When fianlly Mario comes inside, Hana thinks she is ready to participate in the funeral of her son, Sam, what her mother could not do for her son, Hana's brother, Van.
"We can leave now." Mario whispers.
"Not you Mario. You're night a family. Get out of my house. Get out of my life. I don't want to see you again!"
Hana had no idea that she is going to say these things to her fiance. Her voice is sharp and has passed its prime. Mario lowers his head and picks up his briefcase and leaves without argument or one word.
"Mom, Why did you do that. It's not his fault that Sam is dead." Farhad, crying, says.
"That is my business. If I wasn't playing around, this wouldn't happen!"
Sylvie squeezes Farhad's arm to stay silent. She can see the tense situation and she is afraid that Hana may even throw her out.
In the cemetery, Hana has special place as the next of kin of the nineteen years old soldier. Farhad and Sylvie stand behind her. Sylvie's parents, Valery and her husband and most people from Hana's work have come. The military funeral is splendid and honorable. A big picture of Sam in uniform decorates the coffin which is enveloped in American Flag. Baskets of flowers are brought by the people whether they know Hana or not. Her son receives three gun salutes. Right before the burial, the folded American flag, which Hana missed seeing how it has been done since her eyes have been covered with a film of haze, is brought to her, and she uses her last energy to give her son the respect he deserves by not sobbing. At the end the tone of Taps over the grave, as the final bugle of the night Sam had heard overseas, finishes the glorious ceremony. The sound manifests the birth of Sam's newest, final, uttermost, and boundless sleep.
Hana is aged in one week so much so as though she is sixty years old. Her shaking, however, is not for the cold, February afternoon, but it is for the life she must live from now until her time comes. In fact, if it was not for Farhad's sake, for he is almost equally affected by the impact of this tragedy, Hana will not see any reason for living anymore. She has nothing left to give her light or happiness, even her soon to be published book does not mean anything now. She intentionally tortures her for the relation with Mario and tries to connect this tragedy to her indecent act of being intimate while not being married. All old habits return to her and she begins to carry a morbid character just to punish herself, as she did while Hamid was alive.
Behind the fence of cemetery, where the funeral is in progress, Mario gets out of his decorated car and stand there watching from far. All his dream have vanished with this disaster; nevertheless, he has sensed this before happening and has tried in desperation not to believe it. While tears rushing down his face, he, for the first time, lets his emotions fill there loudly. A passerby stops and asks him if he is all right!
"Yes, thank you for asking. That is the funeral of my step son to be. I'm just very upset."
"Why aren't you there then? Wouldn't you want to be with his mother now?"
Mario, bewildered, looks at the old man. He has kind eyes:
"She just broke up with me."
~
Hana goes home to begin her solitary life. When Farhad offers to move back in with her, she says:
"Absolutely not. You must live your life and take care of Sylvie. You're having a wedding in six months."
"Oh, mom, who wants to talk about wedding now."
"I don't want you to change your plan. Sylvie is a perfect girl for you. I don't want you to lose her."
"What about you, mom? Are you going back to Mario? You really were rude to him, poor man!"
She looks angrily at her son.
"No, no, it's all my fault that Sam is dead. If I was not with Mario..."
Farhad has blamed himself for his brother joining military; but now he knows arguing with his mother in this situation won't have any result but upsetting her even more; therefore, he thinks about finding ways after wounds are healed, if they ever heal, to bring Mario and his mother back together again. He can not possibly tell her that Sylvie's scholarship has come through and they are planning to go to Italy soon, so she can study classical realism in the University of Florence. He does not know how he can handle leaving his mom here while he wants to be with Sylvie and travel to Italy and go to school there. Mario is the only solution to his dilemma. He desperately wants them together and may be one day they get married.
Three days later, Hana wraps her engagement ring and register mails it to Mario's house, she even insures the package. She debates of writing a note to him since she can not find any guilt in this man to deserve what she is doing to him, but she does not. She hates to write. The famous to be writer hates to write. Mario receives the ring he has given to Hana as the token of his love. He loses the last tread of hope of getting back with her. Hopeless and helpless, he does not know how to cope with these double tragedies, losing the woman that he loves and a future son he wanted to father. One thing he needs to do before cutting completely from Hana, though. He thinks about writing her a note, but he ends up leaving her a message on her recorder.
"Sweetheart, I don't have any hard feeling at all. Believe me I understand. I got your package. I wish you kept it but I won't insist. I want you to forget about our romance and engagement, but if you ever need a friend just to talk, I always be there for you. Remember no one ever dies as long as there is someone left to remember him. When there is no one left to remember, it doesn't matter anymore because we are all together."
On twenty eight of February, 1991, Saddam pulls away from Kuwait. The operation Desert Storm brings faith to Americans for their soldiers and pride for their country.
To Be Continued
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