"Remember how upset I was when your brother was killed, and then you and your political activities broke me completely!"
"Mom, please, don't remind me those days. I'm sorry. I was stupid. I know now how you felt, I do. My Sam is going to war." Hana breaks down in front of Gol, holding her apron.
"You see, you're my child as Sam is your child; just see how upset you are. Now you see what you'd done to me!"
"Mom, please, don't make it any worse. Why don't you tell me about what I did after dad's death, why you only mention bad things...?!I need you. Let me just sleep. Let me put my head on your lap."
"Okay, I like that. I'm tired of touching dirt and insects. Let me touch you."
As Gol brings her hand out of the pocket of her apron, Hana sees her fingers are all bones with no skin over them.
"What happened to your fingers, mom?"
"Never mind my fingers. Let me caress your hair just like when you were a little girl; those days you had soft, shinny hair, now I see a lot of gray. Have you colored your hair? You know I miss you terribly."
As Gol touches Hana's hair, a repulsive sensation shivers Hana and she pulls away.
"Oh, please don't leave me. Let me be with you." Gol begs.
"You're dead. You're dead for a long time, mom. I want your spirit not your dead body."
Finally Gol fades away. Hana uses her last strength to write a poem about missing home, father, mother, grandpa, Behroz, and ...
"Me, being far from home like a bird apart;
I'm forgotten in eyes, like life dies in heart.
Me, being heavy hearted of thoughts with closed lips;
Night sings to me of its mysteries, I sing of my grips.
Sitting in cold, but hot I am with grief.
Trying to connect the gone days without relief.
I close my eyes to see the only remaining wave,
Next to the roaring, sad ocean, I crave,
To be on the other side of the big sea;
If I was at home, If I was free."
She rolls on the sofa, wet of horror and ignores the ringing of the phone. As it rings over and over again, she reluctantly gets up. A terrible headache makes her to sit back and and suddenly everywhere goes dark in her eyes and she becomes unconscious.
Mario curses himself for not staying with Hana last night. His greatest fear is if she has hurt herself and has thought of even doing something unthinkable. For the last three hours he has called her with no respond. In the verge of complete despair, he gets into his car and drives to her home. As he stands there ringing the bell and knocking the door for a long time, terrible thoughts pass his mind. "Her car hasn't moved. It is Saturday and she doesn't work. Where is she?" Despondently he goes to the apartment office and explains the situation to the woman behind the desk, happens to be the manager, and asks her for a key to go inside. After arguing for awhile, the woman says:
"If she is your fiance, how come you don't have the key to her place?"
Mario is so outrageous that he forcefully control himself to stay calm:
"It is complicated." That is the only thing he says to the woman's derogatory comment. They argue a little more. Mario thinks about calling Farhad, since he knows Farhad has the Key, but he changes his mind. He is not sure what he will face when he gets in. He does not want to upset Farhad.
Finally the woman agrees to go with him inside the apartment, but she also wants to call the police.
"Please lady, let's go in and see what is going on first before you call the police."
The heartless apartment manager finally goes with him and opens the door.
In Hana's untidy apartment Mario and Cindy, The apartment Manager, find Hana unconscious on the floor. The empty bottle, full ashtray, the notebook on the coffee table, and the crumbled papers all over the place are the evidences of what have happened in her place. Cindy insists on calling the ambulance but Mario says that is not necessary and he can take care of her.
"I didn't know that she drinks!" Cindy says.
"She doesn't. Her son is going to Persian Gulf. She is very upset."
"I must call an ambulance." Cindy says.
"No, please don't. I can take care of her. I know what to do. She already is going through a lot. We don't want to embarrass her by she waking up in hospital because of drinking." Mario's sharp, yet polite voice finally makes Cindy to agree and she leaves the apartment.
To Be Continued
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