The last time Rafiq and Karim had a conversation it was two weeks earlier. After that Rafiq talked to Su as well. So, he was quite aware of the situation in Myanmar. Sometimes he felt like he would avoid talking to them because there was nothing but bad news from his home. When Rafiq reached Baitul Omar with Qadir, he was amazed to find the entire ten storied building inhabited by the Rohingyas who had somehow managed to escape from the inferno at home. Hundreds of Rohingyas, mostly male youths, lived in the building. This building was managed by the Rohingyas living abroad. Whenever a Rohingya arrived in Medina, it was the task of this organization to arrange lodging and employment for that Rohingya. If it was not possible in Medina, he would be sent to Jeddah or Mecca, for this organization had people over there too. However, everyone wanted to stay in Medina.

This organization which was also known as Baitul Omar was run by a Rohingya businessman. A Saudi tycoon was the chief patron of it. Actually, this tycoon was the owner of the ten storied building and the rent had been donated by him as sadaka. Apart from that, as he was very close to the director of Baitul Omar, he would assist in many other ways. Most of the Rohingyas residing in the building were cleaners at the mosque of the Holy Prophet, and Qadir was one of them. As the jewelry store where Rafiq worked was closed on Saturday for renovations, Rafiq decided to go on a tour of the mosque. After the zuhr prayer, he became curious when he saw Qadir doing the clean ups inside the mosque. Later he discovered that Qadir was also one of those Rohingyas living in Medina. This led to a new-found fraternity between these two Rohingya youths. It was time for Rafiq to return to his mess. However, when he was invited by Qadir to visit the organization, he went to Baitul Omar with his newfound friend. Qadir lived in the ground floor with nine other Rohingyas. All of them were present in the mess at the time. Some of them were getting ready to get to work in the evening shift. Gossip followed when each of them were introduced to Rafiq. Of course, the subject of the discussion was the social and political situation in Myanmar. For some reasons Ziabul wanted to find out Rafiq’s full name. When he discovered Rafiq was a member of the Mollah clan, immediately he became everyone’s darling. Rafiq couldn’t help but ask why there was so much curiosity about the Mollah clan. Soon afterwards, Ziabul took Rafiq to the first floor and introduced him to another Rohingya. This man had a computer with internet access. By this time, some people had managed to upload the video of the killing of Anis Mollah on the net. Earlier, Rafiq had heard about the episode from Karim, but watching it happening in footage was a different thing. While the video had been running the signs of frustration and anger could clearly be seen on his face. He felt he should show the video to Su. He sat before the monitor with key board and the mouse so that he could communicate with Su through skype. Previously he had informed Su what name he was going to use on skype. Su became emotional seeing her husband for the first time after he had left Yangon. Three months wasn’t a long time but under certain circumstances, even three hours was like forever. Su knew her husband might never return home. Naturally. Hence, her emotional outburst had good ground. Su could hardly speak, but with her eyes whatever she had said, even a child could read and tell. Su put her palm on the computer screen, trying to touch Rafiq. Rafiq put his finger on the lips the way a child is told not to cry. Then he placed his own palm on the screen right where Su had placed hers. A distance of thousands of miles stood between Su and Rafiq. Yet it could not separate their hearts. It was an emotional scene. In order to give Rafiq the privacy he needed, Rafiq’s companions moved away from him. After watching Rafiq’s interaction with Su, everyone in the room began asking Rafiq about his relationship with Su. They wanted to find out who she was. At first, Rafiq hesitated because if her identity was disclosed, it could put her life in danger. And if he did not disclose it, the residents of Baitul Omar would become suspicious of his character. Subsequently, Rafiq explained his dilemma to those who were present in the room. They promised, they would never disclose it to anyone. The Rohingya youths in the room were in a frenzy to treat Rafiq when they learned about Rafiq’s relationship with Su and Su’s identity. Some of them served sweets, some served lemonade, while others invited Rafiq for dinner with them at night. Finally, a young Rohingya youth from the second floor came up to him with a strange request. It was clear from his expressions that he was in great anguish. Every soul in the room began consoling him as he broke down in tears even before he could start. Later the youth told them that for the last one week, his entire family living in Mine Pu had been missing. He hoped Rafiq could help him find his family. This Rohingya youth had been living in Baitul Omar for about a month. Hence, no one knew much about Shamsu. Ever since he became aware of this from his neighbors in Mine Pu, Shamsu had been anxiously passing his days. On the other hand, Rafiq wondered how much Su could do to help the poor soul. Still he didn’t have the heart to say no to this young man. In the end, he reassured the youth that he was going to talk to Su about it.

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Nuru’s stamina was almost at the end of the rope. If he kept running like this for another two or three minutes, his exhausted body was going to collapse. But if he stopped at this moment, it would mean certain death. The clamor of the people chasing him came within fifty yards. He planned to make a right turn and jump into the river. However, the noise of angry mob coming from the bank of the river stopped him from moving towards the river. His ability to think came to a stop. In this kind of situation, for survival people try to hold on to a straw. Nuru had a medium figure. His entire body was drenched in sweat, sweat dripping down his face. Nuru knew that this was going to happen. Hence, he had no regret. When he came under a Banyan tree, he thought it was going to be his last stand. He looked at the tree before climbing it like a professional climber. He had a towel wrapped around his waist. He had the bloodstained machete tucked in it. After a minute, he saw some people passing under the tree. Suddenly, a small boy stopped. On the branch Nuru stopped moving. He tried to hide behind the leaves. But the next moment, the boy was pointing at Nuru with his finger. Immediately it grabbed the mob’s attention. Subsequently, a crowd assembled under the tree. Among them, one man had a sharp weapon in his hand. He began climbing. Nuru had taken his position on a branch where only one man at a time could have access. If he surrendered to the angry mob, it wouldn’t save his life. Therefore, he was determined to fight to the end. With the machete in his hand, he waited for the first man to appear within his range. With his left arm, the man stopped Nuru’s first strike, but very swiftly with his machete, Nuru made a half circle in the air and struck the man’s left arm right below the shoulder. The man with his unconscious body and decapitated limb fell on the heads of the angry mob who had been standing eagerly under the tree. The second and the third man didn’t dare to carry on with this kind of asymmetrical battle. The urge to save themselves was much stronger in them than the urge to kill. By this time, the men of the security forces had gathered under the tree. Having their rifles with telescopes, they prepared themselves for the final showdown. The soldiers were told to shoot to kill. One man among the public was trying to convince Nuru to get down from the tree. Nuru wouldn’t listen. He was ready to embrace death. He had no desire left in him to live like this. However, a thought drove away all his sadness. He had seen the video of his family safely crossing the border into Bangladesh. After that, he got down with his murderous business. He had seen enough treachery in life. He had no wish to see more of it. He was ready for death. Even before he could hear the loud noise of the rifle firing, something very hot ripped through his chest, and that was the last sensation of his life. When the soldiers were about to take Nuru’s dead body to the morgue, a Buddhist monk stopped them. He began shouting as if he was giving a speech to the mob. He said, “This murderer has killed our mentor. There is no need for a post mortem. Now what we need to do is set an example for the other terrorists. Therefore, I demand that the temple where he committed this crime, there, in front of the temple, for a week, his dead body should be displayed. Do you agree with me?”