A day with Manual

“Lo, we are going to meet two wicked people. So wicked that the Creator will be ashamed that he had given life to these weeds that grow among the good plants. Do you want to see them?”  Manual asked and Litha shook her head in agreement. The next moment they were inside a moving car.

“Aiyo,” she trembled with fear when she saw the men on the front seat.

“These are those. The ones who hurt me.” She cried. Manual asked her to be silent and listen to their conversation.

“Did you get any news when you called home?” The one of the passenger seat asked the one driving.

“There’s no problem till now. They are looking for her but haven’t got any clue.”

“We should have hidden the body inside that tomb! Oh God, then it would have been foolproof.”

“Was she dead actually? Otherwise she will recognize me. If I’m caught you also will be in deep shit. It’s a different story to abuse a minor.”

“Why do you worry? We killed her to be safe. But it’s safer if we can get rid off the body. Shall we go back?”

Manual, on hearing these words looked at Litha, who was pale with fear, and asked, “Shall we break these bruised reeds?  Shall we quench these smoking lamps?  They are reminded of God only when they are in deep trouble.”

“Do we have the power to punish them?” she asked him in a quivering voice.

“I can make them fall asleep. If the driver sleeps, these evildoers won’t get another chance to harm anyone else.”

 He rolled the black cloth on which he had written the names of the elected ones and said, “I’m giving you the right to punish them? You raise this roll at them and they will get proper punishments.”

She took the roll in her hand and looked at the one driving the car. Her eyes were filled with revenge. Here was an opportunity to do justice. These evildoers were to be taught a lesson, a lesson they would never ever forget.

She was about to raise her hand when all of a sudden she remembered all that had happened. The faces of those they had elected flashed through her mind. She remembered the heavenly Father who would be waiting eagerly to see if every child of man has faith, compassion and righteousness.  Jesus Christ, who had sacrificed his life to reclaim man from sins made an appearance in her mind. Won’t the purpose of that mission, in which Jesus had pardoned and prayed for those who had mocked and suffered and crucified him, be defeated if she raised that roll? She felt her hands too heavy to raise.  She handed over the roll back to him and wept bitterly.

 “What happened? Don’t you want justice to be done?” asked Manual, raising his voice “If you can’t do it, let me do it? There is no need to be magnanimous to these men who failed to be merciful towards a fellow being?”

He got ready to raise the roll. The girl stopped him and said, “Please, they had hurt me and I have forgiven them. I plead you also to pardon them.” Manual looked at her with disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he heard. A child of man letting an opportunity to revenge pass. He gazed at her for a long moment and  his face lit up.

“Well. But we can’t let them go scot-free. If we let it happen many more girls like you will be abused. We will hand them over into the hands of the law keepers. If  they repent for the remission of sins while in jail they can also escape from the everlasting fire of hell”.

Manual paused for a moment and said in a low voice, “Woe to the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the offences come!”

A moment later Manual kept his hand on hers and said, “Be consoled, for you have heard many things that many righteous men and prophets desired to hear but didn’t. Now you know the secrets that many wished to know, but couldn’t.”  They left the car and those evil minded men returned to hide her body in a tomb.