Daughter of Sheena (5)

Behnaz Zarrabizadeh

Daughter of Sheena-5

Memories of Qadamkheyr Mohammadi Kanaan
Wife of Sardar Shaheed Haj Sattar Ebrahimi Hajir
Memory writer: Behnaz Zarrabizadeh
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company, 2011 (Persian Version)
Translated by Zahra Hosseinian

…
Samad had waited a little. When there was no news from me, he had gone directly to the house of my sister-in-law angrily, and lodged a complaint against me: "Qadamkheyr doesn’t love me at all. I've got leave difficultly from military base, just because to come here and see her and talk to her. In the back of their parterre, I’ve kept to watch some hour till found her alone. She unfairly did not even answer my greeting. She fled as she saw me."
“Qadamkheyr! Come to my house afternoon and help me,” Khadija came to our house near noon and said, “I have a guest and I’m single-handed.”
I went to her house, afternoon. She was cooking dinner. I helped her; unaware of the fact that Khadija had plotted for me. After dark, just as the call to evening prayers was heard, I saw the door was opened and Samad came in. I was annoyed with Khadija and said, "If Mom and Haj Agha found out this, they’ll punish both of us".
Khadija laughed and said: "If you keep your mouth shut, no one knows. Your brother is not home tonight. He went to the field for irrigating.”
Shortly after that, I looked at him surreptitiously, when I was in at ease. Why did he look like this?! He was bald-headed. Khadija offered him to come to the room where I was. He said hello. Again, I could not answer him. I got up and went to another room without a word. Khadija called me. I did not answer. She and Samad came to the room I was there a little later. By gesturing, Khadija made me understand that I didn’t do the right thing. Then she walked out of the room. There were Samad and I. I lingered on a little and stood up to get away from his heavy glances. He stood in the center of the frame, and stretched his hands wide open to block my way. "Where do you go? Why are you running away from me? Please sit down; I’m going to talk to you.” He said with smile.
I sat and looked down. He sat down too, but in a far distance from me. Then, he began to speak continuously. He said I want my wife to be like this, to be like that. "Right now I’m a soldier, but at the moment my military service period is going to end, I want to go to Tehran to find a good job", he said. When he saw worry in my face, he continued: “Maybe I'll stay here in Qayesh.”
He spoke of his job, which is cementing, and he could work better in Tehran.
I looked down and say nothing. Samad spoke continuously. Eventually he became angry and said, "Say something! I’ll be happy if you talk to me.”
I had nothing to say. Grasped my Chador firmly beneath my throat, I had stared to the opposite room. He began to ask questions, when he recognized his efforts for getting me talking is useless. "Where do you like to live?" He asked.
I did not answer. He didn’t give up. "Do you like to live with my mother?!” He asked.
Finally I spoke, but I said only one word: "No!", then silence.
He also said nothing anymore; when he found he could not easily get me talking. I took the opportunity and under pretext of helping to Khadija, I left the room. I readied the spread and served dinner. "Sit next to Samad and talk with each other. I’ll do the works", Khadijah insisted, but I turned her down, stayed, and did kitchen works. Samad was left alone. At spread, I sat next to Khadija.
After dinner, I collected dishes and in excuse of bringing tea and cleaning the kitchen, I ran away from him.
"Qadamkheyr doesn’t like me, I think. If things go this way, we cannot live together.” Samad said to Khadija.
"Do not worry. These things are normal.” Khadija had consoled him and said, “She will be interested in you. You have to be patient and tolerate.”
After drinking his tea, Samad went. "I do not like him. He’s bald." I said to Khadija. She laughed and said: "Is this your only problem, crazy? He’s soldier. When his soldiering comes to an end a few months later, his hair will grow again.”
Then she asked: "Your second problem?"
I said: "He’s talkative."
"It has a solution.” Khadija again laughed and said, “Wait till you come out of your shell and put away standing on ceremony, then you drive him. Do not let him talk anymore.”
Khadija’s words made me laugh, and we talked to each other and laughed until midnight.
A few days later, Samad's mother told us that she wanted to come to our house.

To be continued…