[ FF ] 2000 words or more , 48 hours `` Book of Love ''

CARAVAN'S `` THE BOOK OF LOVE'' SHATTERS PRE-ORDER RECORD - EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT 
 by Cria Fry 
 
 LONDON - James Caravan's `` The Book of Love'' has surpassed the final novel in the lauded A Song of Ice and Fire series in pre-order sales in England today. The tome, a retelling of the love story portrayed in `` The Letters of Refugees'', created a media frenzy when Caravan revealed that he had actually tracked down and interviewed `` John'' and `` Jane'', the anonymous lovers portrayed in the book. 
 
 As a gift to his fans, Caravan has released to The Guardian a small excerpt from the chapter `` Flee''. Readers, beware! Spoilers ahead. 
 
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 EXCERPT FROM: THE BOOK OF LOVE 
 Author: James Caravan 
 
 
 The first buildings fell about four in the morning. Everyone expected a conflict, an explosion, an incursion. Nobody expected it at four in the morning that Sunday. The Turkmen did n't even bother a formal declaration, or even the decency of a troop buildup. The only warning we received was of our power going out about two minutes before the explosion. 
 
 Everybody knew what was going on, and I am ashamed that the first thing on my mind was whether or not there would be gunmen in the streets rather than the safety of my daughter. Noor was sound asleep, a blessing - she had that habit of sleeping through anything, including the sound of thunder. I did n't have time to grab much, so I picked up few items I could fit into my backpack. Though it was still full from the previous day, I managed to fit in as much water as I could and some clothes for Noor. 
 
 Kalaleh was on fire. Around Ajan Salah, I could see only smoke. My heart skipped what felt like several beats as I pondered the possibility that Sayeh was trapped under those pillars; the pain in my chest grew in proportion to what I thought of Sayeh. As I glanced at Noor and then to the smoke lit by the flames that raced along the main road. As much as I could not leave without my daughter, I could not leave without Sayeh. The shame of putting her before my family followed me as I drove through the streets, Noor asleep in the back middle seat. The streets were relatively empty. I could see people awake and about, but many were still trying to figure out what was happening. 
 
 As I veered around the rubble in Ajan Salah and turned left onto a street I noticed that her house was untouched. Whatever had struck the city had yet to reach her neighborhood, but the houses both in front of and behind hers were not so lucky. Noor would probably wake from the smell, but I had to go and find Sayeh. 
 
 I raced up the driveway and knocked on her door. There was no answer - unbelievable! She certainly must have been awake, I thought. I knocked again, rapidly. Just as I prepared to break her door down, it opened. There she was, as stunning as the sun. And, like the sun, though I should not have stared, I could not help myself. Her streaked hair was as captivating as I first saw her, and I supposed I looked the sight, standing there with my jaw probably agape. With no warning, she lunged into my arms and gripped me tight, her nails scratching into my back. I could do nothing except stand there, my arms uncomfortably pinned to my side. 
 
 `` Sayeh,'' I told her, `` I am here for you.'' She pushed off immediately and started babbling about what she needed to bring. Food, clothes, medicine. I'm not sure if I was overestimating the Turkmen or if she was underestimating them, but in my mind I could think nothing else but what the soldiers would do to my Sayeh if we dallied for too long. Unable to speak for fear I might vomit, I grabbed the gym bag at the door and started ransacking her kitchen for water and cans. She made noise and came downstairs with her nurses' equipment and what looked like capes. I did not ask, and we left quickly. She turned around to close the door but I pulled her hand at the first sign of her slowing. We would not be caught. 
 
 She nearly threw her things onto Noor but caught herself. She had never been good with Noor; I think she was more afraid of having to help deal with her than actually ruining her sleep. I could not help but smile at the audacity of humanity in the midst of war. 
 
 “ Cyrus, what's going on? Is is the Turkmen? ” Sayeh said, her voice worried. 
 
 “ You know the answer to that, of course it is, ” I said. 
 
 “ Then why here? Why not Mashhad? Why not Shirvan? ” She said. 
 
 “ Because there is no power for us to check Mashhad and Shirvan, Sayeh. ” I chided her. 
 
 There was nothing more to say for the relatively quiet drive out of Kalaleh. There were now explosions that echoed like dull weights dropping onto a carpet floor, and we could hear the sharp rattle of gunfire fade into the distance, but everything seemed so far away. Kalaleh was probably not getting the brunt of an invasion force, and we were probably fleeing only a few hundred men, but even a single bullet could end our lives. A single bomb could end us all. 
 
 We drove for the hours necessary to travel the two hundred and fifty or so kilometers to Sari, in Mazandaran. For the first forty-five minutes or so we forgot to speak, to look at each other, to even acknowledge the existence of the one in the other seat. The reality of what was setting in seemed to take priority over our individual lives. The only thing we knew was to drive to Sari, to assist the military there. A nurse would be sorely needed; a fit young man like myself would make a great volunteer somewhere. Undoubtedly there were enough men in official service to take care of the Turkmen, but for every bomb they would drop a body would need to be replaced, even if for a moment. 
 
 I did not put much thought into it until Sayeh's fingers gripped my ear and pulled. That devil's smirk on her face distracted me again, just as she did as I saw her at the door. She could do that – make you drop what you were doing and simply obsess over the small detail you noticed at first. It was incredibly annoying. 
 
 “ Sayeh? ” I asked, finally turning back to the road. At this point, refugees were turning what should have been empty roads like streams into roaring rivers. There was thankfully no war damage yet, and the cars were flowing like water, but before long I knew there would be a clog like a dam. 
 
 “ Radio, ” she said. As usual, she refused to turn it on herself. I could not believe she had n't simply turned it on at a time like this, but I smiled nonetheless. Her refusal to change even her most unnecessary of mannerisms made the world seem just that much more real. As usual, she was my lifeline to reality. 
 “ Yes, ” I said lamely, pushing the button to turn the radio on. Unexpectedly, there was static. If there was one thing the government could be counted on, it would be keeping its propaganda on the radio. Any government would want to stem the tide of refugees and keep law and order along the borders where the fighting started, much less the Ayatollahs. That there was only static was a jolt to us both. It was worse than we thought. 
 
 Would Sari even be safe?
