19 November 2023
It is snowing, far too cold for anyone to go outside. Therefore, the entire family, from Father’s brothers and their extended families to several of Father’s cousins, uncles, and aunts and their families, is inside this dwelling, one of the cave houses carved into the plateau of Meymand. Father feels the claustrophobia every time he returns to his childhood home from his three-storey house in Shiraz, but he feels it particularly today, as he has to finally announce what he has been thinking of doing for the last few months: to bring his mother to live with him in Shiraz.
It is not the time to bring it up before breakfast. Father lies in his bed, trying to rest. He is literally in a cave dug out of the cliffs millennia ago. On the floor are carpets and pillows for people to sit on. Beds are pushed to the sides of the rock walls, with piles of coverings and comforters and sheets for people to keep themselves warm in the winter months. Some sills were carved out of the stone long before Father was born, and on them are ornamental plates, pictures of family members, porcelain vases. the space inside of the cave is small, particularly in these winter months when everyone is inside. Father is not tall, but he still cannot stand upright, always having to duck while walking.
This is why he mostly remains in the bed he used to sleep in as a child even after he awakes.
At the hour of breakfast, Father is called. The wife of Father’s elder brother, Arash, is Nousha. She begins by serving everyone tea at the long wooden table they use for their meals. Steam from the black brew wafts across Father’s nose and warms his neck. Everyone is at the table, not yet talking amongst themselves, still waking up.
Father decides there is no better time than the present.
« .Everyone ،hello .It has been too long since I have come »
The fact that he is speaking has already antagonised someone. Father’s first cousin, Arman, interrupts.
« .Hessam ،three or four months it has been ؟Why did you ignore us ؟Why did you ignore your mother when her health is like this »
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