Chapter 28

In the house as I lay in bed, in the light of the side lamp I picked up the novel, The Blind Owl, again, never tiring of reading it. Each time I discovered new meaning in the sentences and the plot.

Finally, I put the book aside and tried to sleep.

I woke at dawn; the room was filled with a pale light. I got out of the bed and looked out. The sky was streaked with orange, giving dew drops on bushes an orange glow.

As soon as I had breakfast, I rang our home number in Abyaneh and was able to reach Reza. We talked for a while about Tala’s condition, the uncertainty of her coming out of the state she was in, and the possibility of Maxim being able to keep Tavoos. He had no more answers to what we could do to help, but just hearing his sympathetic tone soothed me somewhat.

After I put down the receiver, Uncle called and said he would be able to meet me at 11:00 at the sanatorium for us to visit Tala together.

Uncle and I sat on chairs by Tala’s bed, and he went over issues that most concerned her—he would continue trying to track down Maxim and Tavoos. He promised her that we would take her out of the sanatorium as soon as it was approved by the doctors attending to her. “Don’t worry, my dear, we all want you to be well and out of here as soon as possible,” he added in his usual kindly tone.

Then he got up to leave. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you a little longer,” he said. “My worker is still absent, and I have to be at my shop full-time until he comes back.” He kissed Tala’s cheeks, and mine too, and left.

Tala was quiet during his visit, hardly saying anything in response.

After he left, she came out of herself and said, “Roya joon. Will you go to the petrochemical company, you know, where Anton worked and Maxim was working part-time? Maybe they’ll tell you something about Maxim’s whereabouts that they haven’t told Uncle. I hope they’d trust a twin sister.”

“I can do that,” I said, wanting to be useful in any way I could. It was the end of the time I was allowed to be with her. I kissed her cheeks, said goodbye, and left.

I took the metro to the petrochemical building. It was a new skyscraper, with an atrium filled with trees, parrots, and other birds flying among the branches and a fountain at its center. Two narrow pools flanked the stairway leading to the main entrance. An artificial tree with silver leaves stood in the middle of the larger pool.

Inside, I went over a young, pretty woman, covered in hijab, sitting behind an ornate wooden desk.

I introduced myself and asked if I could have Maxim Alexandrov’s contact information. “He is my twin sister’s husband’s cousin. Her husband was killed in a car accident and my sister was injured and is hospitalized. She needs to speak to Maxim.”

“I am so sorry about such huge tragedies,” she said in a gentle voice, “but we aren’t allowed to give contact information to anyone.”

She must have noticed the sadness spreading on my face. She said in a whisper, “We believe Maxim Alexandrov is hiding in Natanz or Russia.”

Although she didn’t reveal anything that would help, I still felt better to have come there and done something.

Tala’s house wasn’t far from the company, and I decided to go and look at it; a thought suddenly came to me that Maxim could be hiding there with Tavoos. Then, quickly, I realized the thought was absurd since he would easily be caught there. Still, I felt an urgency to go to the house, hoping Batul would still be there and I could ask her some questions.

As I stood in front of the house, I was shocked to see no flowers in the pots that stood next to the doorway, the lion heads chipped. No sound came from the inside, but I still rang the bell a few times. There was no answer. It seemed Batul hadn’t moved back in yet or she would have attended to the flowers.

As I started to walk back, I saw Simin opening the door to her house, just five blocks away. I was struck by an old jealousy of Simin—that Tala almost substituted her for me after I lost my baby, the two of them taking their children to Mellat Park.

I crossed to the other side of the street and joined her.

“I’m Roya,” I said.

She stared at me and then said, “Oh, Roya. Come in. I’d love to talk to you.”

I followed her into the hallway and then to the living room. I sat on the sofa, and she went to the kitchen to get us tea. The clanking of dishes filled the air. She returned, holding a tray with tea glasses and sugar cubes, and put it on the coffee table.

She sat next to me on the sofa and said, “What a tragedy . . .”

“Yes, very upsetting. Have you seen her since the accident?”

“At the sanatorium. I saw her once, but then I had to go to Rasht. I just returned yesterday.” An expression of sadness spread over her face. “I hope they can find Maxim . . . Of course, it’s devastating to Tala that he has Tavoos with him.”

“Yes, she’s very upset about it. Our uncle is trying his best to find out where they are.”

We took sips of tea and continued talking.

“My husband periodically goes to Natanz for his work. I urged him to ask around about Maxim’s whereabouts. But so far, nothing.”

She brushed aside her long brown hair from her forehead, a gesture similar to Tala’s, and then said, “Tala was very upset about you losing your baby; she said it was like she had lost her own. Once, she said she wished she could give Tavoos to you and your husband. She thought you’d be better parents.”

My heart gave a squeeze at Simin’s remark. An image of Tavoos, when I was visiting Tala and held him in my arms, came to me—him smiling at me, the feeling of his skin as I kissed his cheek. I had so yearned for that baby, would have run away with him if I could. The thought came back: could Tavoos be mine?

“Simin, I know this may sound absurd, but how did rescue workers know which baby was mine and which Tala’s?”

Simin wasn’t surprised or taken aback by my question. She said, “Tala had the same doubts.” After a pause, she went on, “She was tormented that there was no proof one way or the other, that she hadn’t given you the chance to protest.”

“You know how afraid she was of Anton, of what he would have done to her if he found out she lost their baby,” I said.

Simin nodded in agreement.

“I found out about the car accident in the middle of the night. Our uncle called me. It was a hard blow.”

“It was such a shock to see the report in Etellaat. It’s lucky she and Tavoos didn’t get killed. My boy misses Tavoos.” She walked over to the mantel and came back with a framed photograph and handed it to me. It was of Tavoos and another little boy; they had their arms around each other as they stood by a lake with ducks on it. Tavoos looked serious, while the other boy was smiling.

“That’s my son, Mohsen. I took the photo in Mellat Park. I would love to talk to you more, but I have to leave now to pick up Mohsen from a friend’s house.”

“Do you want to go with me tomorrow to visit Tala?” I asked.

“I exchange with other mothers taking care of each other’s children. My turn is tomorrow. Then we’re going away for a week or two for my husband’s mother’s ninetieth birthday. They live in Babolsar. Maybe we can go together when I return.”

“I’m not sure if I will still be here. My husband and I moved away. I came to Tehran for two weeks to be with Tala.”

“Oh, so we can’t go together.” She accompanied me to the door. “I’m happy we talked. Kiss Tala for me. Assure her I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I will tell her.” I said goodbye and started going to the metro.