The island is filled with flowers, so many different kinds. The ocean and sky are intermingled like a lustrous diamond and their graces blend together uncommonly. Hana sees the enchanted transformation of that jewel unveiled. Walking at the seashore in an exalted detachment, an old music resounds inside her ears, and she murmurs that forgotten song. As she walks bare footed on the soft sands, an adored breeze tingles her skin and blows her hair. she breathes the freshest air and lets freedom raises her skirt, blows her hair, and sinks into her skin. The waves are piled upon each other and as they smoothly run to the bank, she sees behind the last wave in far horizon a ship. Curious and astonished, she looks intensely to identify the ship or ignore her blurry vision. As waves moves up and down and forward, she sees more of the ship. "It's perhaps a sailing boat." She thinks. The seabirds come to the shore and she takes a big piece of bread out of her pocket, and as she cuts the bread into small pieces and throws them into the air so the birds can catch them playfully, she hears the sound of a horn. Consequently, for a minute she has forgotten about the ship; however, the horn reminds her of something out there. As the sun rises, where the sky and ocean are intermixed, she looks towards the spot where she has last seen the ship; but the fresh, newly born rays of sun pierce her eyes through and she turns her face away. Something inside warns her to stay away from the ship. She runs to the opposite direction of the shore, where she finds a big rock and hides behind it while every few minutes peeking. She hears many sounds. In ambiguity, she can not recognize any words or
languages, but soon the voices become clear. Mostly she hears Persian speaking people. They all are calling her. She hears her name, Hana, Hana... It is her mother. She leaves her hidden place to join her mother, but what she sees is a huge sailing boat on the sand off the water. She thinks how the boat can get there, and then : "Perhaps they carried it out there." The boat is like a big square box with hundreds of windows and black roof. The sails are at the top of the roof and they move like colorful flags of Iran and America. The box is not a boat anymore but a house and she sees behind each window two bloody hands which are reaching for her. Then she sees eyes, all red and bloody. They all look alike and she can not know who they are. However, in a
strange twist, day becomes night and so
many bright lights makes the house like a ball of fire. A loud music is played inside and many doors open and people leave the house. They all walk in a line and each bows to Hana when passes her. First in line is Hamid, all wrapped like an Egyptian Mummy. Then is her father, who limps and ignores her. Mother looks fat and ugly like a gypsy. Van walks straight but there is a
hole in his torso; and
Saeid is all bloody and
surrounded by fog and does not look at her. When they all pass her, she sees Mario, who is tied to a tree and
Farhad is standing next to him with a shotgun. Then in the back ground the words of the song becomes clear to her: "Betrayal, betrayal, morbid, morbid."
The rays of the fall morning sun brightens her room. She, sitting on her bed, shakes from head to toe and is wet all over of an unwanted sweat from her horrifying nightmare. She rubs her eyes as though she can erase her vision of what she has seen; and when slowly she stops trembling, she realizes that it is ten in the morning. She is three hours late to work. Staggering to the living room, she notices that Farhad's bedroom door is open and he has gone to work. Not knowing what to do since she has never missed a day of work, considering her new job; she goes to phone to call her work. She still does not know what to say when the operator answers.
"Ruth, it is me, Hana. I'm very sick. I want to come to work but headache is killing me."
"Don't worry about it. Just stay home and rest. I tell Bob that you're sick."
To Be Continued
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