They waited patiently. Having absolutely no idea as to why they were called up so early. They always thought there was still time.
That there would always be "their god" to help them live longer. That they could continue doing what they thought was right in his name.
But this changed everything.
Then a giant flame rose. Giant only by its size. In all other ways it seemed gentle and in the cold weather, it brought its own warmth.
Nazir spoke first "You must be Allah. For you are the light which showed us the way. You are the flame which gently lit up in our hearts. And you are the same fire with which we fought for jihad.
Tanner spoke next " I don't know who you are sir. But you are definitely not god. Alien, perhaps yes, but definitely not him. You don't even have a face. You are just a flame, burning away till your fuel lasts. Much like these Arabs. They think they've got all the oil. Lets see what happens when that empties up."
Lakshman spoke the last "You are definitely Agni, the fire god. You are the one who makes the sun shine brightly and give warmth. You are second to none. I remember I prayed to you to burn away all these people of other religion in my country. It is Hindustan for a reason. I know you know it as well. How long will my people have to put up with outsiders. Have you called me to discuss it"
The flame which glowed with peace, suddenly started to grow viscous. It gave a menacing look to the three of them seated together. The three humans started panicking a bit looking at that menacing fire.
The flame finally spoke
"Do you know why you have been called up here. It is because all three of you died today. Under different circumstances."
"Nazir, who gave you the right to decide what's or wrong under the pretext of Jihad. Did you know that the person who fired at you at the LoC in Kashmir was a Muslim too. Even he could have fought for jihad. But he chose good over evil. He chose to fight for his country defending millions of Muslims from you blinded fanatics. You shall never be at peace and that's your punishment"
"Tanner, I know you don't believe in god. Consider this as a confrontation with an alien species if that serves your purpose. You were the captain of your regiment and served your country well. But, there were times when you didn't value other lives. Tanner, you could have stopped that aerial attack when you were asked. You knew there were no threats only women and children in those settlements. Yet you authorized the attacks. You may not realize this, but you do have a lot of blood on your hands mister. So believe me, if you don't think I am god, know that I am your karma. And this time you have no escape."
"And Laxman, you think you have a clean slate buddy. Let me show you how dirty your life has been. You always think that your country was only for Hindus eh. Then why did you aspire to go to America for a job. I know you most certainly tried so much. Beats me. I always thought you'd be the perfect human until you raised your sword against a family asking for your help. When those riots occurred, you could have saved so many of them. Knowing you I was so sure that Laxman would help. But I never knew I had sent a coward down to earth. Sigh!!!"
At that moment all three of them had a moment of realization. May be this was really the Lord speaking and they had been so wrong all their lives.
The flame rose and shouted "You three will go to Hell" and upon saying vanished immediately.
And in an instant they were transported to another place. It was a very depressing place and even more depressing sight to see people injured very badly who needed help and medical attention. There was a bad stench which came from those people. Their eyes called for help, but their mouths were tightly shut.
Then there came a smartly dressed man.
"Come on get to work. Your job is to help these worried t. You don't recognize them, do you? Neither did your bullets or swords recognize them. You will be helping people like these for the next 250 years" he said.
"250!!!" Exclaimed Laxman
"Is this our punishment. That's a bit too harsh don't you think" a worried Tanner sighed.
"This is not a punishment. This is something different. You see these people lying here. They have been punished with infinite pain. Everyday you help them with medicines and care, their pain and injury subdues for a while. The next day the wounds reopen and their pain returns. Its like a never ending matrix. And they can never open their mouths, neither can they cry. Its cruelty at its best" the person added.
"Welcome to Hell. Here I make the rules. And you violent chaps ain't gonna like it eh tanner" he turned back walking away.
"I almost forgot the best part. You shall be supervised all the time by my guards. And the moment you stop working, they shall punish you in the most humane way possible till you start working again."
"You always have a choice. To do what's right and stand for what's good against evil. In the end your karma helps you get into heaven or push you down in hell."
