WHAT IF? 2

When she came to, she couldn't believe her eyes. She wasn't lying on the ground in the pool of her own blood anymore and neither was her stomach slashed open to the world,  she was her complete self. She couldn't believe it but it was real. She was delighted to be alive again and couldn't wait to tell her husband all about what she called a bad dream so she hastened to make her way to her home where she knew she would find her husband. When she got home, she found him seated on his favourite chair reading the GREAT BOOK. The GREAT BOOK was the book handed down from their ancestors to them. It guided their way of life while they remained on earth. It contained the foundation of their values, faith and creed. Losing the book would be a grave wrong and denying or denouncing the principles contained in the book would be a great error. The book held beautiful promises for those who chose to follow its principles, it provided hope for them.
He looked up at her as she went over to meet him. He was a quiet man, simple and very thoughtful. She on the other hand was not very quiet; she was outspoken, vivacious and rarely as organised as he was. They seemed to have been a perfect match. She loved him and she knew that he loved her even more. It was this love that turned them from awkward acquaintances to best friends such that she could never keep anything from him. That was why she was going to risk sounding crazy in order to tell him what she saw or thought she saw. As she began telling him what happened, they heard a loud sound outside and before they knew it their door was kicked in. Two men walked in with anger and disgust written all over their faces. The two men dragged the GREAT BOOK from Amiya's husband with so much ferocity. One of them took out a lighter and set the book on fire. Amiya wanted to scream and bite but her husband shot her a stern look. He knew her very well.
"I thought the law says that this book should never be seen with anybody in this country, you flagrantly disobey the law you infidels?" said one of the two men with disdain written all over him. Amiya and her husband didn't say a word and this seemed to have upset them so they began beating Amiya and her husband. Amiya wanted to fight back, she tried to fight back but they were too strong for her. By the time the men were done, Amiya and her husband were almost lifeless and the book had been badly burnt.
Later that night, as they tried to clean up their wounds and rearrange the house, they heard the chanting of people outside their house. The people chanted praises to the one who sent them out to purge their land of infidels. Amiya knew she had heard those words before but she was too dazed to recall. Just before her husband could find a good place to hide himself and his wife, they smelled petroleum and smoke. The windows and doors had been set ablaze and very soon the whole house would be too.
 The house was filled with smoke and their eyes hurt. There was nothing they could do but cry in each other's arms as they felt the crippling sensation of hot flames under their feet.