"Come on Sohrab, you came here to help me, to save me, to give me comfort. I am okay now and you're furious and distraught!"
"Oh, little sis, the world doesn't matter to me anymore!"
"Stop it Sohrab. It does matter a great deal." At this point Neda forced her brother to sit and went to the kitchen and brought him a glass of water.
She had lost everything; she did not know things would get this horrible, her future was unknown, she was pregnant; but she had everything that Sohrab needed at that moment. She had or thought to have strength, which her brother did not. She, herself, was surprised how she was able to control her emotions which only a few hours ago were about to kill her!
"What are you going to do?" He finally asked.
"I don't know, I don't know how to get a divorce. Doctor said that the baby would be here in January. I don't know what to do with the baby! Now it's October. I don't want this baby! I don't know! No one ever told me anything. Mother never taught me how to stop from getting pregnant. Father threw a big wedding for me, even bought me everything and paid six months rent ahead of time. What do you think? Do all these things sound to you that they wanted to get rid of me. Now I have to come back. I don't want to, but would they let me to live by myself? I don't know Sohrab. I want to die. No one wants me..."
Sohrab had to cut her sister off. He thought she could talk to eternity about things that were all true.
"We must talk to father. We have no choice." He mumbled while holding Neda in his arms.
"I know we must. He threw me out, his precious daughter, her guileless daughter; now he's going to get me back impure and pregnant. Let's drink some wine and celebrate my impurity!"
"What! I didn't know you drink!" Sohrab was shocked.
Neda began crying:
"That is how he got me pregnant. He gave me wine; he got me drunk every night and then assaulted me." As she was saying this, she got up and brought an open bottle of wine and two regular glasses. The bottle was almost full.
Sohrab poured two glasses and they both began drinking. It was elven in the morning.
"Are you afraid little sis?"
"Yes, very much, yet I'm not." She whispered. And then she continued:
"But I am happy now. I know you love me. I know with all their short comings, my family loves me! I wonder would I always be happy?'
Sohrab reflected for a moment. He was also calm now.
"Why do women use the word "always". It's a scary word. Nothing is for 'always'!"
Neda nodded her head; drank almost half a glass of wine in one breath.
"You can't stay here alone. Look at you; you're all skin and bones. You're drinking which is not good for you; and you're not eating! Look what he's done to you!" He said after a moment of reflection. He also finished his first glass in one breath.
"Why can't I? I've been living alone here for over a month now; that is when he left me and never returned. I know everything. He has found some one else, much better than me! But I want to stay here. It's my apartment."
"Don't be a child now. So that is why he left you, because he's found a girlfriend...Look at you. Some one must take care of you. You look like dead!" He said what he did not want to say. Meanwhile he lit a cigarette.
"Can I have one?"
"So you smoke, too!"
"Sometimes, yes, I do. I'm going to get better. I know it. When I can eat, if I can stop my mind of playing games!" Neda took long and deep puffs from her cigarette.
"What do you mean by your mind playing games?"
"I don't know; but I sense... I believe my mind tells me that I don't live much longer; it tells me I'll be gone. I hear it says that I never existed. It is cruel, isn't it?" She almost finished her cigarette so fast as though she did not have time to do it slower.
Sohrab understood now that his sister needed to be saved...
To Be Continued
No comments:
Post a Comment