The Summer is here. The graduation is over; and Hana watches her sons lazily move around, as she did many years before.
Tehran-
The hot summer after the successful graduation from high school, for Hana was boring and depressing. She had passed with grades that it was not possible to be any higher, and had made it as the number one in entire country, with her name printed in local papers all over the country. (The exams for graduating from high school in Iran is uniform both in the day that is taken and in the material for each exam. All schools in the entire country are under the Ministry of Education; therefore the lesson plan, exams, where the teachers work, if they transfer, they all come under that ministry. For example what they teach in Tehran is exactly what they teach anywhere else. The teacher who works in Tehran can be transferred to another city with or without her consent and carry her years as a teacher with her for the sake of retirement.)
Grandma and her two sons, Reza and Asad had finally moved out from their house. Reza, Hana's older uncle, had found a job. Combined with Hana's dad's help and Reza's income, they had rented an apartment close by. The relief was much greater for mom and dad. Hana's sisters and brothers, as usual, got on her nerve and did not leave her alone for a minute. Hot summer, dry nature, and laziness what she knew the best that Summer. She stayed in he room almost all day and lay on her bed. She quited reading, writing, and going to Behroz's home to participate in their SECRET SOCIETY. She was not certain if she wanted to go to college or find a job. Something that had been so important to her before, did not seem to matter anymore. She refused to talk about her future plan to her parents.
Some time passed. It was the middle of the Summer- a hot sunny day full of burning rays. In he room, lazy and unfeeling, she looked through the crack of the door to the hallway. She saw a faded shadow there which gradually became whole. Suddenly she recognized Saeid. As she could not believe that image, she rubbed her eyes for clarity and looked again where she had seen Saeid's reflection. No, there was no one there. She fell into a great sadness. All of the sudden, she realized that for the entire month she had only thought about Saeid. It seemed as though his existence had become a part of her entity. She wondered: "What is he doing now?" Although occasionally she had seen Behroz, she had never asked him about Saeid. The exasperated tension to see him, hear from him, made her to think about going to Behroz's home. She could not stand any longer the painful darkness and unawareness of that separation that they had forced upon themselves. She was dressed in five minutes and was ready to leave the house. Her mother, curious, watched her as though she had not seen her for a while.
"You're finally leaving your room! Where are you going?"
"To grandma's. I want to see Behroz."
"Good, You're normal again."
Hana smiled for she felt more abnormal than ever; even when she ate even her food in her room. She questioned her mom's credibility in her mind. "Mothers supposed to know how their children feel!" How could she judge her daughter's state of mind so poorly?! "I'll know how my children feel when I am a mother."
In Behroz's room, all the members were there but one, Saeid. She did not dare to ask; nonetheless she impatiently wanted to know about his whereabouts. While the tree young men warming up in their philosophical discussion, Hana was thinking of a plan to ascertain about Saeid. How could she ask that question without raising curiosity? A simple remark of Safa gave her the chance:
"We thought you never come back, getting ready for KONKOR (The big exam in entire country for entering university)." He said.
She thought for a moment and then said: "I wasn't going to."
"So I was right. We lost two member." Behroz, her uncle said.
"Two members!?" She thought to her self. "Now is the time."
"Two members? Why two?"
"You and Saeid. " Mehran, another member said.
"What happened to Saeid?" She asked casually.
"Oh, we don't know. He didn't come for a while; and then we heard that he's joined army for his draft." Behroz responded.
Hana's heart began pounding. Not being to control herself, as her boiling blood rushed to her head, she held the arms of the chair to stop herself from falling. As smart as Behroz, her uncle and even the others were, they all knew the disappearance of her and Saeid at the same time were connected. However, Behroz, her uncle, wanted to find out the secrecy behind all these.
"May be you guys home early tonight." He almost ordered his friends. "I like to talk to my niece. I haven't seen her for awhile."
Safa and Mehran, without asking any question left; while Hana was ready to hear the big interrogation. She was not sure how she would answer.
Dallas
To Be Continued
No comments:
Post a Comment