Invisible Love

Invisible Love

By

Sedigheh Javidi

The old man stands behind the door of the manager's office, eavesdropping. A nurse hurriedly places a file on the desk and pulls out some phone numbers from among the pages.

- "Here, this is their son’s number."

The manager dials the number. No one answers. Frustrated, She slams the receiver down.

The thin, bony hands of an old woman wrap around the old man's arm. She peeks into the office with curiosity and laughs.

- "They're very busy."

The old man asks:

- "Where were you?"

- "I was putting on lipstick. Look, am I pretty?"

The old man looks at the woman's face through his magnifying glasses.

- "Yes... "

He thinks.

-"Do you remember our wedding night? You were so beautiful."

The old woman says happily:

 "It was raining. We got soaked by the time we reached the cabin."

- "I spent six months cutting wood and hammering nails to finish it. You loved the forest cabin and the smell of firewood and the drizzle."

The old woman laughs.

- "I still do... Shall we take a walk?"

- "What if the kids arrive?" asks the old man.

The old woman strokes the old man’s white hair and says:

- "They’ll not arrive soon."

- "Where shall we go?"

The old woman wants to see the metro.

They go to the metro. They pass through the gate without tickets and get on. They don't know their destination. The old man misses his daughter. He asks: "Where is this train going?"

The old woman shrugs.

- "Shall we go see Sheida?" Says the old man.

- "Let's go."

***

The train moves quickly. They get off at an unknown station. It's raining. The old woman buttons up the old man's coat. The old man is eager to see his daughter. His steps become more energetic, pulling him faster towards Sheida's house.

From behind the door, the sound of a baby crying can be heard. They enter. Sheida, with a tired and pale face, has fallen asleep; the baby, however, is awake. The old man sits beside his daughter with affection and strokes her hair, and the old woman holds the baby, calming it with an old song. The baby smiles. The old woman is delighted.

- "Oh, how I adore your smiles. Look how cute the baby laughs. Just like Sheida's childhood, isn't it?"

- "Is it a girl?" asks the old man.

- "I don't know."

The old woman slightly opens the baby's diaper and smiles: "It's a boy." Then she gives the baby to the old man.

- "Don't you want to recite the call to prayer in his ear?"

The old man kisses the baby's forehead and recites the call to prayer in his ear. The baby falls asleep. They gently put the baby to sleep next to his mother.

From the window, the Eiffel Tower is visible. The old woman craves Shirazi flooded. The old man is surprised.

- "What does the Eiffel Tower have to do with Hafez?"

- "It does... Let's go."

***

Fresh lemon juice penetrates the crispy and cold Faloodeh noodles.

The breeze carries the smell of orange blossoms.

 Their younger son's house is in one of the Bagha Tehran alleys.

They enter quietly. From Siavash's room comes the joyful laughter of a young girl. The old man is upset.

- "Whose voice is that?"

He wants to go to the room. The old woman stops him. She peeks in quietly and smiles.

From the door's crack, a photo of Siavash's engagement is visible.

- "She is our daughter-in-law."

The phone rings. The manager of the nursing home leaves a message. The mother hangs up. She doesn't want to spoil her son's happiness. The old man sits on the couch, lost in thought.

- "Is she our daughter-in-law?"

The old woman takes a piece of cream cake from the fridge and puts it in the old man's mouth.

- "Congratulations..."

- "Why didn't he tell us?"

- "You forgot we have Alzheimer's. He must have told us, but we forgot."

The old man accepts her words and smiles...

- "Is she pretty?"

- "Very..."

They leave there.

***

The street is cold and damp.  A seller has set up a booth under the light of a lantern and is waiting for the customer.

The steam from the hot beans will absorb them.

The old man fills a bowl with beans and adds salt and marjoram powder. They sit beside the vendor and eat while laughing at the horrible nursing home soups.

The old woman remembers that their eldest son was allergic to beans.

- Eat before it's too late. Let's go see Sinai too.

***

The elevator takes them to the tenth floor. A boy with blue eyes and blond hair is sitting on the front steps of the apartment and playing with his little red car. He looks about six years old.

- "Do you think it's Sammy?" the old man asks.

The old woman is not sure. She can't remember Sammy's face that she saw years ago.

- "I don’t know, maybe. Let's me call him."

She calls Sami. The boy looks at them.

- "It's him... Oh, my dear... You've grown so much..."

They sit next to him. From behind the door, the voices of Sina and his wife can be heard. Sina wants to return to Iran.

He wants to spend the remaining days of his parent's life with them. But his wife threatens to leave him.

They feel sad. They long to return to their village, to the wooden cabin filled with beautiful memories.

***

The air is filled with the scent of rain and wildflowers. They struggle to open the rusty lock on the door. The door opens with difficulty. Everything is old and decayed. Mice are running around freely. The old woman opens the window. The sound of rain pours into the room. The old man brings two cold bottles of soda from the icebox in the storeroom. They sit by the window and drink.

The sky is full of rainbows.

It was a sign. Time is up.

- "Are you ready?"

The old woman smiles: "Yes, I’m ready..."

***

They go to the cemetery. The old woman picks a rose from a vase on top of a grave and puts it in her white hair. She takes the old man's hand and finds a shortcut along the carved edges of the graves to the ceremonial hall.

In the ceremony hall, Siavash, his fiancee and several relatives and neighbours are present. When people pray over their bodies, they feel anxious.

The worried old woman approaches the old man. The old man hugs her. The priest prays for their souls. Siavash's young fiance comforts him. The old woman likes the girl.

- "She is a good girl."

- "Yes, she's kind."

- "God willing, may they always be happy together, may all young people be happy... "

The prayer ends. People take the bodies and bury them.

A red rose falls from the old woman's hair on her grave.