Before Shahzdeh had a chance to question Anna for her untimely call, it was two in the morning in Tehran, she began babbling which was combined with cry. She had forgotten how to think. At that moment, she was a little girl again who had suffered the pain of grown ups. When there was no tears left in her and she was able to talk not to babble, only then, she was able to tell her father the Aria'a story, the whole thing; how Rosy's betrayal had shattered him, his son. Shahzdeh's response quivered Anna:
"I have no son. Aria is dead for me.
Anna started crying again: "Dad, how can you say that? I know you don't mean it! We need to save him from this demon that had taken over him. I can't do it alone. I need your help."
Her father's irritation did not stop him of thinking profoundly about the situation in hand and the royalty of his daughter. While he had hoped for a son like himself, his daughter turned out like him; and his son... He had a few hours to think. He never made important decision when he was emotional. He promised to call Anna in a few hours.
Meanwhile after calling her father, Anna suddenly felt that a heavy load lifted from her shoulders. The secrets were reveled and she felt better. She came to realization that her father was not an evil man but a man of dignity who was raised in a certain way. Nevertheless, that few hours of waiting was devastating to her. She missed school for the first time.
When her father called, he sounded like a different man. His voice was old and worn out. Anna could feel his agony, yet transformation.
"I want you to keep your cool. I am coming as soon as I get a visa. You're my only hope now, Anna."
Her father had never spoken like that to her. Now he was treating her as she was a man. That felt good. She was not just a girl or a woman that had to follow a man relative and leave in luxury.
Now Anna had to learn how to think in silence, how to look around without being seen. She had a mission. Her strong will returned slowly with a determination that not only make her father proud, but to save her brother. She wanted to impress the old man; not too old, but old enough in her eyes.
She needed to know how Aria was doing, and the only way to find out was spying on him. That evening she went to the restaurant he worked just to see his car in the back parking and just to watch him doing his job from behind the windows. To her, discovering that he was still alive or not in trouble was a bliss since she was making stories and scenarios about him in her mind. She repeated her spying almost everyday- driving where he lived just to see his lights were on, watching him to get in and out of his car, or going to the restaurant at its closing time. It was like an obsession, a sick obsession that she could not get rid of it. She interpreted as wanting to save her brother from whatever that was destroying him.
Shahzdeh came three weeks after their conversation. Seeing him at the airport did not frighten Anna. She was not afraid of him anymore. She wished her mother, Fatie, was with him, but she was not; and she knew that in this situation, her mother would and could not do anything and she would only be on the way of whatever that had to do. Her father looked old, very old to Anna since the last time she had seen him less than a year ago. Anna suffered a great pain to see father that way. For the first time she was him and he was her. She was leading. In her apartment, Shahzdeh ate Anna's cooking after the usual bating and unpacking. He could not believe the tremendous growth in his daughter. She was not like any normal eighteen years old. She demanded respect. She was not like her mother or any other woman he knew. She was equal to him, he thought.
On the other hand, Marianna's aloofness and attitude was bothering Anna for a while. Anna asked Mariann when Shahzdeh was taking a shower: "What is bothering you?"
"I am sick and tired of your problems. We have a small apartment. Is your father going to stay with us here?"
"Where else do you expect him to stay?"
"I don't like this."
"What about you and your boyfriend. He is always here. I've never complained."
"That is different."
"Why is it different? When you became my roommate, I told you that your families are welcomed to be here but no boyfriends. Have you forgotten? I don't know what is your problem? I pay rent twice more than you pay. I don't ask you to share the utilities bills. I thought we were friends."
"Anna, stop manipulating me!"
"That is not manipulation. He is my father. He'll use my room. I sleep on the sofa."
"He can't stay here. I don't know how long he is going to be here. You know my boyfriend spend the weekends here."
"It is not your place to say that. This is my apartment. What you're paying me is almost nothing. And you can stay with your boyfriend in his place for change. You know you share this place with me, but you can't run my life as I can't run your life. Remember your mother visited you for two weeks here. I didn't say anything. In fact, I was delighted."
"That was different."
"Why is it different?'
"I am just tired of you Iranian people..."
Anna interrupted her: "Stop. I can't tolerate your insult. You leave me no choice but to ask you to move out."
"I move out. I want to live with my boyfriend anyway."
"Why didn't you just say what your plan is instead of blaming my father's visit."
To Be Continued
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