then last rat will get killed when the bones of his feet made visible, some insects then will snatch his flesh from his arms, there would be an iron shield around his arms so that the insects would not cross the limit and anyone that will cross the iron shield, a slave of mine will put him to death and when every insect will be killed, there will be a lunch break and every one of you will eat the royal feast. Then after the lunch, visible bones of his arms will be cut into pieces with an old ax and by an inexperienced butcher, and then beautiful women will cut his hair all from his head but without any scissors. After that the sharp needles will be planted in his whole body even there will not be a single millimeter space left spared and everyone among you will be given the opportunity to enjoy his death and to put needles in his body, and then we will all enjoys dance together until he is dead.

  The crowd starts laughing and cheering to think that God will be glad of them as they have followed the orders of their king and arrested the demon. Sixth of June 2006 was decided the date of his death by the king. There were only four days left till he meet his death and these days has been awarded to him just to wait for more and more people to gather to see his death ceremony. There were national holidays till 6th of June and everybody was chilling out in the country and he was in the prison waiting for death.

  It was a horrible morning of 6th of June, 2006. Everybody was waiting for this day. The biggest ground of the country was selected for the death game execution where millions of people were gathered. Every face was cheerful and eye was full of excitement. Some people were dancing, some busy in singing, some playing erotic games, some enjoying food, thus death game was being awaited by different means and by different people. Then about 12 O clock the king entered the ground with hundreds of vehicles. King sat on his grand ivory made throne along with his important foreign guests. The King ordered to start the game so a group of soldiers brought him in the ground in chains and tied him up on a wooden cross where his arms were opened like a flying bird and his legs were tied as closed as possible like the legs of a dead body. All the crowd hailed to the king. King Bazil was laughing and showing his power to the invited guests who came from around the globe.

  One of the guests ask the king about the game, king Bazil told him that this is the way traitors are treated in his kingdom. What is his crime asked the guest? King replied him that he blasphemed the religion, broke the hundreds of years’ traditions and revolted against my political powers. The guests ask him how has he done this? At this king Bazil stood up and addressed to the crowd. He said, my people, as you know this is a good day for all of us, the day to prove my powers and strength but the guests ask me about his crime and sins of the bastard - so let me change the game a bit and let him speak to explain his sins and cri
me by himself. Crowd hails to the king. King then ordered him to speak.

  Everybody remained silent having a nasty smile on their faces. The international guests were also anxious to listen to him and the king sat on his special ivory made throne again and smiled conceitedly. Everybody was anxiously ready to listen to him.

  “Rahas – yes Rahas is my name”. He said in a low tone and took a long pause; it seemed that he was collecting his thoughts. His face turned red like a full blood moon, his face completely got wet due to aggression and perspiration and it could be easily observed that he had a lot of things to speak. He actually did not believe that he would speak to a big crowd on this occasion and a short while after, he will have to face a merciless and brutal death game to amuse his people, and then he collected himself and decide to address his last sermon to the people before he die.

  He, then roars like a lion of the jungle and said, “Do you not know who I am?”

  The whole crowd got stunned and there was a pin drop silence in the crowd. The king, the guests, the cheer leaders and the crowd, everybody got shocked to listen to the opening sentence of him. He started to explain his sins and crimes after a short pause.

  “The chains” He said and pointed out to the chains which tied up his whole body and said, “You can see the chains that bounded me but cannot see the chains that bounded you. Today you are laughing me but you forget that the time is not far when you will cry for yourself. What is my crime - did you not see my people that I raised your voice, I became your tongue and words, I said the same what you had in your hearts. You were dead by soul but I am not, you were coward by heart but I am not, you were slave by blood but I am not, and you were ignorant but I am not. I know that some of you wish the savage rule of the brutal king must come to an end. Your children should have the access to good modern education, your elders must have the health services, and we all must have the peace of mind and sense of security. I ask you my people; tell the truth about from whom you feel the sense of insecurity, I am sure your answer will be the army of the king that has the right to enter in any house and do whatever they wish to and to loot your wealth, and to take your sisters and daughters and wives to the king every night. Is it your tradition, shame on you my people, if you think so”?